I lived in a town like that for most of my highschool career. It wasn't until afterwards and everyone moved away that I found out that several of the people in my social group were gay or otherwise non-straight
I don't think that's any help, but I thought I'd share.
My best friend and I were used to being assumed to be gay, so I can confirm that being 'gay' in a small town in a rural area isn't necessarily the most highly thought of position to be in.
Being in the city, it's easier to find a group of friends who really don't care what yr sexuality is, but small towns are prob going to have more douchefucks who care too much about what other people will think if they have views that arent 'normal'.