{"id":15572,"date":"2016-06-24T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=15572"},"modified":"2026-02-22T15:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T23:32:23","slug":"small-town-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Town Seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"

With over 20% of older Americans living outside major cities, rural senior living providers face unique challenges and untapped opportunity<\/em><\/p>\n

In small towns across the country, senior citizens face a trio of challenges as they transition into retirement: lower than average incomes, few housing op\"shutterstock_214206070\"tions, and a shortage of services. As aging baby boomers put even greater strain on senior living services, rural communities throughout the United States will have to act quickly to meet demand.<\/p>\n

Small, Expensive and Rare<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to a 2014 survey by the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) entitled Housing and Aging Rural America: Rural Seniors and Their Homes<\/a>, nearly one-quarter of US seniors live in rural communities. Unfortunately, for older adults residing outside of the nations\u2019 urban centers, senior housing options are slim to nonexistent. Additionally, the standard of care available doesn\u2019t always compare to what\u2019s offered in suburban and urban areas. Even in situations where facilities exist, most are too expensive because incomes are usually much lower outside larger municipalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch of the affordable-housing stock in rural housing areas is old and in need of repair, says Sheila Crowley, president of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition<\/a>. \u201cMany of the people who live there don’t have the resources that they need in order to keep the houses in good repair,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA rapidly aging population will significantly impact nearly all aspects of the nation\u2019s social, economic, and housing systems,\u201d note the authors of HAC\u2019s report. \u201cWith the scope and magnitude of the looming demographic shift of seniors, rural communities will need to develop a range of housing options available to seniors such as more rental housing, rehabilitation and repair programs, housing with services, and assisted living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filling the Void<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where HAC highlights the challenges of rural development, Jane Adler sees opportunity. Writing for Seniors Housing Business<\/a>, Adler writes, \u201cWhile the big markets get the lion\u2019s share of attention, some senior living contrarians are finding success in small places.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOften overlooked by large companies, small and rural markets lack a variety of basic services for seniors, which can create opportunities for owners and operators willing to take the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The risks Adler alludes to are not insignificant. Investors planning to build a rural facility face lack of resources and little government support. In a recent article in the Atlantic<\/a>, David Dangler, the director of Rural Initiatives at NeighborWorks America, explains the situation facing many senior living providers contemplating a rural project.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevelopers can’t count on any kind of municipal infrastructure to help them,\u201d says Dangler. \u201cWhen it comes to building, things that are often taken for granted in more urban areas, like water, sewers, and even access to quality roads, aren\u2019t guaranteed, which can make building a quality house much more challenging.”<\/p>\n

Additionally, there\u2019s often little in the way of funding for new or restored properties. \u201cThere’s a handful of programs that serve people in rural communities,\u201d says Crowley says in that same Atlantic<\/em> article.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tend to be much smaller in scale in terms of the amount of money than the HUD programs. They also tend to be lost in the bureaucracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community Connections<\/strong><\/p>\n

HAC\u2019s report also reveals that home ownership among seniors in rural areas is significant. Older adults often choose to buy rather than rent because there are few rental opportunities available and property values are usually more affordable outside the city limits. Because they own their own home, rural seniors are also much more adamant about aging in place. This means rural operators should focus on community connections when appeal to prospects.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocation, size and design of product are key to success in small markets,\u201d writes Adler. \u201cOperators [should] emphasize the importance of becoming part of the broader community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adler also points out that local residents may need extra coaching and outreach when a facility first opens in their midst.<\/p>\n

\u201cA challenging is education the community about the concept of senior living,\u201d she explains. \u201cLocal residents may not have had the experience with the product.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tech Advantage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because rural areas often lack a pre-established senior living market, providers interested in developing a care facility have one major asset on their side: technology. As Adler explains, \u201csmall and rural market operators are on the cutting edge of experiments in new healthcare delivery models.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall towns often have fewer medical resources, creating an opportunity for senior living providers to step in and fill the gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because resources like hospitals and pharmacies can be several miles away, perhaps even located in neighboring townships, centralized medical records and a streamlined software platform like Yardi Senior Living<\/a>\u00ae provide rural senior living facilities with the ability to provide immediate and responsive care to residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of new technology may be an obstacle,\u201d admits Adler, but the senior living operators she interviewed agree the payback is worth it by reducing time spent on paperwork and connecting operations with sales, marketing, and inventory control.<\/p>\n

