United States

Department of

Agriculture The Revised ERS

Economic

Service

Research County Typology

Rural

Development

Research An Overview

Report

Number 89

Peggy J. Cook

Karen L. Mizer

OUNTIES

FARMING-DEPENDENT MINING-DEPENDENT

MANUFACTURING-DEPENDENT SERVICESDEPENDENT GOVERNMENT-DEPENDENT

RETIREMENT-DESTINATION COMMUTING

FEDERAL LANDS TRANSFERS-DEPENDENT

PERSISTENT POVERTY NONSPECIALIZED
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The Revised ERS County Typology: An Overview. By Peggy J. Cook and

Karen L. Mizer. Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, U. S.

Department of Agriculture. Rural Development Research Report 89.

Abstract

This report describes an expanded and revised version of the Economic Research Service’s 1979 classification of nonmetro counties, commonly called the

ERS typology. The classification has been widely used by researchers, policy

analysts, and public officials as a source of information about the economic and

social diversity characterizing rural America. The revised typology classifies

counties designated as nonmetro in 1993 into one of six nonoverlapping types

that indicate the county’s primary economic activity: farming-dependent, mining-dependent, manufacturing-dependent, government-dependent,

services-dependent, and nonspecialized. The revised typology also classifies

counties according to five other overlapping types with special relevancy for rural policy: retirement-destination, Federal lands, commuting, persistent poverty,

and transfers-dependent. This analysis focuses on the distributions of nonmetro

counties across the types and provides brief economic and sociodemographic

profiles for each type. Particular attention is given to population and economic

changes during the 1980’s.

Keywords: economic base, typology, county types, rural, farming, mining,

manufacturing, government, services, nonspecialized, retirement-destination,

Federal lands, commuting, persistent poverty, transfer payments, rural development.

Acknowledgments

This report reflects the efforts of the Economic Research Service’s typology research team who collectively developed a rationale and design for revising the

ERS county typology. Members of the working group were G. Andrew Bernat,

Calvin L. Beale, Peggy J. Cook, Thomas F. Hady, Alex Majchrowicz, Karen L.

Mizer, and Peter Stenberg. Other team members providing input and general

oversight of the work were Thomas A. Carlin, Kenneth L. Deavers, Linda M.

Ghelfi, and Sara M. Mazie. The authors, who are respectively a senior sociologist with the Rural Economy Division and a computer programmer/analyst,

Information Services Division, gratefully acknowledge the contributions of all

their colleagues. Special thanks go to Calvin Beale, Richard Long, Linda

Ghelfi, and Sara Mazie who provided insightful and helpful reviewers’ comments and to Lindsay Mann who served as technical editor for the manuscript.

130 1 New York Ave., NW.

Washington, DC 200054788 December 1994
Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

Highlights: ERS Typology Depicts Rural Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction: Revising the ERS Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Economic Type . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Farming-Dependent Counties .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mining-Dependent Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Manufacturing-Dependent Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Government-Dependent Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Services-Dependent Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nonspecialized Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Policy Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Retirement-Destination Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Federal Lands Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commuting Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Persistent Poverty Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transfers-Dependent Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appendix: Data, Definitions, and Procedures ......... . . . . . . . . 

28

29

Appendix Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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2

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6

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18

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26
Preface

The Economic Research Service’s (ERS) classification of nonmetro counties

has been widely used by researchers, policy analysts, and public officials as a

source of information about the economic and social diversity characterizing rural America. The classification system, or ERS typology as it is commonly

known, reduces the wide range of economic and social diversity existing in nonmetro counties into a few important themes relevant to rural policymaking.

Through the typology, ERS provides users with a way to geographically identify groups of nonmetro counties sharing important economic and

policy-relevant traits and with information about economic and sociodemographic conditions that differentiate the county groups.

The original typology summarized the diversity of rural economic and social

conditions among nonmetro counties in 1979 as seven major overlapping

themes or types. Four county types reflected dependence on a particular economic specialization: farming, manufacturing, mining, and government. Three

county types--persistent poverty, Federal lands, and retirement-destination--

reflected other special policy-relevant themes. A residual type, labeled

unclassified counties, included counties that met the criteria for none of the

types. An update of the typology, using the same concepts and definitions updated to 1986 (where possible), was created to show how the economic and

social structure of nonmetro areas changed from 1979 to 1986. Citations of the

major reports and articles covering the 1979 typology and the 1986 update appear in the references section.

From the project’s onset, the team of ERS typology analysts acknowledged a

need to review and revise the typology in keeping with changing times. The

1979 typology depicted rural social and economic conditions after a decade of

relative prosperity and economic growth for rural America, but at a time when

rural growth trends were showing signs of slowing. The 1986 update focused

on change between 1979 and 1986, a period with two recessions and a severe

farm crisis followed by slow rural recovery. A substantial increase in the number of unclassified counties in the 1986 update emphasized the need to consider

both conceptual and methodological changes in the typology that would maximize its utility during the 1990’s decade.

As a result, the third version of the ERS typology, which is presented in this report, has been revised and expanded. The goals of this report are to discuss

those changes made to the ERS typology, the rationale for these changes, and

to present a brief overview for each of the types in the revised typology.

