County Economic Status and Distressed Areas in AppalachiaThe Appalachian Regional Commission uses an index-based county economic classification system to identify and monitor the economic status of Appalachian counties. The system compares each county's averages for three economic indicators—three-year average unemployment rate, per capita market income, and poverty rate—with national averages. The resulting values are summed and averaged to create a composite index value for each county. Each county in the nation is then ranked, based on its composite index value. Counties are designated as distressed, at-risk, competitive, or attainment, based on their ranking in the index. Designations are revised annually using the most current data available. The Commission recognizes that some areas in non-distressed counties have substantially higher poverty or lower income levels than national averages and should be considered economically distressed. These areas should be an important focus of Commission assistance. Accordingly, the Commission designates as "distressed areas," those census tracts in at-risk and transitional counties that have a median family income no greater than 67 percent of the U.S. average and a poverty rate 150 percent of the U.S. average or greater. Designations are revised annually using the latest five-year estimates from the American Community Survey. Regional Maps of County Economic Status County Economic Status and Distressed Areas, by State, FY 2012Grant applicants can use the tables and maps in this section when completing ARC project forms. Each state PDF contains the following information:
Alabama (PDF: 381 KB) Downloadable Data FileCounty Economic Status and Distressed Areas in Appalachia, FY2012 (Excel: 210 KB)
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