The self-esteem of children in small towns was assessed. Comparing these children's self-rated competencies to extant norms suggests that rural children's self-perceptions are not distinctly different from suburban and urban children. Rural children's feelings of self-worth and self-assessments of scholastic competence are comparable to or higher than metropolitan norms. Rural children display the same decrement in self-ratings of physical appearance as they grow older--girls more so than boys--as do urban children. Rural and urban boys rate themselves higher in athletic competence than girls. The impact of rural/urban differences on children may be less marked than suspected.