Eastern Kentucky’s traditional coal-producing counties have lost the more people than anywhere else in the region, according to census estimates released in March.
Sarah Melotte heads The Daily Yonder Data Newsletter and joined Eastern Standard to discuss what’s driving the decline.
“I think that it's intuitive that the relationship probably goes both ways in a manner that exacerbates both population decline and resource access," Melotte said. "So as people leave, there are fewer people working in essential services, teachers, nurses, librarians, what people are calling brain drain in rural communities.And as those people leave, it creates depletion and a lack of resources and access for everyone else, and so maybe that means more people leave.”
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