TABLE 1.
Weighted descriptive statistics for US adults aged 50+ in the health and retirement study by rural and urban county of residence
| Rural (N=31,306) | Urban (N=121,138) | |
|---|---|---|
| Percent of total sample | 20.5 | 79.4 |
| Cognitive function score | 15.3 (4.4) | 15.8 (4.4) |
| Female | 56.0 | 55.3 |
| Marital status | ||
| Married | 62.3 | 60.7 |
| Divorced | 16.1 | 18.6 |
| Widowed | 17.2 | 14.9 |
| Never married | 4.3 | 5.8 |
| Age | 66.1 (10.1) | 65.6 (10.1) |
| Race | ||
| White | 86.3 | 77.5 |
| Black | 6.8 | 10.5 |
| Hispanic | 3.9 | 8.8 |
| Other | 3.0 | 3.3 |
| Education | ||
| Less than high school | 17.5 | 14.7 |
| High school | 40.8 | 31.4 |
| Some college | 22.7 | 25.4 |
| College degree | 18.9 | 28.5 |
| Income | ||
| Less than $25,000 | 32.3 | 27.8 |
| $25,000-$75,000 | 44.8 | 38.8 |
| $75,000+ | 23.0 | 33.4 |
| Employed | 41.5 | 45.6 |
| Self-reported good health | 71.8 | 75.9 |
| Number of chronic medical conditions | 1.9 (1.4) | 1.0 (1.5) |
| Depression score (CESD) | 1.5 (2.0) | 1.4 (2.0) |
| US Region | ||
| New England | 2.1 | 5.6 |
| Mid Atlantic | 9.1 | 13.5 |
| East North Central | 18.7 | 16.5 |
| West North Central | 18.3 | 5.8 |
| South Atlantic | 18.4 | 22.1 |
| East South Central | 10.0 | 5.1 |
| West South Central | 15.1 | 7.9 |
| Mountain | 6.9 | 6.6 |
| Pacific | 1.4 | 17.0 |
| County-level characteristics | ||
| Depopulated county | 17.0 | 9.6 |
| Percent non-Hispanic Black | 4.8 (10.8) | 6.8 (11.2) |
| Percent Hispanic | 4.5 (10.7) | 9.3 (15.6) |
| Percent age 65+ | 14.8 (4.1) | 12.4 (3.8) |
| Unemployment rate | 6.3 (2.3) | 5.8 (2.2) |
| Low education county | 33.5 | 17.2 |
| Poverty rate | 14.4 (1.0) | 11.9 (1.1) |
| Health care professional shortage area | 31.3 | 25.7 |
Note: Percentages are reported for categorical variables; means (standard deviations) are reported for continuous variables. Boldface indicates a statistcally significant difference between rural and urban at P < .01. Descriptive statistics reported for the pooled sample across all survey waves. The number of people in rural counties = 7,024; the number of people in urban counties = 27,032.