Community leaders and rural development specialists must decide which economic development strategies will provide the greatest benefit to the local labor force and the community. To aid in the evaluation of the small business approach to rural development, this report analyzes the effects of employer size on wages and employee benefits. A survey of 98 actively employed heads of households was conducted in Putnam County, Georgia, a relatively low-income rural county located 50 miles Southwest of Atlanta. In addition, approximately 1,700 small businesses in 25 rural Georgia counties were contacted and 86% completed surveys concerning employer characteristics, business practices, and purchasing patterns. Results indicate that larger employer size brings wage and benefits advantages to employees. Such individual advantages are important elements in quality of life but are often ignored in discussions of rural development strategies. Communities may increase both local influence and business size by encouraging expansion of existing businesses. A second conclusion is that industrial recruitment of large branch manufacturing plants is still a valid strategy, as indicated by wage and benefits advantages. Third, higher levels of worker education provided a significant wage reward. Fourth, managers with higher levels of education were more likely to provide benefits to their employees. Finally, a caveat: small establishments may offer economic development advantages other than wages and benefits, such as greater local retention of profits and more local purchase of intermediate inputs. Contains 30 references and 7 data tables. (SV)