Native American Lands – Page 3 – American Communities Project

Environment

Americans Across Communities Want Focus on Climate Change and the Environment

by Ari Pinkus April 22, 2025

For the 55th annual Earth Day on April 22, EARTHDAY.org outlines an ambitious goal: triple the amount of clean electricity by 2030. Meanwhile, President Trump signed an executive order on April 8 to block climate change policies at the state level. As Reuters reported: “The order directed the U.S. attorney general to identify state laws that address climate change, ESG initiatives, environmental justice and carbon emissions, and to take action to block them.”

Amid the cross purposes, the American Communities Project sought to delve deeper into American attitudes on climate change and the environment by examining a series of questions from the latest MRI-Simmons consumer survey taken from September 2021 to August 2023 and broken down into our 15 community types in fall 2024.

The results show that Americans see the environment and climate change as very important concerns to address. Across communities, residents agree that climate change is a serious threat and overwhelmingly believe the government should pay more attention to environmental issues. By and large they don’t believe people who are worried about the environment are overreacting. And a significant majority in all community types say when it comes to preserving the environment, helping to preserve nature is very important.

On business aspects, there is less convergent thinking. For example, residents are about split on whether any product that pollutes the environment should be banned, while more than a third say a company’s environmental record is important in their purchasing decisions.

Broadly Seen as a Threat

Principally, a significant majority of Americans said they somewhat or completely agree that climate change is a serious threat. Among the community types, the lowest percentages were in the rural Evangelical Hubs and Working Class Country communities at 61% and 63%, respectively. These figures were seen as slightly below average for their rural populations in the South and Appalachia. All other community types were in the mid-60s to mid-70s.

More Government Attention Wanted

Overall, 76% of Americans said they somewhat or completely agree that the government should pay more attention to environmental issues. There was not much deviation among the ACP’s 15 community types, and all 15 fell in the average range for their populations. In Big Cities and Urban Suburbs, the highs were 80% and 79% respectively. In Evangelical Hubs, Working Class Country, and Rural Middle America, community types that are often wary of government intervention, the percentages reached the low 70s.

These new findings track with what Jennifer Marlon of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the Yale School of the Environment told us four years ago after analyzing surveys from the Climate Change in the American Mind project: “Perhaps surprisingly, however, majorities of Americans in every state think citizens and corporations should do more to address global warming. And majorities in all but three states (Wyoming, North Dakota, and West Virginia) think Congress should do more to address global warming as well.”

Environmental Worries Are Not an Overreaction

On the flip side, overreaction to environmental worries is not a shared concern. Just 27% of Americans said they somewhat or completely agree that people who are worried about the environment are overreacting. Agreeing reached the low 30s in Evangelical Hubs and Working Class Country — considered above average for their populations. The African American South and Native American Lands, rural communities struggling with entrenched socioeconomic and demographic divides, were also above average in the 30s.

Majority Agree on Importance of Preserving Nature

At the national level, 64% said helping to preserve nature is very important, and just 11 points separated the 15 community types. Again, Evangelical Hubs and Working Class Country were at the low end with 57% each, while Big Cities were at the high end at 68%. Notably, in both Evangelical Hubs and Working Class Country communities, the percentages with adequate access to locations for physical activity were also at the low end at 48% and 53%, respectively.

Divide on Banning Products that Pollute

Nationally, 54% said they somewhat or completely agree that any product that pollutes the environment should be banned. A split is evident within and between community types, running from 48% in the LDS Enclaves to 58% in the Big Cities.

Just 40% nationally said they somewhat or completely agree that “a company's environmental record is important to me in my purchasing decisions.” This was most voiced by residents in the Big Cities and least in the Evangelical Hubs. Notably, just eight points separated the 15 community types. All places stood above 33%, and none deviated from average range given their populations.

Valuing the Environment

As Americans commemorate Earth Day this week, MRI-Simmons data validate climate change as a serious threat and the environment as a key societal value but show the limits of these concerns on individual purchase-making.

African American South Aging Farmlands Big Cities College Towns Evangelical Hubs Exurbs Hispanic Centers LDS Enclaves Middle Suburbs Military Posts Native American Lands Rural Middle America Urban Suburbs Working Class Country

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Economics

Ownership of Stocks, Mutual Funds, and Retirement Accounts Across Communities

by Dante Chinni and Ari Pinkus April 11, 2025

Another day, another rollercoaster for the stock market when the averages of the major indices go up and down. But while media organizations have focused intently on the fate of the Dow (and the Nasdaq and the S&P), the underlying question has been how many Americans have a vested interest?

The answer: It depends on where you’re looking, but probably less than you might think. Or that’s the answer according to consumer survey data from MRI-Simmons and the American Communities Project.

A little more than a quarter of Americans say they have money in a mutual fund, 24% say they have a 401(k) account, 5% say they have a 403(b), and 14% say they own stock. But the numbers vary dramatically in the ACP’s 15 community types and some of the responses raise new questions of understanding.

For instance, most mutual funds contain stocks as do most 401(k) accounts, so the people who own those things likely own stocks in some form. It’s possible, maybe even likely, that most people do not know the exact holdings of their retirement accounts.

Still, the numbers here offer a guide to understanding who in America may be watching the markets with some hesitation in early 2025.

Mutual Funds

Overall, 27% of Americans say they are invested in a mutual fund. But the figures are as low at 19% in the African American South and Evangelical Hubs and as high as 31% in the Urban Suburbs and Exurbs.

Mutual funds are not exclusively stock vehicles, of course. They are portfolios of investments that can holds stocks as well as bonds and other investments. But most of them usually contain at least some stocks.

And the community type numbers here follow a similar pattern that we see on other forms for investments. People in the Urban Suburbs and Exurbs are those most likely to be invested in a mutual fund. Those communities also have the highest percentage of people bachelor’s degrees and the highest median household incomes.

