COVID-19 Small Business Impacts in the Texas Coastal Bend: A Hyperlocal Approach for Small Towns & Rural Communities

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused mass economic distress across communities. Historically, rural areas have more difficulty recovering from economic crises, though the severity of impacts may go uncaptured as these areas also tend to have lower response rates to broader surveys. This study was conducted in the South Texas Coastal Bend to better understand the economic impacts of COVID-19 on local businesses with a methodology that can be replicated in future observations. Results show that by late Summer 2020, 28 percent of small business owners reported losing over half of their revenue. However, 65 percent of businesses reported no reductions in staff, 9 percent hired new employees, and over three-quarters of businesses surveyed did not anticipate permanent workforce reductions. Top concerns about reopening included socially distancing employees and customers, providing face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE), and ensuring sanitation supplies stay stocked. These results show initial resilience of a rural region but also raise important questions regarding those most impacted by the economic effects of the pandemic; understanding the long-term impacts will prove to be challenging but essential to ensuring the economic stability of small towns and rural communities.