Yes, it will be a drain on the US economy that the rural areas will require very high $/person to provide government services. However, the US still has a high

Yes, it will be a drain on the US economy that the rural areas will require very high $/person to provide government services. However, the US still has a higher GDP per land area than countries such as Norway, Sweden, Canada and Australia. Furthermore, you would think that economies of scale should be quite beneficial for countries as large as the United States.