The Middle Suburbs are the next highest among the types and that likely has something to do with the historical employment in those blue-collar communities mostly based in the Industrial Midwest. The employers in those places were often larger manufacturing companies that gave their workers, many of whom were in unions, good benefits. The ACP sees similar trends around health insurance in these places — they are usually a little above the national average for coverage even though their incomes and educational attainment levels are not especially high.

Stocks

The number for stock ownership, 14%, is likely lower than most people would expect, especially considering the continuous coverage of the stock market gyrations in recent days. Even in the Urban Suburbs, where the stock ownership number is highest in these data, the figure only sits at 17%. And in five of the 15 community types, the percentage for stock ownership is in the single digits.

But the assumption is that these data refer to people being aware of owning a single stock — such as owning shares of, say, Apple. And despite stories about day traders or people who are constantly on their phones putting in buy and sell orders, these data suggest that behavior is limited to a small number of people.

Again, the community types leading the way here are the Urban Suburbs and Exurbs.

Retirement Plans: 401(k) and 403(b)

Retirement accounts, where many Americans invest to safeguard their long-term future, have been hit hard since the cascading tariff announcements. As the ACP zeros in on options available to workers at for-profit businesses, 401(k)s, and tax-exempt organizations, 403(b)s, it’s evident that more affluent communities have generally been more exposed to the market instability.

Drilling down beyond the 24% of Americans who said they have a 401(k), the LDS Enclaves — Mormon-dominated communities in the interior West where there is a heavy presence of technology firms — came in highest among the 15 types at 28%, considered above average. Unsurprisingly, affluent Exurbs and Urban Suburbs rounded out the top three at 27% and 26%, respectively. The two suburban communities’ index scores were on the upper end of average for their populations. Lower-income, rural communities of varying diversity were at the bottom of the pack: Native American Lands at 19%; African American South, Hispanic Centers, and Working Class Country at 21%; and Evangelical Hubs at 20%. Larger for-profit companies that offer such plans are scarce in these parts.

Meanwhile, just 5% nationally said they owned any 403(b) accounts, which are frequently offered to nonprofit and government employees, including those who work in public schools. Slightly higher than the national rate were Urban Suburbs, Exurbs, and LDS Enclaves at 6%. But so were Middle Suburbs in the Rust Belt, where globalization at the turn of the century led to much business stagnation and greater employment in tax-exempt organizations. The percentages with 403(b) accounts in the Middle Suburbs, Urban Suburbs, and Exurbs were all considered above average for their populations, while the percentages in Working Class Country, Native American Lands, African American South, Evangelical Hubs, and Hispanic Centers were all much below average.

The Point

If there is a big takeaway in all these numbers, it may be that the media’s focus on covering the daily rises and falls on Wall Street misses the larger story of what is going in Main Street, at least for now.

As the great tariff fight begins, the market indices may just be proxies for the psychological state of the people who play the markets. After all, right now the Dow and the S&P and Nasdaq are not really reacting to tariffs — they are reacting to the idea of tariffs. They bounce up and down with the hopes and fears of the investor class.

The better time to keep an eye on Wall Street is probably in the months ahead. If the tariff fight lingers without a real conclusion for months, the markets will become more than a space for speculative thinking about what could happen to the U.S. economy, they will be space to see how people are responding to what actually happens.

At that point, the moves in the market won’t just be affecting people who are invested, they will be broader signs about the state of the economy as a whole.

African American South Aging Farmlands Big Cities College Towns Evangelical Hubs Exurbs Graying America Hispanic Centers LDS Enclaves Middle Suburbs Military Posts Native American Lands Rural Middle America Urban Suburbs Working Class Country

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Religion

For Americans, Faith in Private Is Strong, While Religion in Public Deeply Divides

by Ari Pinkus March 10, 2025

As Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists celebrate the ageless rituals of Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Holi, and Vesak this sacred season, new research shows a cleaving between how Americans regard religion in their private lives versus the public sphere. Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study of some 36,000 U.S. adults shows 62% of Americans identify as Christian; 7% identify with other religions, including Jewish (2%), Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu (about 1% each); 29% are unaffiliated with a religion. While religious-secular diversity can be a fraught subject in America, individual faith remains a vital force around the country — and what faith means to individuals can vary greatly.

The American Communities Project’s analysis of MRI-Simmons consumer research collected from households between September 2021 and August 2023, and segmented into our 15 community types last fall, shows that Americans’ personal religious beliefs and daily practices are central to their lives. This is true no matter where they call home.

However, Americans are much less connected to organized religion, as seen in the relatively low numbers of service attendance. At the national level, a little more than a third of residents said they somewhat or completely agree that they attend religious services regularly, and even in the most religious kinds of communities, there was no majority agreement.

What’s more, as the new Trump administration establishes a White House Faith Office and moves forward on “defending religious liberty,” there are real divides on the role religion should play in the broader society. Nationally, Americans are split down the middle on whether religion should be the pillar of our society and whether the government should support prayer in school. Divides within and across the 15 community types are evident on these questions as well. The strongest support for religion’s prominence in public life is found in rural southern, midwestern, and Appalachian communities: the African American South, Evangelical Hubs, and Working Class Country. Their collective population is about 34 million.

Individual Beliefs and Practices

A clear majority of Americans, 58%, said holding to religious faith and belief is very important (as opposed to the two other given options: average importance at 12%, and not important at 29%). This significant majority view spreads across the 15 community types, ranging between 55% and 70% depending on the place. The African American South, Evangelical Hubs concentrated in the South and Midwest, and Working Class Country in Appalachia came in at the highest rates. There was no straight urban-rural divide on this statement. Aging Farmlands and Big Cities were both at 57%. Mormon-dominated LDS Enclaves and affluent Urban Suburbs were both at 55%. All four were considered in the average range.

