Increasing economic opportunity and
improving the quality of life for people in rural
America is the goal of USDA’s Rural Development
mission area. USDA believes rural Americans
deserve the same services enjoyed by people
in suburban and urban areas while retaining the
advantages of small town living.
USDA is working to
eliminate substandard
housing in rural America
by helping rural people
buy, build or rent decent
housing. It also creates jobs
by funding the growth and
creation of rural businesses
and cooperatives. In a typical
year, USDA Rural Development programs create
or preserve more than 300,000 rural jobs, enable
40,000 to 50,000 rural Americans to buy homes
and help 450,000 low-income rural people rent
apartments or other housing.
USDA programs help rural communities build
and improve community facilities, such as schools,
health clinics and fire
stations. USDA also
has programs that help rural communities build
or extend utilities, including water, electricity and
telecommunications services.
Program assistance is provided through direct
or guaranteed loans, grants, technical assistance,
research and educational materials. To accomplish
its mission, USDA Rural Development often
works in partnership with state, local and tribal
governments, as well as rural businesses,
cooperatives and nonprofit agencies.
USDA Rural Development has a network
of offices across the nation that administer
these programs. In most areas, programs are
administered through USDA Service Centers.
www.rurdev.usda.gov
Rural Development
United States Department of Agriculture
PA 1779
Published July 2004
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its
programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion,
age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not
all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Bra