Comparison of Data on Older People in Three Rural and Urban Locations
Gao ID: HRD-80-83 May 23, 1980The Federal Council on Aging asked for information on the transportation, housing, employment, and income of older people living in rural and urban locations. In response, information was obtained from databases on older people living in three locations; Cleveland, Ohio (urban); Lane County, Oregon (rural and urban); and Gateway Health District, northeastern Kentucky (rural).
The source of transportation varied among the three locations. In Lane County, older people most often provided their own transportation and in northeastern Kentucky, family and friends provided most of the transportation. Fewer older people owned homes in Cleveland than in Lane County or northeastern Kentucky. Family incomes were lower in northeastern Kentucky than in the other two locations. Older people in northeastern Kentucky were more likely to receive Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, and/or Medicaid than were people at the other two locations. Only a small number of the older people in any of the locations were employed full time.