Peggy J. Cook and Karen L. Mizer

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Highlights

ERS Typology Depicts Rural Diversity

A revised and expanded version of the ERS typology provides an improved vehicle for communicating

policy-relevant information to rural policymakers.

Counties in rural America can be classified into

distinct economic types and overlapping policy types.

This report describes a revised and expanded version

of the Economic Research Service’s (ERS) county

classification system, commonly called the ERS

typology. Earlier typologies have been widely used as

a vehicle to reflect the extremely diverse economic

and social structure of rural America. The typology is

based on the assumption that knowledge and

understanding of different types of rural economies

and their distinctive economic and sociodemographic

profiles can aid rural policymaking.

The analysis for the revised typology identifies 11

types of nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) counties

according to either the primary economic activity of

different county economies or to other themes of

special policy significance. Descriptive profiles of the

county types are employed to show the differences

between the types in geographic and population

characteristics, levels of economic well-being, and the

patterns of economic and population change during

the 1980’s.

Counties designated as nonmetro in 1993 are

classified into one of six nonoverlapping economic

types. These types along with highlights of their

distinctive profiles are as follows:

l Farming-dependent counties (556 counties) were

remotely located, predominantly rural and sparsely

populated. These counties are geographically concentrated in the Midwest. Population declined 11

percent through outmigration during the 1980’s. Because of high outmigration of younger adults, the ratio of dependent populations to working age adults

was extremely high. The economic base in these

counties declined throughout the 1980’s. As a group,

they lost 111,000 farming jobs during 1979-89.

l Mining-dependent counties (146) accounted for

nearly half of all nonmetro mining jobs in 1989. As

a group, they included counties with distinct specializations in different types of mining activities, including coal, gas and oil, and metals. Most counties are

in the South or West. Like farming counties, mining

counties lost population through outmigration and

experienced economic decline during the 1980’s.

The number of mining jobs maintained a downward

spiral during the decade, reaching a 1989 low of 72

percent of the 1979 figure.

l Manufacturing-dependent counties (506) represented 31 percent of nonmetro population and 5.5

percent of nonmetro manufacturing jobs. Compared

with the other county types, manufacturing counties

exhibited a more urban orientation, were more often

located contiguous to a metro area, and were more

densely populated. Three-fifths of the counties are in

the Southeast. The economies of manufacturing

counties grew slightly during the 1980’s, mainly because of gains in the latter years of the decade.

Manufacturing jobs increased most in remote counties with no urban population.

l Government-dependent counties (244) specialized

in Federal, State, and local government activities.

About 75 percent of earnings from government jobs

came from State and local jobs and about 25 percent

from Federal jobs. These counties are scattered

across the Nation. Government counties’ population

in all regions grew during the 1980’s. Their economies grew also with an overall gain of 433,000 new

jobs. However, compared with all-nonmetro counties, the levels of economic well-being were lower.

l Services-dependent counties (323) reflect a dominant national trend of growth in service sector jobs,

which now permeate most rural economies. These

counties, like government counties, are fairly evenly

distributed across the Nation with a slightly higher

representation in the West. Depending on their degree of urbanization and proximity to a metro area,

services counties are likely to perform different economic functions such as centers for trade and services, consumer service centers for residential areas,

and centers of specialized services like recreation.

Services counties’ economies grew during the

1980’s with a 24-percent growth in earnings from

services activities.

l Nonspecialized counties (484) include counties the

economies of which did not qualify for one of the

economic specialization types, although a few of

these counties may actually be specialized in economic activities such as construction, agricultural

2 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
services, or forestry and fisheries. These counties, in

44 of the 50 States, dot the national landscape. The

large majority are located in the South. Two-thirds

experienced job growth during the 1980’s. County

economies likely reflect two general kinds of economic performance in the 1980’s: counties with

strong economies from their function as service centers for spillover residential sites from adjoining

metro counties, and counties with weak economies

caused by shifts away from specializations in farming or manufacturing or by having a small economic

base and/or high concentrations of poverty.

Counties are also classified into five overlapping

policy types:

l Retirement-destination counties (190) had a 15

percent or greater increase in population aged 60 and

above from inmovement of people between 1980

and 1990. Over 80 percent of these counties are in

the South or West, prevalent most often in traditional retirement areas of Florida, the Southwest, or

in other lake, reservoir, coastal, or scenic upland areas. Many counties also serve as recreational or resort sites. As a result, they attract younger

populations as well as retirees with population

growth in all age categories during the 1980’s.

Along with population growth, retirement counties

had unusually high growth in earnings and jobs--the

highest of any of the types. Sixty percent of these

counties had job growth faster than the national average.

l Federal lands counties (270) had land areas dominated by Federal ownership. Seventy-six percent of

these counties are in Western States. Counties in the

type had larger land areas and were more sparsely

populated than all-nonmetro counties. On average,

population in the counties grew faster during the

1980’s than in all-nonmetro counties. Nearly 70 percent of jobs in the average Federal lands county

were in the services or government sectors, reflecting the recreational use and land management functions of the group. Strong growth in service sector

jobs during the 1980’s probably contributed to

higher family income (over $1,900 higher) than in

all-nonmetro counties.

