Every year, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) uses an index-based county economic classification system to identify and monitor each county in our Region to illustrate which counties are considered economically distressed, at-risk, transitional, competitive, or have reached “attainment.” This involves creating a national index of county economic status by comparing each county’s averages for unemployment, per capita market income, and poverty rate with national averages. With this data, they create a map illustrating the economic status of each of the 420 counties that helps their state partners develop effective grant proposals. Now, they have made the data behind the map even more accessible with their redesigned Data Reports page. With this resource, researchers and other data lovers can easily search each Appalachian county’s economic status dating back 15 years or look at the poverty, education, income, population density, and other statistics at the county level in comparison to the rest of the state and the rest of the country. And they have also made a simple way to see how some of these key economic indicators have historically played out across the Region. This statistical treasure trove is the most comprehensive collection of data about Appalachia available.