Similarly, 58% nationally said they somewhat or completely agree that prayer is part of their daily life (though how they define “prayer” is not specified). The pattern here was a near mirror image of the results on religious faith and belief. Pointedly, in the ACP/Ipsos 2024 survey, a majority of African American South residents said their faith gives them hope for the future no matter what is happening around them. It was the only community type to reach above 50% on this statement about hope.

Little Embrace of Organized Religion

When it comes to organized religion, however, the numbers look different. Nationally, 36% reported that they somewhat or completely agree that they attend religious services regularly. Only three community types were considered above average, reaching the low to mid-40s: the African American South, Evangelical Hubs, and Working Class Country. Rural-urban and religious-secular divides were not always evident. For example, 35% of residents in both Big Cities and LDS Enclaves said they somewhat or completely agree that they attend services regularly.

Religion in Society

And the question of the role religion should play in American society really divides the country, according to these MRI-Simmons findings. Overall, 49% said they somewhat or completely agree that religion should be the pillar of our society. Clear majorities agreed in the African American South (62%), Evangelical Hubs (59%), and Working Class Country (59%). Military Posts, known for their conservative leanings, were also considered above average at 54%. The 11 other community types — encompassing a diverse mix of rural, suburban, and urban landscapes and lifestyles — were split down the middle or nearly so.

Similarly, Americans divided down the middle on the statement: “The government should support prayer in school.” Nationally, 50% of Americans said they somewhat or completely agree with the statement. Again, clear majorities in the African American South, Evangelical Hubs, and Working Class Country said they somewhat or completely agree. It was much more divided in other rural and urban-oriented communities: Rural Middle America, Native American Lands, Hispanic Centers, College Towns, Aging Farmlands, Graying America, Exurbs, LDS Enclaves, and Middle Suburbs. Notably, in some cases, more and less religiously diverse communities expressed similar views.

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Culture

How Men and Women Divide on Hope for the Future of the United States

by Dante Chinni March 05, 2025

There are many well-known divides that define America in 2025 — red/blue, urban/rural, college/non-college — but the split along gender lines has become a dominant theme in the nation’s political and cultural discourse. National data show men and women view a range of issues, from health care to the economy, differently. But, as we recently noted, the gender gap doesn’t look the same everywhere.

To better understand how men and women see the United States more broadly, the American Communities Project analyzed male and female responses around hope for the future of the country in all 15 community types from our 2024 survey with Ipsos.

Two clear points jump out of the data.

First, on the whole, women seem to have a less hopeful view than men about the direction of the nation, both short- and long-term. That shows up in most of the community types and very different kinds of places, from the Aging Farmlands to the College Towns.

Second, the gender divides look very different in the community types. In some places, men and women seem to be largely in agreement about the near-term and long-term hopes for the country. In others, there were wide differences, and there are some where men are more dour.

The conclusion in the data seems to be the gender gap can vary greatly depending on where you live and your different cultural, social, and economic experiences. The charts below show the gender differences by community type on people’s hopefulness about the nation’s short-term and long-term future. Negative numbers mean people were less hopeful than hopeful.

Where Women Are Less Hopeful

For the most part, women in the American Communities Project/Ipsos 2024 survey were less hopeful than men about the nation’s short-term future (that was true in 11 of the 15 types) and long-term future (where it was true for 12 of the 15 types).

That finding was true in rural communities, such as Graying America, as well as communities with larger and younger populations, such as the Exurbs.

Some differences between men and women were larger than others (more on that below), but the relative consistency suggests that something bigger is surfacing in the data.

One could point to recent developments in the country on abortion, since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and removed the constitutional right to an abortion. But some community types where women are less hopeful, such as the LDS Enclaves, are not especially driven by a pro-abortion rights stance.

Also, not all the community types where women are less hopeful than men are deeply pessimistic. For instance, in the Aging Farmlands, women are far less hopeful about the “next few years” than men are, but they are still very narrowly positive overall.

In general, the data suggest that women are, at the very least, more cautious than men about expressing hope for the future.

Where Men Are Less Hopeful

However, the point about women is not true everywhere. There are a few communities where men are less hopeful than women about the future of the nation — short-term and long-term — and some clearer trends emerge in the data.

In two community types, the African American South and Working Class Country, men expressed more negative views than women. While the two types are quite different in racial and ethnic composition, they have socioeconomic and cultural traits in common. Both are full of rural and remote communities, have relatively low levels of educational attainment, and are on the lower end of the median-household-income scale.

They are also places where jobs can be hard to find, which may be especially true for men. The small manufacturing jobs that were once a part of life here have dried up.

The numbers for Working Class Country truly stand out. That’s the only community type where men were a net negative on hope about the nation in the short-term and long-term. In both time frames, 53% of the men in Working Class Country said they were “not hopeful” about the future of the United States.

In Rural Middle America and the Military Posts, men said they were not hopeful about the nation in the short-term, but more hopeful in the long-term. As this survey was conducted in 2024, that may have had something to do with politics. Both community types went heavily for Donald Trump in the presidential election, and it could be their “short-term” view of the United States was about then-President Joe Biden.

The Sharpest Divides

In the charts above, a few community types stand out for conveying big differences in how men and women feel about the future of the United States — short-term and long-term.

Consider the College Towns. When it comes to the long-term future of the United States, women were decidedly negative — 55% were not hopeful about it. But 56% of the men said they felt positive about the nation’s long-term future.

The Military Posts, also home to many young people, saw a similar split. Among women in those communities, 56% said they were not hopeful about the nation’s long-term future, while only 43% said they were hopeful. Among men in the Military Posts, the numbers were much closer: 51% said they were hopeful, while 49% said they were not hopeful.