have much smaller land areas and are more apt to adjoin a metro area than all-nonmetro counties. Population in the counties includes somewhat higher shares

of economically at-risk people. Because of the outflow of workers to other counties, the level of economic activity within the local economies was less

than that in all-nonmetro counties. However, the economic picture for commuting counties changes

when the jobs and earnings for commuting workers

are taken into account.

l Persistent poverty counties (535) had poverty rates

of 20 percent or higher in 1960, 1970, 1980, and

1990. These counties accounted for 19 percent of

nonmetro people and 32 percent of nonmetro poor in

1990. Nearly 83 percent of poverty counties are in

the South. They are smaller and have less urban

population than most other county types. A main distinguishing feature of the poverty counties is a disproportionate number of economically at-risk people

including minorities, female-headed households,

high school dropouts, and disabled persons. Incomes

that were considerably lower and unemployment

that was considerably higher than in all-nonmetro

counties suggest that the economy plays a part in

providing insufficient job opportunities.

l Transfers-dependent counties (381) had economies heavily based on unearned income from government transfer payments, including social security,

unemployment insurance, medicare, medicaid, food

stamps, government pensions, and welfare benefits.

Regionally concentrated in parts of the South and

Midwest, the large majority are in Southern States.

They are more apt to be remote from metro areas

and to be sparsely populated. Three-fifths of transfers-dependent counties are also in the persistent

poverty category. Because of the overlap, transfersdependent counties exhibit many of the same demographic and economic traits attributed to the

persistent poverty counties. However, transfers-dependent counties include a larger share of elderly.

The industrial mix of jobs in transfers-dependent

counties generally resembles the mix for all-nonmetro counties; but, the pace of overall job growth

was slower than the all-nonmetro pace.

l Commuting counties (381) had economies shaped,

in part, by workers commuting to jobs in other counties--at least 40 percent of workers in 1990. Over 6

million nonmetro people live in the commuting counties. About 65 percent of commuting counties are in

the South, and 28 percent in the Midwest. Because

of the southern geographic orientation. counties

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 3
Introduction

Revising the ERS Typology

The revised typology reflects both conceptual and definitional changes to the earlier typologies.

This report describes an expanded and revised version

of the Economic Research Service’s (ERS)

classification of nonmetro counties, commonly called

the ERS county typology. The 1990 revised typology

builds on the basic conceptual scheme of the original

typology but incorporates both conceptual and

definitional changes. The typology’s design includes

categories that represent the primary economic

activity of county economies and categories that

reflect other themes with special policy significance.

The revised typology classifies counties designated as

nonmetro in 1993 (based on population and

commuting data from the 1990 Census) into one of

six mutually exclusive economic types. Four types

were retained from the original typology:

farming-dependent, manufacturing-dependent,

mining-dependent, and government-dependent. A fifth

type, services-dependent counties, was added in

response to the growing proliferation of services jobs

in the national economy. The sixth type,

nonspecialized counties, includes those counties

whose economies did not meet the criteria for any of

the major economic specializations.

The revised typology also classifies nonmetro

counties by each of five policy criteria. Three of the

policy types--retirement-destination, Federal lands,

and persistent poverty--were revised from the original

typology. A commuting type was added to reflect

county economies influenced by workers commuting

to jobs in other counties, and a transfers-dependent

type was added to identify county economies heavily

reliant on income from government transfer payments.

In delineating the typology, the research team used

essentially the same conceptual approach and data

sources as in the earlier typologies. However,

definitional and procedural changes were made to

improve the clarity and usefulness of the typology.

For the first time, the typology classifies nonmetro

areas in Alaska and Hawaii. A major change was the

establishment of mutually exclusive economic types,

making the typology more useful for statistical

analyses. Another change was the use of a

poverty-based rather than a low per capita

income-based definition of the persistent poverty

category.

Using the definitions shown on the facing page, 2,259

of the 2,276 nonmetro counties were classified into

one of the six economic types, and, as applicable,

1,197 counties were classified into one or more of the

five policy types. Definitions for the economic types

are based on 3-year measures. The results of the

classification appear in the box below. Modified

definitions were employed to classify 17 counties

omitted from the economic types because of data

suppression. Classifications for these 17 counties

along with more detailed information about data

sources and procedures used to operationalize the new

typology are described in the appendix. Appendix

tables report more detailed economic and

sociodemographic information about the types. This

information forms the basis for the separate

descriptive profiles of each county type that follow.

Number of Counties

in 1989 Typology

556 farming-dependent

146 mining-dependent

506 manufacturing-dependent

244 government-dependent

323 services-dependent

484 nonspecialized

190 retirement-destination

270 Federal lands

381 commuting

535 persistent poverty

381 transfers-dependent

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Definitions

Economic types:

Farming-dependent-- Farming contributed a weighted

annual average of 20 percent or more of total labor

and proprietor income over the 3 years from 1987 to

1989.

Mining-dependent-- Mining contributed a weighted

annual average of 15 percent or more of total labor

and proprietor income over the 3 years from 1987 to

1989.

Manufacturing-dependent-- Manufacturing

contributed a weighted annual average of 30 percent

or more of total labor and proprietor income over the

3 years from 1987 to 1989.

Government-dependent-- Government activities

contributed a weighted annual average of 25 percent

or more of total labor and proprietor income over the

3 years from 1987 to 1989.

