The paper proposes the social potential of rural areas. It gives the comparison of the quality of the population life of different countries through the criterion of expenditures and consumption of home economics. It also compares the rates of introduction of residential houses and improvement of housing stock, which demonstrated the growth of indicators in rural areas as an evidence of their social potential growth. It states the theoretical substantiation of the necessity of attracting additional resources for the development of the socio-economic potential of the rural area and its structure. The motivation of the necessity of active involvement in the development of the territory of public organizations and the economic management system is also given.