Twenty percent of the people living in the United States live in what is defined as a rural area. Rural counties constitute approximately 97% of the land mass of America. About 20% of the population live in one of these counties – that's just under 66 million men, women, and children, although this population is skewed older; 17.5% are older than 65, compared to urban areas where that percentage is 13.8% In some states more than 50% of the older population lives in these rural areas.13