Services-dependent-- Service activities (private and

personal services, agricultural services, wholesale and

retail trade, finance and insurance, transportation and

public utilities) contributed a weighted annual average

of 50 percent or more of total labor and proprietor

income over the 3 years from 1987 to 1989.

Nonspecialized-- Counties not classified as a

specialized economic type over the 3 years from 1987

to 1989.

Policy types:

Retirement-destination-- The population aged 60

years and over in 1990 increased by 15 percent or

more during 1980-90 through inmovement of people.

Federal lands-- Federally owned lands made up 30

percent or more of a county’s land area in the year

1987.

Commuting-- Workers aged 16 years and over

commuting to jobs outside their county of residence

were 40 percent or more of all the county’s workers

in 1990.

Persistent poverty-- Persons with poverty-level

income in the preceding year were 20 percent or more

of total population in each of 4 years: 1960, 1970,

1980, 1990.

Transfers-dependent-- Income from transfer

payments (Federal, State, and local) contributed a

weighted annual average of 25 percent or more of

total personal income over the 3 years from 1987 to

1989.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 5
Economic Type

Farming-Dependent Counties

Making up the most numerous county type, a majority of farming-dependent counties

are located in the Midwest.

Farming continues to dominate the economies of

many rural counties. Despite the continued long-term

decline of farming as a principal source of income,

the farming-dependent group, with 556 counties, was

the largest of 11 county types. Earnings from farm

production activities in these counties ranged from 20

to 89 percent of total labor and proprietors’ income

(earnings) during 1987-89, with an average farm

earnings of 36 percent. Nearly 90 percent of these

counties were also classified as farming-dependent in

the 1979 typology. Manufacturing-dependent and

persistent poverty are the only other types

encompassing more than 500 counties.

Because the typology only classifies nonmetro

counties, this type excludes metro counties that are

high-value producers of agricultural products. Over a

third of farms with high gross sales (over $500,000)

Figure 1

Nonmetro farming-dependent counties, 1989*

in 1987 were located in metro counties. Even if they

were nonmetro, however, these counties would not

likely qualify as farming-dependent because their

economies tend to be based on a variety of economic

activities.

Well over a third of nonmetro farm earnings and

about a fourth of nonmetro farm jobs were found in

farming-dependent counties in 1989.

Farming-dependent counties are primarily

concentrated in the Great Plains, stretching from

North Dakota to the Texas Panhandle (fig. 1). Nearly

300 counties are in the Midwest, mainly on the

western side of the region. Another 30 percent (172

counties) are in the South, clustered in the Plains

areas of Oklahoma and Texas, the Mississippi Delta,

and the nearby livestock/poultry Ozark-Ouachita

*Counties with 20 percent or more labor and proprietors’ income from farming, 1987-89 annualized average.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Mountains, the traditional small farm interior-uplands

area of Kentucky, and the coastal plain of Georgia.

The remaining 92 counties are in the West, mostly in

the northwestern States.

Farming counties accounted for 24 percent of all

nonmetro counties, but only 9 percent of nonmetro

population, reflecting the predominant sparse

settlement and rural character of the counties and

continuing outmigration (-11.0 percent) of population

during the 1980’s. Over two-thirds of the counties had

no towns with over 2,500 population in 1990 (table

1). Average county population size was about 8,400

compared with 22,000 for all-nonmetro counties. For

every 100 working-age adults, there were 87 residents

in the dependent population (either ages 17 and under

or 65 and over) in 1990. The farming counties had the

highest dependency ratio of the 11 types. This

underscores the ongoing outmigration of younger,

working-age people. For example, between 1980 and

1990, farming counties lost over 17 percent of their

population aged 18-34 years.

The economic base in the farming-dependent group

declined throughout the 1980’s. Both earnings and

jobs dropped-during the recessions of the early years.

Farming counties, as a group, lost 111,000 farming

jobs during 1979-89, with farm jobs declining in most

years throughout the period (fig. 2). After the

economic recovery began, farming counties were able

to replace lost farm jobs with nonfarm jobs, but the

gap in total job growth between farming counties and

all-nonmetro counties widened because total jobs

grew faster in all-nonmetro counties. After the

recession, earnings from farming regained some

ground, but still remained less than 95 percent of the

1979 figure.

Table 1--Farming-dependent counties: Selected

characteristics

AllItem

Farming nonmetro

Unit counties counties

Counties Number 556 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 4,647 50,898

Totally rural, 19931,2 Percent 66.7 34.0

Population density, 19903,4 Number 11.8 36.3

Population change, 1980-904 Percent -6.9 .6

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars 14,743 13,580

Earnings change, 1979-89:5

Total earnings Percent -6.1 3.4

Farm earnings do. -6.5 -12.5

1No persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more.

2Percentage of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile.

4Unweighted county averages. 5Calculated from aggregated data.

Figure 2

Job growth in farming-dependent and

all-nonmetro counties

With a steady decline in farm jobs, overall job growth in

farming counties lagged that for all-nonmetro counties

Index, 1979=100

140

130

Total jobs - all-nonmetro

120

Total jobs - farm counties

110

100

9 0

80

Farm jobs - farm counties

70

6 0

1979 81 83 85 87 89

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Economic Type

Mining-Dependent Counties

Although the smallest of the economic types with only 146 counties, this type accounted for

nearly half of nonmetro mining jobs.

