July 19, 2005

LINCOLN, Neb. — The American dream of home ownership is especially strong in rural Nebraska. More than 80 percent of residents are homeowners and most are satisfied with their housing even though it tends to be older and may need repairs, according to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll.

The average home in rural Nebraska is 50 years old and nearly a quarter need major repairs, but 87 percent of residents say they like their neighborhood, the 10th annual University of Nebraska-Lincoln poll showed. Surveys were mailed in March to 6,250 randomly selected households in Nebraska's 84 rural counties. Results are based on 2,851 responses.

Poll results confirm nationwide U.S. Census data showing home ownership is higher in rural than metropolitan areas. Nationwide, 76 percent of housing in rural areas is owner occupied. Overall, 66 percent of U.S. households are homeowners. Poll researchers said this poll's numbers probably are slightly higher than Census figures because the survey is mailed and homeowners change addresses less frequently than renters.

"Rural Nebraskans feel strongly about home ownership. It's very important," said Randy Cantrell, an Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources rural sociologist who works on the poll. Eighty-two percent of respondents said owning their home is very important while 12 percent said it's somewhat important.

Nebraskans seem mostly satisfied with their homes regardless of the fact that many of the homes are old. About a quarter of residences were built before 1930, another 24 percent were built between 1930 and 1959, 29 percent were built between 1960 and 1979 and 24 percent were built in 1980 or later, the poll found.

"Nebraska sits on some of the oldest housing in the country in the rural areas. The Great Plains in general has old housing stock," Cantrell said.

About a quarter of respondents said the size of their house doesn't meet their needs, the same proportion said their home needs major repairs and 37 percent agreed that their home needs lots of routine maintenance.

"It's older housing, but people seem satisfied with it," Cantrell said. "We don't see people complaining about the age or need for repairs."

Renters were less satisfied with their housing, according to the poll. Thirty-five percent said their housing didn't meet their needs and 39 percent said it needs major repairs. That's a problem for communities trying to draw or keep young people, who may need or want to rent before buying a house, said Becky Vogt, the poll project manager.

"If you want to attract young people, you need to have decent rental housing available," she said.

Community size influences the age and condition of housing. Smaller communities tend to have more older homes and houses needing major repair. The poll found 35 percent of homes in and around towns of fewer than 1,000 people were built before 1930 compared with 12 percent of homes in communities of at least 10,000. One-third of houses in communities under 500 need major repairs compared with 19 percent in towns of at least 5,000.

Community size also influenced respondents' views about their community.

Overall, 28 percent said their community has changed for the better in the past year, 52 percent said it stayed the same and 20 percent said it got worse. Those numbers are similar to recent years. While 39 percent of people in communities of at least 10,000 said their town had improved, only 15 percent of respondents from towns under 500 agreed, 60 percent said it was the same and 25 percent said it was worse.

Rural Nebraskans' opinions were mixed about their community's future. Overall, 44 percent agreed their community's future looks bright, 42 percent disagreed and 14 percent had no opinion. Prospects are dimmer in small communities. In communities under 500 people, 25 percent of respondents agreed the future looks bright and 61 percent disagreed. Nearly 60 percent of people in communities of at least 10,000 said their town's future looks bright.

"The smaller the community in Nebraska right now, the more likely it is to be struggling unless it's in commuting distance to a larger town," Cantrell said.

People in the smallest communities also were most likely to agree that their community is good enough as it without trying to change it. Twenty-two percent of respondents from communities under 500 agreed compared with 15 percent or less agreement among respondents from all other town sizes.

"It appears that people in smaller communities are more willing to be satisfied with things as they are," Vogt said. "Unfortunately, maintaining the status quo won't help things improve."

The poll is the largest annual survey of rural Nebraskans' perceptions on quality of life and policy issues. This year's response rate was 46 percent. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent. Complete results are available online at Nebraska Rural Poll.

The poll is conducted by the university's Center for Applied Rural Innovation with funding from the Partnership for Rural Nebraska and IANR's UNL Extension and Agricultural Research Division.

7/19/05-VM

Contacts:

Becky Vogt
Center for Applied Rural Innovation
Nebraska Rural Poll Project Manager
(402) 329-4821

Randy Cantrell - Ph.D.
Center for Applied Rural Innovation
Professor
(402) 472-1772

Vicki Miller
Research Communications Coordinator
(402) 472-3813

Department:
Center for Applied Rural Innovation