The NCR-Stat: Baseline Survey 2024 is a collaborative initiative developed by the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, the Southern Rural Development Center, and Auburn University. The survey explores essential topics related to household, business, and community well-being. It aims to learn more about the conditions, issues, and challenges faced by rural and urban communities and their residents in the North Central Region.
Conducted as a 20-minute online survey through the Qualtrics platform, it covers a broad spectrum of topics, including household demographics, income, workforce participation, entrepreneurship, caregiving, housing, broadband access, migration and staying behavior, civic engagement, community belonging, health, food security, well-being, and environmental concerns. The survey was designed to maximize participation across a diverse range of household types, geographic locations, ages, and racial and ethnic groups, ensuring comprehensive and balanced representation.
Building on the 2022 survey, the NCR-Stat: Baseline 2024 survey features both adapted and expanded questions, introducing new topics like moving and staying behaviors and the recreation economy. Data collection took place from August to November 2024, primarily through the Qualtrics platform, with additional responses gathered via computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) in select states to reach offline populations. High data quality was maintained through attention-check questions and mandatory responses, with all collected data fully coded and de-identified to safeguard participant confidentiality.
Survey Conducted: 2024 in North Central, Southern and Northeast regions / North Central Region Respondents: 4,383
Additional Resources
Video
- Regional Pulse: Insights from the 2024 Multi-Region Household Surveys (recorded 5/9/25; 51 minutes) featuring Maria I. Marshall, NCRCRD Director, Zuzana Bednarik, NCRCRD Research and Extension Specialist, and John J. Green, Director, Southern Rural Development Center. This presentation explores the 2024 baseline household surveys conducted across three major U.S. regions and presents key findings from each of the regional datasets — NCR-Stat, SR-Stat, and NER-Stat.
Baseline 2024 Survey – Other Regions
In collaboration with our sister centers — the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development and the Southern Rural Development Center — NCRCRD also conducted the Baseline 2024 household survey in the Northeast and Southern regions of the U.S. Like the NCR-Stat: Baseline 2024, these datasets are open access and available to all.
The Western Rural Development Center (WRDC) is in the process of conducting the Baseline 2024 survey. When completed, the Baseline 2024 open access data will be available for the entire United States.
- Northeast Region – NER-Stat: Baseline 2024
- Southern Region – SR-Stat: Baseline 2024
- Western Region – WR-Stat: Baseline 2024 (in progress – available late-2024)