In a presidential election year, media attention is often focused on contentious issues as they play out on the national stage. This can lead to sweeping generalizations around the way rural communities feel about issues such as abortion access, natural resource management, school choice, even the programming at their public libraries.

Rural datasets can be difficult to find and even more difficult to analyze. But utilizing data in telling rural stories is a great way to interrogate, and disprove, widespread misconceptions about rural America.