The success of large urban metros has been well-documented across the country; They have long-since recovered from the Great Recession, while rural areas are still struggling by and large. The idea that our very different urban and rural areas are competing against each other might not be fair, or realistic. The question we need to be asking is how are these areas doing relative to similarly sized geographies across the United States? And more importantly, what can we learn from these comparable areas outside of our state?