The 146 counties classified as mining-dependent

accounted for nearly half of the 389,000 nonmetro

mining jobs in 1989. County earnings from mining

activities ranged from 15 to 79 percent of total

earnings during the 3-year period 1987-89. Mining

represented 29 percent of total earnings in the average

mining county in 1989.

The counties in the mining category are quite

heterogeneous because of distinct specializations in

different types of mining activities. The group

includes counties located in the coal-producing areas

of Appalachia and the Midwest, the gas and

oil-producing areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisana,

and the Northern Plains States, and in the metal

mining areas of the West (fig. 3). Over 50 percent of

the counties are in the South, and an additional 30

percent in the West. Located at natural resources sites,

Figure 3

Nonmetro mining-dependent counties, 1989*

most of the counties are remote from metro areas,

although the need for workers has created an average

county population twice that for farming counties.

Mining counties, irrespective of region, lost

population through outmigration during the 1980’s.

Southern mining counties had the highest rate of

outmigration. Mining counties had, on average, a

higher share of Hispanic population and a higher

unemployment rate than all-nonmetro counties.

The mining sector as a whole did not fare well during

the 1980’s. During 1981-85, domestic crude oil prices

dropped nearly 30 percent; other energy prices also

fell. Mining counties as a group experienced the

greatest economic decline of all the economic types

during the 1980’s. The drop in mining earnings also

pulled down total earnings (table 2). Beginning in

*Counties with 15 percent or more labor and proprietors' income from mining, 1987-89 annualized average.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis,

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
1982, mining jobs maintained a downward spiral

throughout the decade. By 1989, the number of

mining jobs had reached a low of 72 percent of its

1979 figure (fig. 4). Improved productivity per worker

also curtailed employment. Some growth in the

services and government sectors lessened the decline

in total jobs.

Counties in the group, however, did not share equally

in the decline. While slightly under half of the

counties had economies that performed poorly during

the 1980’s, over half of the counties gained in total

jobs, and 13 percent had a job growth rate faster than

the U. S. average. Even counties with job growth may

face an uncertain future if solutions are not found to

help them deal with recurring problems associated

with the volatility of energy prices and with the

inevitability of resource depletion, such as has

happened in Appalachia.

Table 2--Mining-dependent counties: Selected

characteristics

AllMining nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number 146 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 2,847 50,898

Totally rural, 19931,2 Percent 33.6 34.0

Population density, 19903,4 Number 31.8 36.3

Population change, 1980-904 Percent -.6 .6

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars 13,081 13,580

Earnings change, 1979-89:5

Total earnings Percent -16.0 3.4

Mining earnings do. -31.9 -36.9

1No persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more.

2Percentage of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile.

4Unweighted county averages. 5Calculated from aggregated data.

Job growth in mining-dependent and

all-nonmetro counties

The dramatic decline in mining jobs after 7982 reflects

falling energy prices, especially for domestic crude oil

Index, 1979=100

140

130

Total jobs - all-nonmetro

120

110

100

9 0

Total jobs - mining counties

80

Mining jobs - mining counties

Mining jobs - all-nonmetro 70

60 I

1979 81 83 85 87 89

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Economic Type

Manufacturing-Dependent Counties

Manufacturing counties, compared with all-nomnetro counties, are likely to be more densely populated,

urbanized, and adjacent to a metro area.

Manufacturing-dependent counties constituted the

second most numerous of the economic types, trailing

the farming group only slightly. (The manufacturing

counties were the most numerous of the county types

in the 1986 typology update.) The numerical

prominence of manufacturing counties reflects a

long-term trend of the emergence of manufacturing in

nonmetro economies to replace farming as the

primary economic activity.

The 506 manufacturing counties represented 22

percent of nonmetro counties and had 31 percent of

nonmetro population and 2.3 million (55 percent)

nonmetro manufacturing jobs. During 1987-89,

average earnings from manufacturing ranged from 30

to 50 percent of total earnings in about 85 percent of

the manufacturing counties. Manufacturing accounted

Figure 5

Nonmetro manufacturing-dependent counties, 1989*

for 50 to 82 percent of total earnings in the other 15

percent.

Sixty-one percent of manufacturing counties are

concentrated in the Southeast. The North Central

region of the Midwest accounts for another 29

percent, while the Northeast and West, mainly the

northwestern counties, account for only 6 and 4

percent, respectively (fig. 5). Except for those

counties in the Midwest, manufacturing counties

usually gained population during the 1980’s.

A distinctive feature of the manufacturing counties,

relative to the other types, is a more urban orientation.

Manufacturing counties were more likely to have

larger shares of people living in towns of at least

2,500 inhabitants, to be contiguous to metro areas,

and/or to be more densely populated. Over 80 percent

*Counties with 30 percent or more labor and proprietors’ income from manufacturing, 1987-89 annualized average.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

10 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
of the counties had populations living in small and

medium-sized towns, and nearly 60 percent of the

counties were adjacent to a metro area. The average

manufacturing county had a population of 31,162

compared with 22,363 for all-nonmetro counties;

persons per square mile averaged 59.2 compared with

36.3 persons per square mile for all-nonmetro

counties (table 3). One reason accounting for their

population density is the relatively small size of land

area in manufacturing counties; the average county

consisted of 639 square miles compared with 1,256

square miles for all-nonmetro counties.