As Adler explains, the use of Electronic Health records and point-of-care systems to track medications and services, allows rural facilities to provide \u201cthe same capabilities as operators of big markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeting Demand<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an undisputed fact that the senior living industry faces a sea of change over the next few years as the baby boomer generation heads towards retirement. While many cities and wealthy suburban enclaves have sufficient resources to meet this increased demand, rural communities are lagging far behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe senior population is growing at an unprecedented rate, and rural regions account for a significant portion of this population,\u201d the HAC report concludes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe availability of decent and affordable housing is essential to the health and the well-being of older Americans. The issues, concerns, and trends in this report highlight the importance of providing options and assistance for rural seniors. The impacts of these issues play a considerable role in their quality of life and cannot be overemphasized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or as Jim King, the president of Fahe, a nonprofit housing organization that serves Appalachia, tells the Atlantic<\/em>, \u201cThe stakes are very high in rural places if we don’t figure some stuff out. People and places shouldn’t be disposable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With over 20% of older Americans living outside major cities, rural senior living providers face unique challenges and untapped opportunity In small towns across the country, senior citizens face a trio of challenges as they transition into retirement: lower than average incomes, few housing options, and a shortage of services. As aging baby boomers put […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":15573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2952],"tags":[426,1556,1417,842,868],"class_list":["post-15572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-senior-living","tag-housing","tag-rural","tag-senior-care","tag-senior-living","tag-seniors"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With over 20% of older Americans living outside major cities, rural senior living providers face unique challenges and untapped opportunity In small towns\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Small Town Seniors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With over 20% of older Americans living outside major cities, rural senior living providers face unique challenges and untapped opportunity In small towns\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-24T12:00:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-22T23:32:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cutright Elizabeth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cutright Elizabeth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/\",\"name\":\"Small Town Seniors - Yardi Corporate Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-24T12:00:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-22T23:32:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dba832121806bbec3d280d6cdde90b4d\"},\"description\":\"With over 20% of older Americans living outside major cities, rural senior living providers face unique challenges and untapped opportunity In small towns\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Small Town Seniors\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Yardi Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dba832121806bbec3d280d6cdde90b4d\",\"name\":\"Cutright Elizabeth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4016b5eabd512619820fc63946d01cd983acc211f98fbc559a890a5b4b27c559?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4016b5eabd512619820fc63946d01cd983acc211f98fbc559a890a5b4b27c559?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cutright Elizabeth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth Cutright is an award-winning writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism, publishing and online content creation. A film school grad with a law degree from the University of San Diego, outside of work Elizabeth can usually be found in the pool, on a hiking trail, or sampling Santa Barbara\u2019s latest vintage.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth-cutright-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yardi Blog","description":"With over 20% of older Americans living outside major cities, rural senior living providers face unique challenges and untapped opportunity In small towns","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Small Town Seniors","og_description":"With over 20% of older Americans living outside major cities, rural senior living providers face unique challenges and untapped opportunity In small towns","og_url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/","og_site_name":"Yardi Blog","article_published_time":"2016-06-24T12:00:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-22T23:32:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cutright Elizabeth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cutright Elizabeth","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/","name":"Small Town Seniors - Yardi Corporate Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-24T12:00:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:32:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dba832121806bbec3d280d6cdde90b4d"},"description":"With over 20% of older Americans living outside major cities, rural senior living providers face unique challenges and untapped opportunity In small towns","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/small-town-seniors\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Small Town Seniors"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/","name":"Yardi Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/dba832121806bbec3d280d6cdde90b4d","name":"Cutright Elizabeth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4016b5eabd512619820fc63946d01cd983acc211f98fbc559a890a5b4b27c559?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4016b5eabd512619820fc63946d01cd983acc211f98fbc559a890a5b4b27c559?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cutright Elizabeth"},"description":"Elizabeth Cutright is an award-winning writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism, publishing and online content creation. A film school grad with a law degree from the University of San Diego, outside of work Elizabeth can usually be found in the pool, on a hiking trail, or sampling Santa Barbara\u2019s latest vintage.","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth-cutright-2\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/06\/shutterstock_214206070.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15572"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27576,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15572\/revisions\/27576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}