A Rural-Urban Comparison of Children's Health in the United States, 2018-2023

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11/2026

This project provides a comprehensive update on rural-urban differences in child health in the U.S. Previous research found that compared to their urban counterparts, rural children are more likely to live in an impoverished county, experience childhood trauma, have poor oral health, and be overweight or obese.

Key Findings:

• Rural children are more likely than urban children to experience certain health risk factors including lower access to health care, poverty, and food insecurity.
• Rural children are more likely than urban children to receive care within a medical home and live in safer neighborhoods.
• Compared to urban children, rural children are less likely to receive preventive primary and dental care.
• Rural children are more likely than urban children to have lifelong health conditions and poor dental health.
• All-cause mortality rates are significantly higher among rural children than urban children and vary by Census Region.

University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center

Emma Boswell, Taryn Farrell, Nicholas Yell, Peiyin Hung, Elizabeth Crouch

Children and adolescents, Chronic diseases and conditions, Healthcare access, Obesity, Oral health, Poverty, Public health, Social determinants of health