The LDS Enclaves also showed huge differences on gender. Short-term and long-term, 61% of women said they were not hopeful about the future of the United States. Meanwhile, men said they were hopeful about the nation’s short-term and long-term prospects.

What Is the “Why?”

These data raise as many questions as they answer. In the weeks ahead, the American Communities Project will visit different kinds of communities to better understand what’s driving these differences.

As we often note, survey data are good at laying out the size and scope of the challenges people feel in different communities, but they do not go very far in explaining why people hold the attitudes they do.

We’ll be exploring that question when we hit the road.

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Economics

Effects of Federal Government Worker Layoffs Spread Nationwide

by Dante Chinni February 26, 2025

The steady rollout of federal job cuts driven the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) has brought an intense focus to Washington D.C., but, in reality, federal workers are scattered around the country. That means big cuts will have big implications far from the Beltway.

The American Communities Project’s deep dive into federal government employment data shows just how far the reach of federal government jobs extends. That data, from the U.S. Census, shows nearly all U.S. counties have at least some civilian federal government employment and hundreds of counties have large numbers of federal employees — 5% or more of total employment.

Viewed through the ACP’s prism, five of the 15 community types owe 3% or more of their total civilian employment to the federal government. That number is more than it seems. A sudden 1% or 2% loss of jobs can have big effects, especially on small communities.

And that’s not the entire story. The impacts of any layoffs could vary greatly depending on the different unemployment scenarios in the United States. In short, we may not know the full size and scope of the federal layoffs yet, but wide areas of the country are exposed, and not all layoffs are created equal.

Who Is a Federal Worker?

Before we can talk about the impacts of federal government layoffs, we must define the federal civilian workforce, which is not as easy as it sounds.

The Office of Personnel Management quotes a figure of about 2.4 million people. But that excludes the U.S. Postal Service, which adds another 600,000. And none of this includes federal contractors, some of whom work more like direct federal employees. Brookings Institution Fellow Paul Light estimates the true federal workforce number, including contractors and grantees is more than 10 million people — closer to 9 million without the military.

For this analysis, the ACP used data from the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census. Their latest figure, from 2023, shows about 4.2 million people self-identify as federal workers. Mapping that workforce by county shows the reach of federal employment across the country.

Look at that map and some things jump out. Note the darker blues around the Washington, D.C. area, including Maryland and Virginia. But look out west and you’ll see some of those same colors and, more broadly speaking, you see lighter shades of blue all over the map.

Across the ACP Types

When you sort those workers into the ACP 15 community types, you see more evidence of a broad-based civilian federal workforce. In 14 of the 15 types, 2% or more of the employed workers work for the federal government — all but in Rural Middle America. In five community types, the workforce is 3% or more.

It’s worth noting that the Big Cities, the most heavily Democratic-voting community type, are in the bottom half of the ACP types when it comes to federal government employees. Meanwhile, several communities with higher federal employment tend to vote Republican — Military Posts, Native American Lands, and LDS Enclaves.

One reason for federal workers in these communities is that those places tend to have many government offices. (Not all jobs in and around military bases go to the soldiers, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs is active around reservations.) The three community types also tend to be rural, which usually means a heavier reliance on government jobs, at the federal, state, and local levels.

Those percentages may seem small, but remember, most of the 15 community types in the ACP hold millions of people.

So that 8.2% in the Military Posts equals more than 360,000 people. That 3% in the Urban Suburbs equals 1.1 million people. Even Rural Middle America, with the lowest percentage of federal workers, has more than 200,000 people employed by the federal government, according to the Census data.

Of course, all job losses don’t hit the same in the American Communities Project types, because unemployment rates vary.

December Unemployment

Comparing the federal worker numbers to the latest county-level unemployment, from December 2024, shows some differences.

Using those data, the national figure for unemployment sat at roughly 3.8% in December, but the figures are higher in about half of the community types and notably higher in the Hispanic Centers and Native American Lands. Hispanic and Native American communities may be less equipped to handle a raft of government firings.

While the December unemployment rate is not historically high, the data suggest that sudden drops in government employment could have a real impact in particular communities.

For instance, the total number of unemployed people in Military Posts in December, about 161,000, is not even half of the total number of civilian federal workers in those places. So deep government workforce cuts in those communities could easily double their unemployment rates. You can imagine similar challenges in other community types.

For example, the Exurbs have about 377,000 civilian federal employees, according to the Census data. In December, those same counties had 585,000 unemployed. If one-third of those Exurban federal employees were let go, the unemployment rate in the Exurbs could go from 3.4% to 4.1% in just a few months. There might be very different realities — higher or lower rates — in specific Exurban communities, but that’s a big jump in a short time for this community type overall.

The point being, again, that sudden mass firings could create real hardship — not just in Washington, D.C., but across the country.

Much of this is theoretical, of course. DOGE seems to be quickly cutting government positions daily, but there is no way of knowing just how deep the ad-hoc government entity will ultimately slash employment. One thing that’s clear in the data: A wide swath of the nation is exposed in the cuts — in all kinds of communities.

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Technology

Probing Americans’ Complicated Relationship with Technology and Privacy

by Ari Pinkus February 21, 2025

In the first few weeks of President Trump’s new term, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has moved to access data from the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Social Security Administration, potentially unlocking the personal information of millions of Americans. The overall concern, including lawsuits filed by state governments and labor unions, was captured in the recent New York Times article “Struggle Over Americans’ Personal Data Plays Out Across the Government.”

Amid the alarm and legal battles, the American Communities Project sought to better understand Americans’ feelings and behaviors on technology and privacy generally and government and business specifically, based on questions about technology attitudes in the latest MRI-Simmons consumer survey of American households taken between September 2021 and August 2023, and then segmented into the ACP’s 15 community types in fall 2024.

