Transfer payments (largely from government programs), and property income (dividends, interest, and rent), have become large sources of income and are particularly important to the elderly. According to the new Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), these sources provided about a quarter of total income in the early 1980s. Nationally, households with an elderly head receive nearly half of the income from transfers and property, although such households form only 21 percent of total income can have an important impact on nonmetro areas that can attract migrating elderly. It also can be important in nonmetro areas where the elderly form a large share of the population because of outmigration of younger people.