The possible abandonment of numerous branch rail lines in the prairies is often viewed as a spectre for towns in the region. But the presence of a hospital, high school, or good highways are also said to be vital to a town's existence. In order to determine which factors are important in sustaining a community it is necessary to get at the underlying structure of community environment. A structural (factor) analysis and a multiple regression model testing factors affecting community performance in population growth and grain shipment has been applied to Saskatchewan centers. Variations in population growth were adequately explained by the presence of certain structural features. The grain shipment function showed little association with community structure or even with population growth or increases in retail firms. Most prairie communities would appear to have a better‐than‐even chance of not turning into “ghost towns” as had been su