Saranac Lake, NY, Apr 25, 2012 — This week, we've begun on on-going series called Vanishing Youth, looking at the aging of North Country counties, and the loss of young people and families who are choosing to move outside the region.

Many communities in this part of New York state are already far older than the state average. Researchers say our counties will grow even grayer in the decades ahead, with broad implications for the economy and the cultural life of the North Country.

This issue can be emotional, and it is often tangled up in local political issues. But the trend is evident across most of rural America. Brian Mann spoke with Ken Johnson, senior Demographer at the Carsey Institute, a rural policy institute in New Hampshire.

Johnson says small towns across the US are grappling with, and trying to survive, some painful trends.