This paper reports the results of citizen contacting in a large, urban county in Florida‐Hillsborough County. Three surveys, conducted in 1989, studied the differences among three types of residents: those living in incorporated areas, those living in unincorporated areas, and those living in unincorporatd areas with urban characteristics. The results indicate that important differences exist between residents in their propensity to contact county officials. These findings support the need for a contingency‐based model of citizen demand‐m