Native American Lands – Page 4 – American Communities Project

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.

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.

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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

Culture

Do Americans Across Communities Prefer Amazon Prime to Local Business Shopping?

by Dante Chinni December 23, 2024

Americans are expected to spend about $1,000 each on holiday gifts this season, according to Gallup, and where they spend that money will have a big impact on communities across the country.

As online shopping increases, small businesses have made a point of asking consumers to “shop local,” emphasizing that local businesses are owned by consumers’ friends and neighbors, and dollars spent there are more likely to have a positive impact on the community.

However, consumer research from MRI-Simmons suggests that messaging is having a limited impact on consumers. That data, broken into the American Communities Project’s 15 county types, shows enthusiasm for shopping locally is tepid at best. Instead, the big winner seems to be Amazon, the massive, national online shopping platform, according to the MRI-Simmons data.

The 15 community types in the American Communities Project are different in a variety of ways when it comes to consumer experiences. The distance to the nearest store, local shopping options, and general product availability are radically different in the dense Big Cities and upscale Urban Suburbs than they are in the sparsely populated Aging Farmlands or small-town Rural Middle America communities.

Yet there seems to be much agreement in the data on local shopping and Amazon.com’s Prime membership.

Local Versus Prime

The first thing that jumps out of the MRI-Simmons data is how uniform it is. Again, considering the differences in the ACP types, one might expect more variation. After all, local business owners are always more likely to be “your friends and neighbors” than the owners of national chains. That is especially true in small towns where fewer degrees of separation exist between locals.

But the survey statement “I prefer shopping at local, independent stores to shopping at national store chains,” shows little difference in the community types.

No community type is below 49% on that statement and no community type is above 53%. That’s a level of agreement the ACP seldom sees, especially on something that can be so tied to a person’s geography.

Some of those numbers might be explained by availability — the stores and products one can find in, say, the Aging Farmlands might dissuade people from shopping locally. But, again, the statement says “prefer.” When considering the close connections in small communities, the relatively low number is still a surprise. It also may be that the numbers in communities like the Big Cities are higher than expected because residents value shopping locally to feel more connected to community in a big urban environment.

Regardless, the largely even numbers across the board are somewhat unexpected.

The figures for Prime memberships show a little more variation, but not as much as one might think considering that Prime is not free. A membership costs $139 a year.

Overall, the Prime numbers do track communities' socioeconomic and cultural differences. For instance, the Urban Suburbs and Exurbs, which have the highest Prime membership numbers, also have the highest median household incomes of all the 15 types. So, Prime’s cost is likely less of an issue for people who live there. And while the membership fee may matter more to people who live in the Native American Lands, Aging Farmlands, and Evangelical Hubs, where incomes are lower, there are also generally fewer shopping options in those places.

Still, the takeaway from the data is that Amazon has a firm grip on the current US consumer experience. There was a time when paying for special conveniences in shopping might have been seen as something reserved for the upper-middle-class and above. These data suggest that is no longer true — or that Amazon has found the right price point for it.

Furthermore, despite a lot of talk of helping small businesses and frustration about empty storefronts, the appetite for shopping locally seems to be limited, even across the varied lived experiences of the ACP.

How Much Do Shared Values Matter?

In a broader sense, those numbers stand in opposition to other findings the ACP has seen in its survey work. For example, the ACP/Ipsos 2023 survey found that residents in every community tended to place more trust in local institutions than national ones. And business was a prime example in every community type.
Far more people said “small or local business” was more likely to share their values than “big business.” (The Aging Farmlands and Native Americans Lands were not included on the small business question due to the time constraints on polling in those places, but other rural communities followed the same pattern.)

How can all these somewhat contradictory numbers be true? Well, first and most important, these results come from different surveys, so different samples and/or methods could have an impact here.

It’s also possible that people in all the ACP community types do feel that local businesses are more likely to share their values, but other issues, such as cost, production selection, and/or convenience, take precedence when making purchasing decisions.

That seems to be a lesson in a lot of big stories this year, including the presidential race, where many voters cast ballots for President-elect Donald Trump, even while expressing reservations about doing so. The reason most people cited for their choice? The economy, particularly inflation.

