According to a report published in 2014 by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, less than 8% of all physicians and surgeons practice in rural areas.

In subsequent years, other studies will show that rural residents are less likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, are more likely to be beneficiaries of Medicaid or another form of public health insurance, are more likely to be unemployed, have less post-secondary education, and have lower median household incomes compared to urban residents. These trends are most pronounced across the South, in Appalachia, and at the U.S.-Mexico border.