The analysis reveals that Americans across the 15 community types have a deeply dependent if sometimes uncomfortable relationship with technology and the Internet. Also, by and large, Americans do not express trust in the federal government to protect their privacy. But across the board, they do not feel they can take action if their personal information appears online. To be in such sync on important issues seems rare and worth watching now. It’s hard to know if and how these numbers will move post DOGE. In many ways, the numbers should be viewed as a pre-DOGE baseline.

Tech Ubiquity

Nationally, 84% of Americans said they somewhat or completely agree that “when I need information, the first place I look is the Internet.” Just five points separated the types for this behavior, all in the average index range, according to MRI-Simmons. Low-income Native American Lands were slightly less at 81%, while the affluent Urban Suburbs and Exurbs reached 86%.

Meanwhile, 60% said they somewhat or completely agree that “I often wish I could take a break from technology.” Again, there was little variation among the types on this statement. The lower-income, less connected African American South came in at 57% while the middle-income, more wired LDS Enclaves in the Mountain West stood at 63%. The two rural communities are known for their strong religious affiliations and practices. The push-pull between routine behavior and strong attitudes is evident in Americans’ responses to these two statements.

Beliefs About the Federal Government and Business

On the key statement: “I trust the federal government to make the best decisions about how to protect my privacy,” just 27% of Americans somewhat or completely agreed. Percentages for trust were considered below the average index score in the largely homogeneous LDS Enclaves and Rural Middle America and above average in the more diverse African American South and Big Cities. Notably, this survey was taken a few years ago before the current controversy.

When it comes to their dealings with businesses, Americans seem more willing to trust. Overall, 59% said they somewhat or completed agree that “I'm OK with companies sharing my product preferences as long as my identity is kept private.” This varied just three points among the 15 types.

However, when personal information enters the online arena, there is a widespread sense of resignation among Americans. Nationally, 71% said they somewhat or completely agree with the statement: “Once a piece of personal information becomes available online, there is nothing I can do about it.” Just four points separated the 15 types, showing within the average range.

What's Next?

Now that Americans’ dependence on technology is colliding with the distrust of the federal government’s concern for protecting their privacy, how will individuals reckon with the belief that “there is nothing I can do about it”?

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Media

How Americans Consume News and Bright Spots in the Local Landscape

by Ari Pinkus February 11, 2025

As the local news landscape continues to shrink, a large swath of Americans say they absorb community news through the ether and their daily chatter, from going about their day to scrolling on social media to connecting with family and friends. At the same time, a large part of the population says they avoid the news, according to the latest American Communities Project/Ipsos survey of some 5,000 Americans, conducted last summer.

As if to underscore these points, our survey found that 40% of Americans spent zero hours or almost no hours reading online news sites in a day, on average. Another 39% said they spent one hour a day on online news sites. Overall, 21% read such sites for more than one hour in an average day.

How Americans Are Absorbing News

Close to half of Americans believe they stay up to date with local news without seeking it out. Overall, 44% agreed with the statement: “I can be well-informed about local news and events even when I don’t actively follow the news.” The variation among types was limited, in the low to high 40s. A bit higher than average were LDS Enclaves at 51% and Rural Middle America at 50%. Social and religious ties are particularly strong in the Mountain West’s Mormon-dominated communities, while Rural Middle America is dotted with small-town main streets. Meanwhile, Native American Lands and Aging Farmlands were markedly higher at 73% and 75%, respectively. Both community types, while sparse, are known for close-knit connections among residents. However, it should be noted that the sampling in these two community types has to be conducted by phone because the population is too sparse for online panels of respondents.

Social media, too, now plays a major role in the news ecosystem. Indeed, 44% of Americans said: “I learn more about what’s happening in my community on social media than through the news.” Aging Farmlands stood at 59% on this statement. A few rural communities — Native American Lands, Evangelical Hubs, and Hispanic Centers — were above average in the low 50s. As we found in our rural travels, residents may lack broadband internet access, but cellphones are ubiquitous and social media platforms are inescapable there. Social media has become like a public utility or town square in many rural communities. At the other end of the spectrum were Big Cities and Exurbs at 38% and Graying America at 36%.

Relying on close connections for news is not as prevalent as logging in to social media. Just over a third of Americans, 35%, said: “I rely on friends and family to tell me when important things happen in the community.” The variation followed similar patterns. Majorities in the Aging Farmlands and Native American Lands agreed with the statement. Evangelical Hubs and Rural Middle America, too, were notably above average, at 43% and 44% respectively. All others were in the mid- to high 30s.

Why Americans Are Avoiding News

More than two in five Americans, 42%, said: “I avoid the news because it is depressing.” Practicing avoidance for this reason was remarkably consistent, ranging 10 percentage points or fewer, from a high of 49% in the Aging Farmlands to a low of 39% in the more diverse Military Posts.

About one in five Americans, 19%, said: “I avoid the news because it does not really impact my life.” This, too, ranged 10 points or fewer, from 25% in the Aging Farmlands to 15% in the African American South and Working Class Country, concentrated in the Appalachian region.

Different Realities and Bright Spots

The American Communities Project has long detailed Americans’ different realities depending on where they live, and this is true when viewing the news landscape. The decline of local news outlets has been associated with increased polarization, distrust in media, and misinformation, according to Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and other academic research, points we documented in our 2023 and 2024 survey results. In particular, news deserts, i.e., counties without professional local news outlets, tend to be in rural ACP types with lower incomes and lower educational levels, as we also previously noted.

More recently, Northwestern’s State of Local News 2024 continued to document the shrinking local news landscape, this time with a somewhat hopeful note: “Since 2005, the nation has lost more than a third of all local newspapers and more than two are still vanishing every week. For the first time since we began keeping statistics, our 2024 report chronicled a net increase in both standalone and network digital news sites. These gains, however, have not been unable to compensate for the significant losses of disappearing newspapers,” according to the report's release.

