There are still plenty of "rural/small town USA" places available. You just have to look a bit to find the successful ones. And although the young may be abandoning "some" rural places, a great many of them are being rejuvenated by retirees who are moving BACK to the country after a career stint in "the big city".
What you say is true. And, i have read articles supporting your contention, towns paying incentves for young professionals sych as doctors, dentists, technical types with needed skill sets, etc,to relocate to their area.But, when looking at the national trend and not the exceptions the data shows that mid America is coring out. I believe that 2010 census data supports that. I live in the dallas metroplex and have a deer lease near Quanah. The population loss hit me when I was driving around out in this area scouting for a lease and talking to locals. They call this area “The Big Empty”. This is an area that starts just west of Fort Worth, and goes up into the Panhandle and west to Lubbock, an area bigger tan many states. It’s really sad, houses and store fronts boarded up, forget about doctors and dentists, some of these little towns no longer even have a grocery store or a cafe. It goes on and on. I travel up through the Midwest some and see the same thing occurring there.