ARKANSANS ARE GENERALLY SATISFIED WITH LIFE IN THE STATE, BUT MANY FELL FINANCIALLY VULNERABLE

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- Large majorities of that Arkansans say that life in the Natural State is better than in other places (67 percent) and believe that the state is headed in "the right direction" (73 percent). But that sunny outlook is clouded by the sense that, for half the people, their personal finances have worsened in the past year and that they are unsatisfied with the opportunities for good jobs in their communities.

Those are the major findings from the fourth and final special report—"Life in Arkansas" -from the Arkansas Poll, conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas. The poll gauged public opinion on a variety of issues via a telephone survey between Sept. 15 and Oct. 2 of a representative sample of 885 Arkansas men and women.

Even with these general findings, there are divisions of opinion among Arkansans on the basis of geographic region, ethnicity, income and gender, says Dr. Janine Parry, assistant professor of political science at the University of Arkansas, director of the Arkansas Poll, and author of the fourth special report.

"For example, when rating Arkansas as a place to live compared to other states, 69 percent of the white respondents reported that life is better here, but only 54 percent of respondents belonging to an ethnic group reported likewise," she said.

Rural residents (75 percent) were most likely to rate the quality of life in Arkansas as better than elsewhere, while residents of small towns and cities were somewhat less enamored (63 percent). Suburbanites (54 percent) were the least ardent in their comparative evaluations.

Citizens of Northwest Arkansas (the Third Congressional District) were most likely to rate the quality of life in Arkansas as being high (75 percent), compared with 64 percent in the Northeast (the First District), 62 percent in the South (the Fourth District) and 60 percent in central Arkansas (the Second District).

In addition, Parry said, 73 percent of the poll’s respondents said Arkansas is generally headed in the right direction. There was some disparity, however, between whites (76 percent) and nonwhites (60 percent).

"Arkansans are generally more optimistic about the direction of our state than people nationwide are about the path of the entire country," Parry observed. "A recent Gallup poll of American adults revealed that only half (52 percent) of the respondents were satisfied with 'the way things are going in this country’ while 45 percent said they were dissatisfied."

Financial and Economic Frustration

A strong plurality of Arkansas Poll respondents (46 percent) reported being "worse off" financially, compared with a year ago. Just over a third (37 percent) reported being better off, while 16 percent reported no change.

Female respondents (50 percent) were more likely than males (42 percent) to report being worse off financially, a finding consistent with many surveys and reports nationally and statewide that show women much more likely than men to be poor.

Although residents of Northwest Arkansas were most likely to report money improvements and Southern Arkansans the least likely, in no region of the state did a majority of residents report that they were better off financially this year than last.

Highly similar patterns emerged when Arkansans were asked about "the opportunity for good jobs" in their communities, Parry said.

Less than half the people surveyed statewide were satisfied with job opportunities locally.

Dissatisfaction was higher for females (56 percent) than males (44 percent); nonwhites (65 percent) than whites (47 percent); small towns (57 percent) and rural areas (56 percent) as opposed to suburbs (48 percent) and cities (37 percent).

Among the four congressional districts, dissatisfaction with the opportunity for good jobs was highest in the Fourth District (south), 62 percent, and First District (northeast), 55 percent, and lowest in the Third District (42 percent) and Second District (46 percent).

"In the end, we believe our results suggest cautious optimism about the present condition, and future path, of the state," Parry said. "If our collective mood is one of relative contentment, it should be tempered by the less-than-rosy personal realities of a substantial portion of Arkansans."

###