USDA has unveiled a new tool to display investments in rural parts of the country by its Rural Development programs.
In the past 11 fiscal years, USDA’s RD mission area has financed $341.3 billion through more than 1.7 million different investments, according to a new Rural Data Gateway dashboard unveiled by the agency.
USDA Rural Development Undersecretary Xochitl Torres Small said the dashboard will “help rural people see where investments are being made to expand or improve access to health care, high-speed internet, safe drinking water in their communities, and much more.”
Single-family and multifamily housing programs received the lion’s share of the RD funds, consisting of a combined 67.8% of the total funds over the last 11 years. Electric assistance made up 13.8%.
The agency said in a release the data will help users analyze trends across different states, counties and congressional districts.
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North Carolina received the highest amount of funds of any state, with just over $18.4 billion. Virginia got more than $16 billion, and Georgia and Texas received more than $14 billion.
USDA says the dashboards highlight critical RD investments for people in rural America, including projects that have helped people in socially vulnerable communities access the resources they need. A total of $57.7 billion was invested in socially vulnerable communities in all states. Four California counties — Kern, Imperial, Tulare and Fresno — were in the top 10 nationwide for socially vulnerable community investments. Other states with socially vulnerable counties receiving the most investment include Wisconsin, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arizona, South Carolina and Delaware.
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