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COMMUNITY TYPE

Service Worker Centers

Characteristics

Midsize and small towns
Economies fueled by hotels, stores and restaurants
Lower-than-average median household income by county
Among the country’s least diverse with a population that is 91 percent white

See the communties »

Community Type Demographics

Ethnicity

Presidential Election Results

2004

43%
Kerry

55%
Bush

2008

47%
Obama

51%
McCain

Representative Communities

Community Type Comparison

Median Household Income

$34,956
Service Worker Center

$36,934
National

Around the Nation

What Obama’s approval ratings could mean for midterm elections

With less than a year until midterm elections, special interest is being paid to President Obama’s approval rating. A few new polls show him below 50 percent for the first time since his inauguration.

As the president’s support goes, so goes the support of his party – or at least that’s what recent history says. Look at the approval ratings of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and the congressional results of midterm elections during their tenures.

So what does this mean for Mr. Obama?

For one thing, a president’s approval rating is a slippery thing ...

Why Sarah Palin’s ‘Going Rogue’ tour looks like a campaign

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin officially launched her “Going Rogue” book tour Wednesday in the western Michigan city of Kentwood, and the crowd, somewhat predictably, went wild. More than 1,000 people were waiting in line before Ms. Palin even arrived, according the Detroit News.

Many commentators have already ...

Economic hardship is now widespread. Is that a good thing?

As we travel around Patchwork Nation and talk about the good news in the national economy – GDP growth, the improving Dow – we are often met with skepticism. Regardless of what headlines say, many people have yet to sense a turnaround locally.This month’s Economic Hardship Index shows how complicated ...

In NY-23, a potentially troubling preview for the GOP

With Election Day in the rearview mirror, the Republican Party has conflicted feelings.

The gubernatorial wins in Virginia (expected) and New Jersey (a bit of a surprise) are reassuring. But New York’s 23rd Congressional District, where party infighting helped Democratic candidate Bill Owens, sits out there like a big ...

For gay marriage, difficult terrain ahead

Over the coming weeks, one of the most discussed results from Election Day will probably be the rejection by Maine voters of a law allowing same-sex couples to marry.

After a string of electoral defeats, supporters of gay-marriage rights thought they might have a winner in Maine. The New England ...