This study examined the underlying influence of the social context, as measured by selected structural characteristics, on the resources available to the elderly in 99 counties across Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arkansas. These four states were chosen because each reflected national patterns for age concentrations and for the historical development of aging programs and each exhibited variations in urban/rural population, migration patterns, socioeconomic structure, and ethnic concentration. Data on economic, demographic, health care, and political structures were taken from the 1980 United States Census of the Population and the 1983 County and City Data Book. Additional data were provided by the four state associations for hospitals and nursing homes. Data analysis indicated that the rural elderly were a unique population group, living farther from needed services, especially health care services. They lived in more age dependent populations and were older, poorer, and more likely to live in economically depressed communities than were the urban elderly. In general, demographic and economic indicators were the strongest predictors in analyses, explaining as much as 63% of the variance in median income residents 65 years of age and older. The importance of the social context was verified by the study. The political structure, however, was not as strong a predictor in the models as might have been anticipated. (NB)