Personally have I live in a fairly rural areas in California and Nevada for most of my adult life, and I have never had trouble finding at least a few good local spots, though usually not right on the interstates, that tends to be dominated by the chains. In fact one of my favorite taquerias is this hole in the wall in a town of about 500. I wonder if part of the difference is that we have significant populations of assorted migrants in rural areas out west.