Illinois small towns are not 'sleepy' or 'dying,’ sociologist says

[February 20, 2023]  By Zeta Cross | The Center contributor

(The Center Square) – Rural communities are not dying. They are changing.

The Illinois Farm Bureau and its partner organizations recently hosted The University of Illinois Extension’s Attracting Rural Residents interactive webinar series to discuss myths and change the narratives about rural towns. Professor Ben Winchester, a rural sociologist for the Center for Community Vitality at the University of Minnesota, was on hand to share his expertise.

“This is a deep, deep conversation about how communities have changed, where we are today, and where we are going to be going,” Winchester told The Center Square. “Whether we like it or not, some major economic trends are going to reshape our communities in the next 20 years.”

The biggest trend is the retirement of baby boomers. Thirty percent of the homes in rural communities are owned by people over the age of 70. Another 45% of the homes in small towns are owned by people in late middle age. In the next 20 years, 75% of the homes in rural communities will change hands, Winchester said. The majority of the buyers will be newcomers.

One out of four small-town kids who have moved away will eventually move back home. But younger people from outside of the region will take over three-quarters of the houses in town, Winchester said

For the past 40 years, people have been leaving the cities for rural communities. They have filled up all the vacant homes. Economic trends are also changing rural communities.

One hundred years ago, agriculture was the primary industry in small Illinois towns, but that has not been true for 80 years, Winchester said. Technology has replaced the majority of workers who used to work on farms. The leading job sectors in rural communities today are in education and health services.

When Winchester does a presentation in a small Illinois town, some of the residents tell him that with a few exceptions, they do not believe that millennials and people with diverse backgrounds are living in town.

“They’ll say, ‘That’s not true for us,’” Winchester said.

Winchester tells them to talk to the city clerk, the property managers and the real estate agents.

“There are always new people moving into your region,” he said.

Since the founding of the country, small towns have always changed, Winchester said. The people who currently live in town are not the people who lived there 50 years ago. A successful town learns how to make room for newcomers, he said.

The hair on his neck stands up when he hears things like ‘well, you just need to learn how we do it around here,’ he said. Newcomers need space to make their mark on the community, Winchester believes.

“The key question is, to what extent are we allowing them to do that?” he said.

When their children enroll in school, newcomers want them to be able to join activities and 'be seen,' Winchester said.

There will always be people who consider newcomers "outsiders.” Winchester considers that a real problem.

“We need to give up ownership. We need to give up leadership,” he said. “The community is not owned by any one person, even if their ancestors have lived in the town for generations.”