by Terry L. Besser
Assistant professor and extension sociologist
Iowa State University Extension to Communities
1. People can be trusted.
2. The majority have never lived anywhere else.
3. Most people know everybody in town by name.
4. Workers have to drive long distances to go to work each day.
5. Everyone is related to everyone else.
6. More than half of the employed residents work at jobs located in another town.
7. Almost one third of the adults are retired.
8. People still take time to visit and get to know their neighbors.
9. Few residents shop in their local community.
10. Residents have lived in their community 45 years on the average.
In the stereotypical small town, all of the above statement would be true. Sometimes common impressions are wrong, however. In this case, we are able to test the truth of common knowledge with scientific facts. In 1994 ISU researchers conducted a study of life in Iowa small towns. We surveyed a random sample of 150 residents in each of 99 small Iowa towns (from 500 to 10,000 in population). In order to make the findings more useful, the research team created a hypothetical town called Sigma, which is the average of all the towns in the sample. The answers that follow are derived from the findings about Sigma, the average small Iowa town. Keep in mind, however, that specific towns may vary a great deal from the Sigma average.
1. The answer to the first question is True. People in the typical small town report that they can be trusted. Almost everyone in Sigma (96 percent) said they were trusted by the other people in town who knew them. Of the remainder, most said they didn't know. Less than 1 percent of the residents of the typical small town report that they cannot be trusted. Indeed, it is a rare person anywhere who is willing to admit that she or he cannot be trusted. When describing their town in general almost half say that the people in town are very trusting. Seven out of 10 report that their town is more trusting than not trusting.
2. False. Eight out of 10 (83 percent) Sigmans have lived somewhere else. Seventeen percent have lived at one time in a city of 50,000 to 249,000 in population and 1 out of 8 have lived in a big city of more than 250,000 population.
3. False. Fewer than 1 in 100 residents of Sigma know everyone in their town by name. However, slightly more than half say they know half or more of the town's folk by name.
4. It depends. The average commute for workers in the typical small town in Iowa is 11 miles one way. If you think 11 miles is a long distance, then the answer is True.
5. False. One-third of the residents of the average small town are related to no one in town, including relatives by birth or by marriage.
6 False. A little more than half of the employed people (53 percent) work in their community of residence.
7. True
8. True. Two out of three residents of the average small town say they take time to visit regularly with neighbors.
9. It depends. Half say they shop for their daily needs in their local town, but only one in ten shops for big ticket items there.
10. False. The average length of residence is 31.5 years. Approximately 1 in 10 have lived in their town less than 5 years, 1 in 4 from 5 to 20 years and 2 out of 3 more than 20 years.
Many of the stereotypes about small towns are not true, at least according to findings for the average Iowa small town. Most citizens have lived in other towns. Everyone is not related to everyone else. Everybody doesn't know everybody else by name, and the majority of residents do work in their home town. Nevertheless, some myths are supported. People report a high level of trust within the community. They take time to visit with one another, even though those who work must commute 11 miles (one way) on the average to work each day. A sizable minority of citizens are retired, and most have lived in the town for more than 20 years.
If you would like more information about the study reported here, contact your local county extension education director and ask for details concerning the Rural Development Initiative Community Study.
Contacts:
Terry L. Besser, ISU
Extension Sociology, (515) 294-6508
Del Marks, ISU Extension
Communication Systems, (515) 294-9807