The 2024 report singled out and detailed these bright spots, places where local news outlets have started in the past five years. As seen below, the 258 outlets dot the country's vast landscape.

An ACP analysis showed that these startup outlets are concentrated in urban-oriented places with higher incomes and educational levels, including Big Cities, Urban Suburbs, College Towns, and Exurbs. Middle Suburbs, also containing larger populations and located near urban centers, were notably lower. Among rural places, Graying America, full of retired, senior Americans, stood out at 8%. The ACP recently described the demographic and cultural changes happening in Graying America communities, which may account for this higher percentage of bright spots.

With the fragmentation of media, Americans' information habits, the reimagining of journalism amid news deserts, and the heightened interest in supporting democracy, the opportunity exists to seed and nurture more bright spots in the news landscape.

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Economics

Where Home Insurance Is Not Getting Renewed and Why Americans Want to Move

by Ari Pinkus January 22, 2025

The intense wildfires in Los Angeles have returned American attention to the environmental and economic ravages of climate change. Just months before the fires swept through, many LA homeowners learned they were dropped from their insurance coverage, as their homes were judged too great a risk to insure.

While California counties have some of the highest nonrenewal rates, this hardship is not unique to residents there. Residents living along the Carolina and Louisiana coasts, in southern Florida, and in Oklahoma were especially affected in 2023, according to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee’s December findings of home insurance nonrenewal rates, mapped in a recent Washington Post story, “California isn’t the only place where insurers are dropping homeowners.” Most counties in America were under or just above 1%.

When the American Communities Project did an analysis of the Senate Budget Committee’s table of counties, breaking down nonrenewal rates into the 15 community types, we found that older communities as well as lower-income, communities of color were most affected.

Graying America, rural communities often in recreational areas near bodies of water, was at the top with a nonrenewal rate of 1.76%. Graying America’s 396 counties have a medium household income of about $57,000.
Hispanic Centers, 178 agricultural communities concentrated in the South and West, stood next highest at 1.63%. Here the median household income is on the lower end at $51,600.
In Native American Lands, composed of 45 very rural communities in the Central and Great Plains, interior West, Southwest, and Robeson County in North Carolina, the nonrenewal rate was 1.54%. The median household income for the Native American Lands is $47,300 collectively.
In the African American South, 272 counties in the South where the median Black population is 43% and the median household income is $42,200, the nonrenewal rate was 1.33%.

(Note that 30 counties, including 12 in Alaska, 10 in Texas, four in Nebraska, two in South Dakota, and two in Virginia, were not included in the ACP’s analysis because the Senate’s findings grouped small counties together and community types could not be separated.)

Some Counties of Note

The trends at the community-type level are noteworthy. The difference of a percentage point in these types can mean tens of thousands of homes. But that high-level analysis masks deeper challenges in some specific counties.

In northern California, Lake County, part of Graying America, the nonrenewal rate was 7.6%. Big City Los Angeles County’s rate was 1.4%.
In south Florida, Glades County, part of Graying America, had a sky-high rate of 16.2%. Hendry County, a Hispanic Center, had a rate of 6.9%.
In North Carolina, Dare County, a Graying America county, the nonrenewal rate was 12.9%. In Chowan County, in the African American South, the rate was 9.3%. Robeson County’s nonrenewal rate was 5.1%.

Desiring to Move

Where people live and how they live are big parts of the American Communities Project's work. And as the ACP studies the country’s fragmentation culturally, politically, and economically, our 2024 survey asked: “Would you like to move to a new community, city, or town (inside or outside of your current state)?”

Overall, 39% said yes, and 61% said no. The desire to move was highest in the African American South at 45% (where the nonrenewal rate was higher), Working Class Country at 42%, Big Cities at 41%, Hispanic Centers at 40% (also with a higher nonrenewal rate), College Towns at 40%, and Military Posts at 40%.

The survey also asked residents why. Nationally, better climate/new scenery was the No. 1 reason given by those who said yes. Wanting to move for a better climate was particularly high in the Middle Suburbs, Working Class Country, and Exurbs, middle-income, working-class, and affluent communities in the Rust Belt, Appalachia, and counties on the outer reaches of Big Cities.

Better cost of living was cited as the No. 2 reason for the desire to move. This was particularly true in a mix of urban and rural communities of varying income levels: the 48 stratified Big Cities, Rural Middle America's 628 counties in the country's upper tier, the 39 LDS Enclaves in the Mountain West, and the 112 affluent Urban Suburbs close to cities.

Nationally, other reasons people cited for wanting to move included: being closer to family and friends (13%), politics and values of the area align with yours (8%), economic opportunities (8%), and believing more like-minded people are in the new community (6%).

Comparison to ACP’s 2023 Findings

In 2023, the American Communities Project’s survey asked Americans the moving question slightly differently: “If your finances and circumstances allowed, would you want to move to a different neighborhood or a different community?”

At that time, 41% said yes, while 58% said no. The percentages who wanted to move were highest in communities with more diverse populations: 51% in Big Cities, 50% in the African American South, 49% in Hispanic Centers, and 48% in Urban Suburbs.

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Politics

Anatomy of the Women’s Vote in the 2024 Presidential Election

by Dante Chinni January 13, 2025

The gender gap in American politics has become a chasm in recent years and 2024 was no exception.

In November, AP VoteCast, a survey of voters conducted on and around Election Day, found Republican President-elect Donald Trump won male voters by 12 percentage points, while Democratic nominee Kamala Harris won female voters by six percentage points. That adds up to an 18-point gender gap.

