Using the Guttman scale of quality and availability of community services, two mail surveys probing 46 community services via a 1/1000 proportional sample based on the total population in each of North Carolina's 100 counties and a county sample (an average of 88 responses out of 150 questionnaires per county) were ranked by county and social (income, age, education) and demographic (rural-urban) differences. The 46 items of availability and quality were derived from the following general categories: health, culture, education, jobs, housing, social services, law enforcement, recreation, transportation, economic development, environmental protection, and community involvement. The following issues were rated most critical: availability of public transportation, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, state parks, assistance to disabled and aged, low income housing, and family doctors; quality of job opportunities; control of crime and juvenile delinquency; contribution of tourism to local economy; and effectiveness of land-use planning. In general, those people of lower income and less educational attainment and those in more rural areas perceived most community items as poorer in quality and availability than did those of higher income and/or education. (JC)