Two Indianas – A Story of Disparate Growth and Opportunity

he American Dream, to have a better life than those who came before us, is possible because of opportu‐ nity. A favorable juncture of circum‐ stances,* opportunity can be viewed economically as a combination of employment, income, population, and education. More jobs in a location creates a situation in which there are more opportunities to find a suitable match between employer and employee. Larger incomes allow parents to provide better living environments and educational opportunities for their children. Larger populations allow for more specialized jobs and the growth of cultural activity and diversity. More education results in critical thinking, better employability, and higher income. Urban and rural America offer very different combinations of these aspects of opportunity and each has, at different points in history, been considered more favorable than the other. More recently, it has been noted that economic growth and opportunity has been concentrated in urban areas. For Indiana, like the rest of the nation, with a combination of urban and rural areas, opportunity varies throughout the state. This article looks at opportu‐ nity in Indiana from the perspective of 2003 to 2008 growth. It discusses whether community influences individuals opportunity.