Exurbs are rural communities that, due to proximity, are becoming suburbs of a major urban area. Exurbs tend to be populated by people that work in the city and bring their capital home to spend on local services. Exurbs are commonly viewed as the only rural communities which are benefiting from the rural exodus. These communities tend to be highly competitive.

Exurbs are increasingly faced with problems of over-crowding and pollution along with over-taxation of services such as cooking, dry cleaning, parcel-delivery, repairs, and systems maintenance.

See: Spotsylvania, Virginia; Manassas, Virginia

See also: demographic history of the United States, rural sociology, types of rural communities