High inflation is hurting rural households disproportionately compared to urban dwellers, according to a survey.
According to Iowa State University (ISU) researcher Dave Peters, the disposable income for rural residents has fallen 38 percent since 2021, dropping from nearly $10,000 a year to just $6,000.
Other comparable studies have shown that the disposable income of residents in small towns has shrunk significantly in the past year.
Urban areas have not seen as significant a drop in disposable income, which fell 17 percent in the same period, said the ISU report.
“That’s a big drop,” Peters said, “and people probably hadn’t saved a lot of money in anticipation of it.”…