Update: See our recap of this event and videos of presentations here.

Trends shaping rural life in America include unprecedented population declines, a growing Hispanic population, a disproportionate share of military veterans, and a sharp increase in “deaths of despair”—related to suicide, alcohol abuse, and drug overdose—among rural residents with low education levels.

At “Small Towns/Big Changes: The Shifting Demographics of Rural America,” a briefing for members of Congress and their staff sponsored by the Population Association of America, scholars explore the implications of current demographic trends and recent socioeconomic change for the nation’s rural areas.