In other words, values clearly matter to people, but sometimes other concerns may take precedence in the United States in 2024.

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

Health

Americans Across Communities Want Government More Involved in Health Care

by Dante Chinni and Ari Pinkus December 17, 2024

Washington is about to be hit by a Republican wave. The new GOP leaders arriving in January are promising big changes to many different areas, including health care.

But data from the Associated Press VoteCast election poll, a massive survey of tens of thousands of Americans, show that when it comes to health policy, voters seem to favor approaches that do not follow traditional Republican ideas. In short, voter responses suggest interest in more government involvement in health care, not less, and that is true across all of the 15 community types in the American Communities Project — even those that voted for President-elect Donald Trump.

On four important questions — ensuring Americans have health coverage, lowering the costs of prescription drugs, forgiving medical debt, and ensuring children are vaccinated for childhood diseases — voters in nearly all the ACP’s types said they wanted the government to be “more involved.”

As we have noted on the ACP site since November, even though the presidential race was close nationally, Donald Trump carried the vote in 11 of the 15 ACP community types and did so by double-digits in each.

But the VoteCast numbers around health are raise questions about what exactly Americans are looking for from their new Washington leadership and, in some sense, questions about what the left/right policy breakdown looks like in United States as it heads into 2025.

Ensuring Coverage

Ever since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), Republicans have talked about repealing it or repealing and replacing it. If the new GOP majority wants to pursue that strategy, they might want to come back with something that provides at least as much coverage for Americans — and probably more — according to the VoteCast data.

In 14 of the 15 ACP community types (all but the Native American Lands, where uninsured rates are high at 17%), more voters chose the answer “more involved” on the question of how involved the government should be in “ensuring that Americans have health care coverage.” That includes 10 of the community types that voted for Trump.

The numbers were highest in community types that tend to lean Democratic — the African American South, Big Cities, Urban Suburbs, and College Towns. But more than 50% chose “more involved” in Trump-voting communities such as the Exurbs, Middle Suburbs, and Military Posts.

And in every type, “more involved” and “about the same” together received more responses than “less involved,” suggesting there isn’t a lot of appetite for lessening the government’s role in ensuring coverage.

Prescription Drugs

Similarly, a clear majority of residents in all 15 community types said they want the government to be more involved in lowering the cost of prescription drugs, according to the survey. More than 70% of residents in 14 community types — every type but the Aging Farmlands — agreed with this view.

Such coalescing is notable given the range of mindsets, backgrounds, generations, lifestyles, and terrains that exist within America’s immense geographic landscape. The African American South, where diabetes and other chronic diseases are prevalent, hit 80%. Aging Farmlands, sparsely populated, mostly white, older communities in the Central and Great Plains, where an individualistic spirit runs deep, were at the low end at 60%.

Price increases for prescription drugs are routine in the U.S. There were 4,264 drug products that increased in price from January 2022 to January 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “For those drugs with a price increase, the average increase over the January 2022 to January 2023 period was 15.2%,” according to HHS.

The federal government has started providing more support for certain groups. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Medicare drug plans for those 65 and over are not permitted to charge more than $35 for a one-month supply of Part D-covered insulin. What’s more, 10 prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D have been selected for price negotiation, scheduled to take effect January 1, 2026. Several kinds of communities across the ACP are senior-rich, including Graying America, Aging Farmlands, the African American South, Working Class County, Evangelical Hubs, and Rural Middle America.

Medical Debt

Medical debt is seen as a significant issue in American health care as well. At least 50% of residents in all 15 types said they want more government involvement in forgiving medical debt, according to the survey. Aging Farmlands and LDS Enclaves based in the interior West were at the low end, at 50% and 51% respectively. Majorities who want more involvement were found across communities of diverse populations.

Medical debt is a particular pain point in the South, in both attitudes and experiences. Most glaringly, 67% of residents in the African American South said they want more government involvement in this area. In Evangelical Hubs, also concentrated in the South and solidly Republican, 60% felt this way. Southern counties stand out for having larger shares of medical debt in collections, as chronicled by The Urban Institute.

