I disagree. I lived in a town with a directional school (UWSP). Sure, there were some local kids but they usually didn’t live in the dorms. Many students from the Chicago or Milwaukee areas. Most attended for a specific program like forestry, water and soil, music, theater. It was an teacher’s college from its beginning and still has a strong education program.
Same is true of other directionals, like U of Northern Colorado is also well known for its education department and music department.
Some directionals have 15000 students, so couldn’t survive with only locals attending.