21st Century
At the beginning of the 21st century, North Dakota is experiencing demographic and economic decline. The population of the state is aging, both from a rise in life expectancy, and an exodus of younger people, particularly families. Farmers no longer retire and move to town in their 50s, but keep going, while buying up neighboring farms and enlarging their holdings, so that the children are forced to move to towns and cities. However, there has been a small but steady influx into the state.
The profile of the newcomers shows that compared to long-term residents, they generally are younger (60% were between 21 and 40 years old) and better educated (45% were college graduates and another 35% reported some college or postsecondary vocational-technical school experience). The migrants were motivated more by quality of life values than economic incentives; reasons for moving most often cited were desire for a safer place to live (58%), desire to be closer to relatives (54%), lower cost of living (48%), and quality of the natural environment (47%). These residents represent a very productive cohort of people who were needed to augment population strata that were severely depleted by the out-migration of the 1980s.
Read more about this topic: History Of North Dakota
Famous quotes containing the word century:
“Drink your fill when the jar is first opened, and when it is nearly done, but be sparing when it is half-empty; it’s a poor saving when you come to the dregs.”
—Hesiod (c. 8th century B.C.)