Concerns about the Local Economy in Rural North Dakota

Fr:  Susan Buckles, APR  
      Northwest Area Foundation 
      60 Plato Boulevard East
      St. Paul, MN  55107
      651-225-3865
      sbuckles@nwaf.org 

               For Immediate Release

ST. PAUL, Minn.  September 2008 - People who live in small, rural towns in North Dakota are more likely to be worried about the economy and their pay than those who live in cities of 30,000 or more.  Those findings come from a national poll on perceptions of people who are struggling to make ends meet commissioned by the Northwest Area Foundation.  The national poll of 4,000 people explored attitudes and concerns about their local economies, who is struggling financially and the role of locally elected officials.

Poll results from North Dakota show:

• Thirty-five percent of people in towns of 5,000 or fewer vs. 24 percent of people in cities greater than 30,000 worry all or most of the time their income won’t be enough to pay the bills

• Forty-seven percent of people in towns of 5,000 or fewer vs. 29 percent of people in cities greater than 30,000 rate their local economy as only fair or poor

• Sixty-three percent of people in towns of 5,000 or fewer vs. 53 percent of people in cities greater than 30,000 worry the local economy will get worse in the next year

Seventy percent nationally and 62 percent in North Dakota also said a family of four needs at least $40,000 a year to make ends meet, a figure nearly twice the federal poverty threshold.  For the full report, visit http://programs.nwaf.org/pr/nwaf/info/08%20Poll%20Index.asp

The Northwest Area Foundation is dedicated to supporting efforts by the people, organizations and communities in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable prosperity.  These states were served by the Great Northern Railway, founded by James J. Hill. In 1934, Hill’s son, Louis W. Hill, established the foundation. To learn more, visit www.nwaf.org.
 
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The Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF) commissioned Lake Research Partners (LRP) to conduct a national tracking survey to among 4,000 Americans age 18 and older, from February 8-29, 2008. Eight hundred interviews were conducted nationally, and oversamples of 400 were conducted in each of the following eight states: Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The oversamples were weighted down to reflect their true proportion in the country. The margin of error is +/-3.5 percentage points for national and +/-5.0 points for state results. This is the third survey of its kind, replicating studies NWAF and LRP released in March 2006  and April 2007.