As part of a larger study aimed at assessing how local people view recent changes and development programs in four Eastern Kentucky counties (Harlan, Perry, Whitley, and Wolfe), a survey on perceived quality of life was conducted. Data were derived from personal interviews with selected local leaders (varying from 21 to 33 interviews per county) and from 464 representative household heads or homemakers (220 male and 244 female respondents) living in either open country areas (320) or town areas (144). The survey question asked was: "In general and on the average, would you say that the quality of life for most people in this county has improved, gotten worse or remained about the same during the past 10 years?" Leaders and residents were queried as to their opinions about changes in the quality of life for "most people" and for their "own families." Results, tabulated by place of residence (town or country) for residents but not for leaders, indicated that despite differences, most ordinary people and most leaders viewed the changes of the past decade favorably. Since these counties still rank low on most objective indicators of development, it was concluded that the people's subjective assessment of their quality of life may be as important as measures of present status or level. (JC)