Iowa State University professor Dave Peters has been studying the effect of inflation on people in rural communities as part of the school's Small Town Project. He found that this year alone, expenses for rural Americans had increased by 9.2%, but their earnings only increased by 2.6%.
And Peters has pinpointed where it's hurting most.
"Mainly, fuel prices, particularly among the farmer and agricultural community," he said. "They really are worried about the price of gas and diesel."
Inflation soared to a 40-year high in June, and is affecting all American households. But Peters said travel was one of the main reasons it was hitting harder in rural areas.
"Rural people have to drive long distances for work, for school, for health care, just to get the daily necessities of life like groceries ... there is no public transportation," he said.
I'm sure they're graciously thanking Biden for the price of gas going down 40 days in a row now. Down 70 cents on average across the country, with a majority of states now having average prices below $4.