The economies of the manufacturing counties

improved slightly during the 1980’s, mainly because

of gains made in the latter part of the decade (fig. 6).

The improvement was partially due to gains in the

trade/services sector where real earnings increased 15

percent and jobs grew 46 percent during 1979-89.

Throughout most of the decade, manufacturing jobs

slowly declined, then began to grow after 1987. As a

result, manufacturing counties experienced a 1979-89

overall growth of 1.9 percent in manufacturing

earnings and 2.8 percent in manufacturing jobs.

Manufacturing jobs grew most in totally rural,

nonadjacent counties with populations living only in

small settlements or in open country areas.

Table 3--Manufacturing-dependent counties:

Selected characteristics

Manu- Allfacturing nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number 506 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 15,766 50,898

Urbanized, 1993”’ Percent 82.1 66.0

Population density, 19903,4 Number 59.2 36.3

Population change, 1980-904 Percent 1.5 .6

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars 13,081 13,580

Earnings change, 1979-89:5

Total earnings Percent 6.0 3.4

Manufacturing do. 1.9 -2.9

earnings

1Persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more. 2Percentage

of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile. 4Unweighted county

averages. 5Calculated from aggregated data.

Figure 6

Job growth in manufacturing-dependent and

all-nonmetro counties

Manufacturing counties’ economy improved in the latter

part of the decade

Index, 1979=100

140

130

120

110

100

90

8 0

60

Total jobs - manufacturing counties

Total jobs - all-nonmetro

Manufacturing jobs - all-nonmetro

70

Manufacturing jobs - manufacturing counties

1979 81 83 85 87

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

89

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Economic Type

Government-Dependent Counties

Government-dependent counties derive most of their government earnings from State and local government

jobs, although Federal jobs play a more important role than in all-nonmetro counties.

In 244 nonmetro counties, the primary economic

specialization was Federal, State, and local

government activities. These counties are the sites for

government-based activity associated with, among

others, Federal, State, and local government offices,

State institutions of higher education and health care,

penal institutions, military bases, and headquarters for

State and Federal parks and forests. County earnings

from government jobs ranged from 25 to 77 percent

of total earnings during 1987-89. For the group as a

whole, earnings from government activities in 1989

accounted for 38 percent of total earnings, and

earnings from trade/services activities accounted for

an additional 38 percent.

Government-dependent counties, on average, derived

approximately 75 percent of government earnings

from State and local jobs and about 25 percent from

Figure 7

Nonmetro government-dependent counties, 1989*

Federal jobs. As might be expected, the reliance on

Federal jobs relative to other government jobs was

higher in government counties than in all-nonmetro

counties, where only 17 percent of government

earnings came from Federal activity. However,

government activity in some counties was almost

exclusively from Federal jobs and in other counties

almost exclusively from State and local jobs.

Government counties are generally scattered across

the Nation, with a slightly higher representation in the

West, including most of Alaska (fig. 7). The West

contains 15 percent of nonmetro counties but 27

percent of government counties. The government

counties tended to be more highly urbanized, with

one-fifth of the counties having between 20,000 and

50,000 people living in cities or towns, and 42

percent of the counties adjoining metro areas.

*Counties with 25 percent or more labor and proprietors’ income from government, 1987-89 annualized average.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

12 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Government counties, along with the servicesdependent counties, experienced the largest population

growth (slightly over 6-percent increase) of any of the

county economic types during the 1980’s (table 4).

Population increased in government counties in all

regions, with the largest growth (11 percent)

occurring in the western government counties.

Government counties also experienced strong

economic growth during the 1980’s (fig. 8).

Aggregate earnings increased 11 percent, significantly

higher than the 3.4-percent increase for all-nonmetro

counties. Because earnings declined in all

goods-producing sectors, the overall earnings growth

in government counties stemmed from growth in the

two largest sectors--government and trade/services.

Government counties had a combined gain in

government and trade/services jobs in excess of

619,000 jobs with an offset from substantial losses in

the goods-producing industries resulting in an overall

gain of 433,000 new jobs.

Despite population and earnings growth, government

counties had lower levels of economic well-being

relative to all-nonmetro counties. Per capita income

and per capita earnings averaged more than $1,000

lower than comparable all-nonmetro figures. The

average poverty rate was the highest among the

economic types. To a substantial extent, this results

from the disproportionate number of low-income

college students and military personnel in these

counties. Nonetheless, the development of

government-based activities, such as penal

institutions, has revitalized the economies of some

rural communities.

Table 4--Government-dependent counties:

Selected characteristics

Govern- Allment nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number 244 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 6,571 50,898

Urbanized, 19931,2 Percent 70.9 66.0

Population density, 19903,4 Number 38.4 36.3

Population change, 1980-904 Percent 6.2 .6

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars 12,118 13,580

Earnings change, 1979-89:5

Total earnings Percent 11.0 3.4

Government earnings do. 21.9 18.5

1Persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more. 2Percentage

of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile. 4Unweighted county

averages. 5Calculated from aggregated data.

