An Index of Development Potential based primarily on the success communities have had in passing bond issues is suggested in this paper. Ten Texas communities were studied using an index composed of 3 measures: the ratio of bond issue success, total bond expenditure per capita, and labor force potential. A composite score was derived from these measures for each community. Tentative conclusions were that the suggested Index of Developmental Potential was internally consistent and that the variables appeared to be indicative of the developmental potential of communities. Suggestions for future research were that other researchers be encouraged to suggest other relevant dimensions which might indicate a community's potential for development and that research should be directed towards relating structural characteristics of communities to the Index of Developmental Potential. (PS)