Covid-19 Dashboard for Rural America

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Covid-19 hit the world’s large cities and metropolitan areas first and hardest. In the days since, we’ve seen how rural communities and small towns are not beyond the pandemic’s reach.

Whether it’s meatpacking towns in the Midwest and the plains, tourism and recreation regions in the West and northeast, the hills and hollers of the rural South, or reservations across Indian Country, each day brings more developments as rural America faces the virus. Here at the Daily Yonder we’re tracking the spread and impact of Covid-19 across rural America.

The Rural Red-Zone

The Daily Yonder’s weekly red-zone report shows counties where Covid-19 is spreading at more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people over a one-week period. This threshold indicates that infections are out of control, according to White House Coronavirus Task Force definitions. Hover and click on the map to explore data for each U.S. county.

Track THE RURAL Spread – Previous ReD-Zone Reports

Nine out of 10 Rural Counties Are in the Covid-19 Red Zone

November 23, 2020November 23, 2020

New Rural Covid Infections Top 195,000 in One Week

November 17, 2020November 18, 2020

New Cases Put 80% of Rural Counties in the Red Zone

November 10, 2020November 12, 2020

Rural Infections Surge Past 110,000 for the Week, Breaking Another Record

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020

Rural Counties Have 5th Consecutive Week of Record-Setting Covid Rates

October 27, 2020October 28, 2020

Rural Infections Break Record for Fourth Week. Rural Cases Top 1 Million.

October 19, 2020October 20, 2020

Cases and Deaths – Running Rural Totals

The dashboard numbers below track the raw number of Covid-19 cases and deaths to-date occurring in rural counties.

1,691,737

Rural Covid-19 Cases
15.09% of all cases in the U.S.

30,227

Rural Covid-19 Deaths
12.33% of all Covid-19-related deaths in the U.S.

Source: USAFacts. Last Updated: November 21, 2020.

The Pandemic’s Reach in Rural America

These graphs show the rate of new infections and new deaths in rural (nonmetropolitan) counties and metropolitan counties. The rate is based on total new cases and deaths over one week (Sunday to Saturday) expressed as a total per 100,000 residents.

How States Are Faring

Use the table below to track how many rural counties in your state are currently in the red zone and how those numbers compare to other states and previous weeks. The table reflects the period Sunday, November 1, to Saturday, November 7.

The Rural Stories of Covid-19

Numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. We’re collecting our most vital reporting on coronavirus here, so you can see the people and places of the pandemic.