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a a � a a a �,� • `' Living • 314rr. II F es�F� , 6.tv rrrr•-,: 011 •Demographic Preferences Small,family-owned farms in the Midwest dominate this Their purchases reflect their rural lifestyle;Prairie Living stable market.Two-thirds of these households are com- residents buy work boots and hunting clothes.They own posed of married couples,with and without children.These separate freezers,coal and wood stoves, and pressure residents are slightly older,with a median age of 40.5 years. cookers.To fill those freezers,Prairie Living residents plant These communities have little ethnic diversity;93 percent of vegetable gardens, in addition to crops, and hunt or fish.To Prairie Living residents are white. take care of their possessions,Prairie Living households own riding lawn mowers,gardening equipment, and vehicle and Socioeconomic home repair tools.They service their own vehicles and tackle The 67 percent labor force participation rate is high;the home improvement projects such as kitchen remodeling. 4 percent unemployment rate is low. One in four residents They own pets, particularly dogs. Because cable television who work is self-employed.Agricultural jobs are an important is not available in many rural neighborhoods, satellite dishes part of the Prairie Living economy,although 40 percent of are frequently used.Prairie Living residents are loyal coun- employed residents work in white-collar jobs.Thirty-one per- try music fans and tune in to radio and television for their cent of households receive Social Security benefits;43 percent favorite music.They enjoy hunting and fishing.They tend receive investment income.The median household income is to be political conservatives.They prefer domestic vehicles, $41,000; the median net worth is$79,600. Overall,82 per- especially trucks. Civic-minded Prairie Living residents serve cent of residents aged 25 years and older have graduated on church boards,address public meetings,volunteer for from high school.Twenty-nine percent have attended college. charitable organizations, and help with fund-raising.Prairie Living households shop for bargains.Wal-Mart is, by far, Residential their favorite department store,followed by Kmart and J.C. Prairie Living neighborhoods are primarily located in the Penney.They often rely on a Wal-Mart Supercenter for their Midwest,with much smaller concentrations in the West and extra grocery shopping. South. States with the highest household concentrations are Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota,and Kansas. Homeownership is at 81 percent and the median home value is$96,300. Single- family dwellings are characteristic of these farm communi- ties.Notably, 11 percent of housing units are mobile homes, slightly higher than the U.S. percentage.Approximately 36 percent of the housing units in this segment were built before 1940. Due to the tong-term decline in agricultural employment and the loss of family farms, household growth in Prairie Living neighborhoods is nil The rural setting renders multiple vehicles a necessity.Approximately three fourths of households have two or more vehicles; one-third have three or more. f ; tIA ir 20