But the idea that “women are Democrats” does not completely hold up when viewed through the 15 American Communities Project’s county types. For instance, while Harris won the women’s vote by more than 20 percentage points in some community types, Trump won women by more than 30 points in others.

Furthermore, the differences in the women’s vote are not so easily explained with the usual urban/rural, married/non-married, college degree/no degree splits. Rather, there appears to be other cultural factors at play in the way women look at politics today.

The Vote by Community Type

One thing that jumps out from the data is Harris only won the women’s vote in the four ACP types that she carried overall: the African American South, Big Cities, College Towns, and Urban Suburbs. In every other community type, Trump carried the women’s vote — and by more than 60 percentage points in the Aging Farmlands and Evangelical Hubs.

The fact that there are differences in the community types is not a big surprise. The communities in the ACP look and feel very different and experience the world, and politics, very differently. For instance, Democrats tend to do very well with African American women and less well with white, non-Hispanic women. But the size of Trump’s win among women in some places stands in stark contrast to the dominant political narrative.

What’s even more revealing: Some community types had a very small gender gap.

For instance, in the Aging Farmlands and Evangelical Hubs, the difference between the Trump vote among men and women was a scant four percentage points and six percentage points, respectively. In those communities, a larger social conservatism may override any gender difference.

In others — such as the Exurbs and Hispanic Centers — the gender gap was higher, but still below the national average of 18 percentage points.

The larger point is that there were clearly issues that had a big impact on women in 2024, such as abortion, but these did not motivate women the same way everywhere, or rather, other issues may have motivated them more.

Parsing Patterns

Looking at the presidential vote among women shows some broad patterns. Women in urban-oriented places tended to go more heavily for Harris and women in rural areas more heavily for Trump, following the “suburban women have become Democrats” narrative.

But there were exceptions. Consider the Military Posts, those traditionally conservative communities that often sit in fairly rural locales. Harris got 47% of the vote there, more than she received in the Exurbs and Middle Suburbs, and far more than she captured in, say, Rural Middle America.

And while analysts point to a college degree as a crucial factor in the leftward lean among voters, and particularly women voters, the data are complicated.

It is true that female voters in the Urban Suburbs were the most likely to have a four-year college degree in 2024 (52% according to AP VoteCast), and Harris won them by 24 percentage points, the highest of any community type. But the Exurbs weren’t that different in terms of educational attainment (45% of the women voters have degrees), and Trump won those communities by nine points.

Meanwhile, Trump won women in the Middle Suburbs by only seven percentage points, even though the women in those communities were far less likely to have a college degree (36% did in 2024).

Some of these differences may be due to the different circumstances in each kind of place.

For instance, women in the Exurbs tend to be from higher-income households, which may mean they are more secure in their ability to deal with any hardship caused by an abortion ban. Exurban women may also be more socially conservative than their Middle Suburb counterparts.

Again, it’s not a surprise that the vote from women, who make up more than 50% of the U.S. population, is complicated. But the numbers here serve as a reminder that broad, general characterizations about large segments of the electorate can be misleading. And the political differences at the community level in the United States can be vast and driven by a wide range of factors.

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Culture

During Dry January, a Look at Americans’ Alcohol Habits and Attitudes

by Ari Pinkus January 07, 2025

When the U.S. Surgeon General sounded the alarm about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer, it was three days into Dry January, a time when many Americans pause drinking in a step toward healthier living.

This “sober curious” wellness movement has been gaining in popularity beyond Dry January, which originated through the organization Alcohol Change UK in 2013. Sober October started a year later. To cater to a growing demand for alcohol-free drinks, non-alcoholic bars have been popping up around the country, including Binge, the first such bar in Big City Washington, D.C., that opened in February 2023.

The American Communities Project sought to understand alcohol consumption habits in our 15 community types, based on the latest MRI-Simmons consumer research data gathered from households across the country between September 2021 to August 2023, and then broken into the ACP types in fall 2024. Nationally, 62% said they had an alcoholic beverage in the last six months. The figures were lower in a few rural communities, including Native American Lands at 50%, Evangelical Hubs at 51%, Working Class Country at 53%, and the African American South at 54%. In these places, many cultural and religious practices turn residents away from alcohol consumption.

Consumption in the Last Six Months

Of the alcohol consumed in the last six months, distilled liquor was the most cited, by 49% of respondents. The noted rural community types sat much below the average, in the high 30s to low 40s.

By contrast, more than a third, 38%, said they consumed beer/ale in the last six months, while 34% said they drank wine in the same period. Beer/ale drinking was highest in the Exurbs, Urban Suburbs, and Middle Suburbs at 40%, all suburban communities of different socioeconomic circumstances. Interestingly, beer drinking hung around average in the College Towns at 37%. Wine drinking, too, peaked at 40% in the Urban Suburbs, while the nearby Big Cities were close behind at 37%.

Where Purchased in the Last Six Months

Supermarkets have become principal places for Americans to purchase beer and wine, topping liquor stores, convenience stores, drug stores, membership clubs, online, and other places. Nearly a quarter of household respondents, 24%, said they bought beer from the supermarket in the last six months. Despite the variety of landscapes and lifestyles, this varied just 10 points, from 18% in the African American South to 28% in the LDS Enclaves out West.

Almost a fifth of those surveyed, 18%, said they bought wine from the supermarket in the last six months. The variability among types was just five points. In few rural communities — the Native American Lands, Aging Farmlands, and Evangelical Hubs — 14% said they bought wine from the supermarket in the same period, considered below average.

