Chart showing answers to “Do you think your community will be better off in 10 years?” More than twice as many people gave a positive response (119) than were negative (50) about their communities’ future. Almost as many were positive (119) as were neutral (136).

Survey Results: Rural people are optimistic about their towns’ future

ByBecky McCray

This is my favorite finding from our latest Survey of Rural Challenges: rural people are optimistic about the future of their community. In fact, they were twice as likely to say they were optimistic than negative about their community’s future!

Over 300 rural people answered the question, Do you think your community will be better off in 10 years? More than twice as many people gave a positive response than a negative one. A lot of people answered neutral, but almost as many people were positive as those who were neutral.

In my next-favorite question, we asked participants about the best assets of their community. Natural resources, land, outdoor recreation, location, and tourism were among the top assets. Next came committed people, volunteers, an engaged community, workforce and effective local leaders, followed by events, arts, education, and culture. I was excited to see events, arts and culture listed as assets!

These results are incredibly encouraging and demonstrate the resilience and strength of rural communities. Deb will be sharing more insights and an infographic with more findings with you next week.

If you can’t wait, you can see all the results for the Survey of Rural Challenges 2023 here.

Keep shaping the future of your town, 

Becky