Their are reasons why many people have left the rural plains. Most of the good jobs continue to be concentrated in the cities in the plains region. Also, many young people move away from the rural areas because their is a lack of diversity, urban experiences, and jobs. Also, the weather in the Great Plains is not for the weak minded. Many rural counties have lost population for 100 years or more because too many people settled in rural areas with limited resources. Then, as manchinery, technology, and farm size increased, less labor was needed on the farms compared with earlier in the 20th century. Almost all of the younger people in states like North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas are centered around the urban areas.

Yes, their are some people that are self-employed and entrepreneurs but the majority of the higher paying jobs are almost always located in the larger urban areas of the plains. That is why Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis and Sioux Falls have strong economies. They were already larger cities to begin with, and they could easily draw people resources from all of the surrounding rural counties. The only counties in the rural plains that are gaining population are the ones that are regional centers that serve a large area. Regional centers would include:Hays, KansasNorth Platte, NebraskaAberdeen, South DakotaBismarck, North DakotaHastings, NebraskaMason City, IowaAlso the climate in the Dakotas south to Kansas is not really what I would call temperate. Sometimes, all four seasons can occur in a week time period. Winds are always quite strong, dust storms can occur when their is a drought, and blizzards can also happen. The extremes between heat and cold are what make the climate intolerable for quite a few people. The one advantage to this area is that if you have a good paying job the real estate is usually very cheap, and the schools are generally good in most smaller towns in the Great Plains.