摘要：Climate, topography, and water area are highly related to rural county population changeover the past 25 years. A natural amenities index, derived and discussed here, capturesmuch of this relationship. Average 1970-96 population change in nonmetropolitancounties was 1 percent among counties low on the natural amenities index and 120 per-cent among counties high on the index. Most retirement counties and recreation coun-ties score in the top quarter of the amenities index. Employment change is also highlyrelated to natural amenities, although more so over the past 25 years than in the currentdecade. The importance of particular amenities varies by region. In the Midwest, forexample, people are drawn to lakes for recreation and retirement, while people areattracted to the West for its varied topography.
关键词：natural amenities; population change; retirement; recreation
