Economic Activity and Social Indicators: A Rural-Urban Discontinuum?

A bstract . Comparisons of urban and rural areas tend to assume that a rural-urban continuum exists as regards economic and social indicators of well-being and that rural places are fairly homogeneous. Analysis of Kentucky counties indicates that rural-urban differences exist as regards economic well-being and objective social indicators. However, rural-urban differences are not consistent with respect to subjective social indicators; and there are important differences among economic types of rural counties as regards both economic and social indicators. Thus, the rural-urban continuum is not general and it is important to distinguish types of rural counties.