Figure 8

Job growth in government-dependent and

all-nonmetro counties

After stagnation and slight decline in the early 1980's,

growth in government and total jobs picked up in

government counties

Index, 1979=100

Total jobs - government counties

Government jobs - government counties

140

130

120

110

100

7 0

60

90 Government jobs - all-nonmetro

80 Total jobs - all-nonmetro

1979 81 83 85 87 89

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Economic Type

Services-Dependent Counties

The services-dependent category reflects a dominant trend of growth in service sector jobs.

Growth in service sector jobs has been a dominant

force in national industrial trends over the past two

decades, accounting for 83 percent of new nonmetro

jobs during 1979-89. Service sector jobs now

permeate most rural economies. Earnings from

service-related jobs include a mix made up of

consumer services, distributive and business services,

wholesale and retail trade, and education. The 323

services-dependent counties derived between 50 and

78 percent of total earnings from services

employment during 1987-89.

Services counties, like government counties, are fairly

evenly distributed across the Nation with a slightly

higher representation in the West (fig. 9). Nearly 40

percent are in the Midwest. These counties, on

average, experienced both population increase and

population inmigration during the 1980’s. Only

services counties, of all the economic types, had

Figure 9

Nonmetro services-dependent counties, 1989*

inmovement of population. Population growth and

inmigration occurred in all regions except the

Midwest.

Services counties exhibit different degrees of

urbanization, although a large majority have some

population living in an urban place (table 5). More

than 50 percent have some urban population and are

not adjacent to a metro area. Another 29 percent have

some urban population and are adjacent to a metro

area. Only 18 percent have no urban population. (A

third of the services counties contain a town/city of at

least 10,000 population; a seventh have a city of

20,000 population or more). Depending on their

degree of urbanization and proximity to a metro area,

services counties are likely to perform different

primary economic functions. For example, general

trade/service centers are usually more urbanized but

not adjacent to a metro area. consumer service centers

*Counties with 50 percent or more labor and proprietors’ income from services, 1987-89 annualized average.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service. USDA, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

14 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
provide primarily for residential areas, and specialized

service centers for special purpose sites, like

recreation areas, are near those sites. Seventy services

counties were also retirement counties, and 60 were

also Federal lands counties, indicating the important

role of services in the economies of these types.

Like the government counties, the economies of

services counties grew during the 1980’s. Total

earnings grew 9 percent (more than twice the rate for

all-nonmetro counties), and earnings from services

activity grew 24 percent (nearly twice the rate for allnonmetro counties). Services counties grew slightly

faster in total jobs and services jobs than all-nonmetro

counties (fig. 10). Gains in two sectors--services with

over 800,000 new jobs and government with 76,000

new jobs--led job growth in the services counties.

Contrary to government counties, the level of

well-being for services counties’ residents was higher

than for all-nonmetro counties. With lower

unemployment and a greater share of residents with

high school educations, the services counties, on

average, had median family income, per capita

income, and per capita earnings that were higher than

the average in all-nonmetro counties. The average

poverty rate was the lowest of any of the economic

types. However, an overall 8-percent decline in

earnings per job suggests that the prospects for

continued higher levels of economic well-being in the

1990’s are uncertain.

Table 5-Services-dependent counties: Selected

characteristics

Item Unit

AllServices nonmetro

counties counties

Counties Number 323 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 9,594 50,898

Urbanized, 19931,2 Percent 82.3 66.0

Population density, 19903,4 Number 43.4 36.3

Population change, 1980-904 Percent 6.3 .6

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars 14,384 13,580

Earnings change, 1979-89:5

Total earnings Percent 8.5 3.4

Services earnings do. 23.5 13.2

1Persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more. 2Percentage

of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile. 4Unweighted county

averages. 5Calculated from aggregated data.

Figure 10

Job growth in services-dependent and

all-nonmetro counties

Services-dependent counties surpassed all-nonmetro

counties in job growth for service jobs and total jobs

Index, 1979=100

140

130

120

110

100

9 0

Services jobs - services counties

Services jobs - all-nonmetro

Total jobs - services counties

Total jobs - all-nonmetro

80

70

60

1979 81 83 85 87 89

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 15
Economic Type

Nonspecialized Counties

The nonspecialized group includes counties whose economies did not fall into one of the

economic specializations.

The nonspecialized group includes 484 counties

whose economies did not qualify for one of the

economic specialization types. They represented

approximately 20 percent of nonmetro counties,

population, jobs, and earnings. Though defined

somewhat differently, the nonspecialized type is a

residual group replacing the unclassified category in

earlier typologies. About 150 of the nonspecialized

counties were unclassified counties in the 1979

typology, 116 were farming counties, and 81 were

manufacturing counties.

As a group, nonspecialized counties resemble

all-nonmetro counties on many demographic,

population, and economic characteristics. Their

industrial structure mirrors closely that of allnonmetro counties, although the share of jobs from

farming was slightly higher.

