The objective of this article is to assess locality-based development efforts - called self-development - in rural America during the decade of the 1980's. Self-development is defined as the implementation of a local project, or creation of firms, that increases income to the community and/or generates a net increase in jobs. Findings of a study suggest that self-development should not be considered the primary economic development strategy for most rural communities. If self-development efforts are evaluated strictly on the basis of the number of jobs created and/or saved or the amount of income generated in the community, one would have to conclude that self-development efforts have produced modest economic results in a small proportion of the rural communities in the U.S.