The Appalachian Region: A Data Overview from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey


Author(s): Kelvin Pollard and Linda A. Jacobsen
Author Organization(s): Population Reference Bureau

This study examines state- and county-level data for the 13 Appalachian states from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey (ACS) and from U.S. Census Bureau population estimates on topics including population, age, race and ethnicity, housing occupancy and tenure, education, labor force, employment and unemployment, income and poverty, health insurance coverage, disability status, migration patterns, and veteran status. Additionally, data are provided on types of housing units, homeownership, types of living arrangements, travel time to work and location of work, and income-to-poverty ratio. New to the study this year are trends in the bachelor’s degree field of study and an appendix comparing rural Appalachia to rural areas outside the Appalachian Region.

Information is summarized for five Appalachian subregions and five metro designations. The report also compares data from two recent non-overlapping time periods, allowing the study of trends.

Related Files

All Report Maps (Zip file: 21 MB; includes 96 PNG files, approximately 250 KB each, and 1 TXT file)

Data Snapshots: Population, Education, Employment, Income and Poverty, and Computer and Broadband Access in Appalachia

Data Sources: American Community Survey, 2014–2018; U.S. Census Bureau 2018 Population Estimates