To date, seven southern states — Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas — have not expanded Medicaid “to nearly all adults with incomes up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level” as permitted under the Affordable Care Act, according to the KFF.

Vaccines

Vaccines are another hot-button issue in health care policy that Trump and voters weighed in on recently. In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump said he’d consider eliminating childhood vaccines “if they’re dangerous for the children.”

The VoteCast data on this question are not as easy to unpack. In nearly every type (all but the Native American Lands, again, where government distrust seems to run deep), a plurality says they want the government more involved in “ensuring that children are vaccinated for childhood diseases.” But the left/right divide shows up a bit more on this question. Community types where the “more involved” number is at 50% or more are the types that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in November — plus the Hispanic Centers.

And the lowest “more involved” numbers, come from the more rural ACP types that lean Republican. Along with the Native American Lands, the Aging Farmlands, Graying America, LDS Enclaves, Rural Middle America, and Working Class Country types are all at 45% or fewer choosing “more involved.”

To be clear, the vaccine question is complicated and could be read differently by people and in different communities. For instance, some voters may want the government more involved so that there are fewer vaccines recommended. It’s impossible to know without going out and talking to voters on the ground.

Overall, however, it’s surprising that communities that lean Republican support more government involvement, even if that support is only a plurality of voters. Those wanting the government “less involved” only reaches 30% in two community types, the Aging Farmlands and LDS Enclaves.

The Broader Meaning

The biggest takeaway from these four survey questions may be that, on the issue of health care, Americans want government to have a significant role — even in places the ACP knows are very politically conservative. That’s a departure from conventional wisdom.

Some of the support for more government involvement in these Republican-leaning communities may be tied to changes the GOP has seen under Donald Trump. The president-elect can be difficult to read and erratic, but many of his approaches on policy involve government doing more, not less — everything from tariffs and industrial policy to social issues.

In other words, whatever one’s feelings about Trump and his policies — and the man is clearly divisive — he often tends to call for a more activist government. And that may be impacting how Republicans see government’s role in their lives.

What all this will mean in his second time in office is far from clear. The Trump transition team is also talking about big government cuts. But that broader idea of Republicans supporting government as a tool could have long-term impacts as the nation continues on what appears to be a broader political realignment.

And in a deeply divided country, the idea that people in nearly all the ACP types support an active role for government in their lives — at least around health care — suggests there could be some surprising areas of agreement.

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

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?”

The Quiet Divide: Unpacking ‘Polite Polarization’ in America’s LDS Enclaves

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

Deaths of Despair Across America

Who Is a Federal Worker?

Across the ACP Types

December Unemployment

Unemployment Woes Spreading Across Urban and Rural America. What It Could Mean for 2026 Elections

In a Michigan College Town, Housing Worries Boil Over

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

As Journalists Are in the Crosshairs, What Do People Know About Who They Are and What They Do?

Americans Largely Not Supporting, Trusting, or Reading Traditional News

Deaths of Despair Across America

Some Counties of Note

Desiring to Move

Comparison to ACP’s 2023 Findings

Unemployment Woes Spreading Across Urban and Rural America. What It Could Mean for 2026 Elections

In a Michigan College Town, Housing Worries Boil Over

Deaths of Despair Across America

The Vote by Community Type

Parsing Patterns

What the Texas Primary Results Tell Us

Despite National Focus on America’s Divisions, One Thing Unites Communities: Populism

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

The Quiet Divide: Unpacking ‘Polite Polarization’ in America’s LDS Enclaves

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

Deaths of Despair Across America

Local Versus Prime

How Much Do Shared Values Matter?

The Quiet Divide: Unpacking ‘Polite Polarization’ in America’s LDS Enclaves

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

Deaths of Despair Across America

Ensuring Coverage

Prescription Drugs

Medical Debt

Vaccines

The Broader Meaning

How Michigan’s Graying America Community Narrows Gaps in Rural Healthcare

ACP Begins Work With NASA, University of Maryland

Deaths of Despair Across America