Spotlight: Rural Communities

Adults living in rural areas experienced meaningful improvements across some measures of clinical care and health behaviors, yet they continued to face distinct and persistent challenges that shape their health outcomes.

Cancer screening prevalence (which includes both colorectal and breast cancer screenings) improved 14% among adults in rural areas, from 53.6% to 61.3%, between 2022 and 2024. However, cancer screenings in metropolitan areas improved more during this time period, increasing 18% from 54.6% to 64.5%. Colorectal cancer screenings, which increased 15% in rural areas (59.1% to 67.8%) among adults ages 45-75, but 19% in metropolitan areas (59.5% to 70.6%). Additionally, breast cancer screening rates were 1.1 times higher among metropolitan (75.3%) compared with rural (70.8%) women ages 40-74 in 2024, a gap in prevalence that has persisted over time.

On the other hand, the percentage of adults who reported doing no physical activity or exercise other than their regular job decreased more in rural communities than among their metropolitan peers. The prevalence of physical inactivity among adults living in rural areas improved 10% (29.5% to 26.5%) between 2023 and 2024, compared with 7% among their metropolitan counterparts (23.6% to 21.9%). Additionally, physical inactivity remained 1.2 times higher among rural compared with metropolitan adults.