The purpose of the study was to gather information pertinent to community, neighborhood, local government, and community-based activities in order to find ways to reduce poverty throughout the Northwestern states of Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington. The survey first asked the respondents to name their place of residence (in terms of state, county, and town), how long they had lived at their residence, and how much longer they planned to reside there.