I would also not discount the problem of there being nothing to do. There is just blatantly things to do in a metropolitan area. When I asked someone why was our largest employer moving 1000s of positions to Houston the best answer was “No one wants to live here.”
My town isn’t even Rural, it’s 150K but it can’t draw decent concerts. It doesn’t have any sports franchises. No decent museums. We have bars but there’s nothing special about them and as a college town they are all cheap. So either you drive 3 hours to do something or move there.