Increasingly, demographers and policymakers warn that the future of the nation's small towns lies in their ability to attract enough educated and professionally-trained young people to keep their communities viable. After all, a new birth cannot replace one of its young people-particularly the ones with a college degree-who head off to the big city in search of better jobs and brighter opportunities. Without enough young people to purchase homes, hold jobs, pay taxes, and raise children, communities cannot survive.