Over 90 percent of counties in the Great Plains experienced an upward trend in net migration from the mid-1980’s to the mid- 1990’s, in the form of lower net outmigration, higher net inmigration, or a switch from out- to inmigration. Net outmigration persisted in sparsely settled, isolated areas and in areas where jobs depended on the extraction of energy resources. However, migration in the mid-1990’s was associated less with rural-urban location and employment and more with increased commuting from suburban fringe counties and movement to the few areas in the region with high natural amenities.