How Much Spent in the Last 30 Days

When it came to money spent in the last 30 days for beer or for wine, $11-$20 was the range most cited for each kind of beverage. But that covered just 6% of respondents for beer and 5% for wine nationally. Percentages did not vary very much by community. For example, 6% in the Exurbs said their wine purchases fell between $11-$20, which was considered above average for this community type. All other communities were 4% or 5%. For beer purchases between $11-$20, seven community types of different geographies and demographics — Rural Middle America, Urban Suburbs, Exurbs, Middle Suburbs, LDS Enclaves, Graying America, and College Towns — all came in at 7%. Only in LDS Enclaves was 7% considered above average because of the community type’s smaller population size.

For liquor purchases in the last 30 days, the most popular dollar ranges were $11-$20 and $51-$100. Each range sat at 5% nationally. At the community type level, rural communities, such as the African American South, Native American Lands, Evangelical Hubs, and Working Class Country, were considered much below average for such spending. In contrast, the Urban Suburbs stood above average for spending $51-$100.

Wine Drinking in the Last Seven Days

Moreover, drinking domestic wines was more of a habit in the affluent suburbs. Nationally, 8% said they drank four or more glasses in the last seven days. Urban Suburbs stood out for being much above average at 10%. Whereas Evangelical Hubs, Aging Farmlands, and Native American Lands were much below average at 5%.

Nationally, 7% said they drank 2-3 glasses in the last seven days. This moderate amount varied between 4% and 8% at the community level, with Urban Suburbs again at the high end and above average. Aging Farmlands, Evangelical Hubs, Rural Middle America, Working Class Country, and Native American Lands were all considered below average.

Nationally, 14% said they drank 0-1 glasses of wine in the last seven days. Urban Suburbs stood above average at 16%. Rural communities were below average, around 10% or 11%.

A Hard Seltzer Preference

When Americans were asked about consuming drinks or glasses of “alcoholic beverages, coolers & seltzers” in the last 30 days, 8% nationally said they drank four or more glasses. This varied by a few percentage points across the 15 community types, with LDS Enclaves peaking at 10%, which was considered above average.

For brands chosen, White Claw Hard Seltzer, with about 5% alcohol per 12 ounces, came in No. 1, at 23%. LDS Enclaves were at the top end at 31%. In these rural West locales, many Mormon nondrinkers coexist with residents of different lifestyles. Also high were two suburban community types, the affluent Exurbs and struggling Middle Suburbs, both at 29%. Again, the African American South and Evangelical Hubs were at the low end, at 12% and 13% respectively.

Truly Hard Seltzer, containing about 5% alcohol per 12 ounces, came in No. 3 nationally at 14%. There was just 10 points of variation among community types on the question of drinks or glasses consumed in the last 30 days. At the upper end were Hispanic Centers at 18% and the Middle Suburbs at 17%. Meanwhile, the African American South and Native American Lands didn’t reach 10%.

Public Opinion Polling

Overall, public attitudes on alcohol are changing. Gallup has found that Americans increasingly see alcohol consumption as unhealthy, according to the organization’s Consumption Habits poll conducted in July 2024. In fact, “45% of Americans say drinking one to two alcoholic beverages a day is bad for one’s health,” the survey found. That was six points higher than in 2023 and 17 points higher than in 2018, according to Gallup.

Vol. 3 2020-2021

Deaths of Despair Across America

The American Communities Project is undertaking a 30-month study of Deaths of Despair in its 15 community types.

Learn More

Broadly Seen as a Threat

More Government Attention Wanted

Environmental Worries Are Not an Overreaction

Majority Agree on Importance of Preserving Nature

Divide on Banning Products that Pollute

Valuing the Environment

How a Native American Land Community Is Dealing with Drought and Poisoned Creeks

ACP Begins Work With NASA, University of Maryland

Deaths of Despair Across America

Mutual Funds

Stocks

Retirement Plans: 401(k) and 403(b)

The Point

How Americans Are Feeling Inflation in 2025

Unemployment Climbs in August With Surprising Communities Leading the Way

Deaths of Despair Across America

Individual Beliefs and Practices

Little Embrace of Organized Religion

Religion in Society

Americans Identify With Religious Diversity, But They Divide Over Religion’s Role

Religious Stereotypes vs. Reality in Urban, Suburban, and Rural America

Deaths of Despair Across America

Where Women Are Less Hopeful

Where Men Are Less Hopeful

The Sharpest Divides

What Is the “Why?”

Surprising Consistency on a Path to Citizenship for Long-Term Immigrants

What Do Americans Know About Trump 2.0? A Lot.

Deaths of Despair Across America

Who Is a Federal Worker?

Across the ACP Types

December Unemployment

How Americans Are Feeling Inflation in 2025

Unemployment Climbs in August With Surprising Communities Leading the Way

Deaths of Despair Across America

Tech Ubiquity

Beliefs About the Federal Government and Business

What's Next?

Across American Communities, Very Different Broadband Realities Abound

Breaking Barriers to Connectivity in a Michigan College Town

Deaths of Despair Across America

How Americans Are Absorbing News

Why Americans Are Avoiding News

Different Realities and Bright Spots

Americans Largely Not Supporting, Trusting, or Reading Traditional News

Where the Local Journalists Are in America

Deaths of Despair Across America

Some Counties of Note

Desiring to Move

Comparison to ACP’s 2023 Findings

How Americans Are Feeling Inflation in 2025

Unemployment Climbs in August With Surprising Communities Leading the Way

Deaths of Despair Across America

The Vote by Community Type

Parsing Patterns

What the NJ and VA Gov. Races Tell Us About The Electorate

Sizing Up the 2025 Gubernatorial Races at the Community Level

Deaths of Despair Across America

Consumption in the Last Six Months

Where Purchased in the Last Six Months

How Much Spent in the Last 30 Days

Wine Drinking in the Last Seven Days

A Hard Seltzer Preference

Public Opinion Polling

Surprising Consistency on a Path to Citizenship for Long-Term Immigrants

What Do Americans Know About Trump 2.0? A Lot.

Deaths of Despair Across America