Figure 11

Nonmetro nonspecialized counties, 1989*

Two-thirds of the nonspecialized counties experienced

job growth during the 1980’s. Growth in jobs (and

earnings) was somewhat slower than the all-nonmetro

rate (fig. 12, table 6). Income levels (per capita and

median family) were slightly lower, and reliance on

transfer income was higher than for all-nonmetro

counties. The nonspecialized group had $36 of

transfer income for every $100 of earned income--the

second highest ratio for any of the economic groups.

Nonspecialized counties dot the national landscape

(fig. 11). They appear in 44 of the 50 States

(excluding Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

Rhode Island, Hawaii, and New Jersey, which is

totally metro). The large majority are located in the

South (49 percent) and the Midwest (37 percent).

Texas contains 47 nonspecialized counties, Missouri

39, and Georgia and Kentucky each contain 30. About

*Counties not classified as a specialized economic type, 1987-89.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
two-thirds of nonspecialized counties have between

2,500 and 20,000 population living in urban places.

Nearly 60 percent of the counties are adjacent to a

metro area. The land area in nonspecialized counties

was smaller (874 square miles), on average, than in

all-nonmetro counties (1,256 square miles).

Of the nonspecialized counties, 124 overlapped with

persistent poverty counties and 119 overlapped with

commuting counties. The proportion of workers

commuting outside the county to work ranged from 3

percent to 83 percent. The evidence reviewed here

suggests that the nonspecialized group includes

counties with two general kinds of economic

performance in the 1980’s. First, there are counties

that had strong economies associated with diversification or associated with strong service sector

growth in counties that are residential sites for

adjacent metro spillover. Second, there are those

counties that had weak economies caused by shifts

away from specializations in farming or manufacturing or caused by having a small economic base

and/or high concentrations of poverty. In improved

economic times, some of the nonspecialized group

may return to one of the economic specializations.

The nonspecialized group also includes a few counties

that are specialized in economic activities such as

construction, agricultural services, or forestry or

fisheries.

Table 6--Nonspecialized counties: Selected

characteristics

Nonspe- Allcialized nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number 484 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 11,105 50,898

Urbanized, 19931,2 Percent 73.9 66.0

Population density, 19903,4 Number 36.0 36.3

Population change, 1980-904 Percent 1.7 .6

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars 13,004 13,580

Earnings change, 1979-895 Percent .6 3.4

Counties with earnings do.

growth, 1979-892

49.0 49.8

1Persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more. 2Percentage

of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile. 4Unweighted county

averages. 5Calculated from aggregated data.

Figure 12

Job growth in nonspecialized and

all-nonmetro counties

Job growth in nonspecialized counties mirrors that for

all-nonmetro counties with improvement occurring in

the second half of the decade

Index, 1979=100

140

130

120

110

100

Total jobs - all-nonmetro

90

80

Total jobs - nonspecialized counties

70

60

1979 81 83 85 87

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

89

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Policy Type

Retirement-Destination Counties

Retirement counties’ population grew as both retirees and younger age groups moved in.

The movement of retirees into rural and smalltown

areas was an important trend during the 1960’s and

1970’s. Factors contributing to the trend included

improved health of older people, earlier retirement

ages, higher retirement incomes, and living conditions

and amenities of rural areas and small towns that

made them desirable sites for retirement. Counties

serving as retirement-destination areas for older

people continue to represent an important category in

the typology, although the trend slowed partly

because of the economic slump of the early 1980’s

and an associated drop in real estate activity, reducing

the number of retirement destination areas

significantly during the 1980’s. The retirement group

now includes 190 counties, of which 158 were

retirement counties in the 1979 typology. Population

aged 60 and above in these counties increased by at

least 15 percent from inmovement of people between

Figure 13

Nonmetro retirement-destination counties, 1990*

*Counties with 15 percent or more inmigration of persons aged 60 and over, 1980-90.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from Bureau of the Census

1980 and 1990. The increases ranged from 15 percent

to 121 percent.

Over 80 percent of retirement counties are located in

the South and West (fig. 13). They are more prevalent

in the traditional retirement areas with warm climates

of Florida and parts of the Southwest, and in lake,

reservoir, coastal, or scenic upland areas. Over half of

the nonmetro counties in Arizona, Florida, and

Hawaii are retirement-destination areas. States with

less than half but more than a quarter of nonmetro

counties serving as retirement areas include

California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, and

North Carolina. Retirement counties tend to be more

rural, with few having over 20,000 people living in a

city or town. Nearly 40 percent of the counties are

totally rural, and another 50 percent have from 2,500

to 20,000 population living in towns or small cities.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Many retirement counties are also recreation and

resort areas, as evidenced by a considerable number

of overlaps with Federal lands and services counties.

As a result, they attract both younger populations and

retirees. While the average growth in population aged

65 and over was 45.4 percent during the 1980’s, the

18 to 34 and 35 to 64 age groups also grew by 9.3

and 35.4 percent, respectively. Compared with other

county types, the retirement group was the only type

with a population gain in the younger age category,

and had the highest growth in the 35 to 64 age group

of all the types. The larger share of the younger

population helps explain the fact that the share of

population that was 65 years old and over (17.8

percent) in 1990 was only moderately higher than the

all-nonmetro average of 15.9 percent (table 7). Unlike

farming counties, where outmovement of younger

population has left behind a share of elderly

population (18.3 percent) even higher than that for

retirement counties, the growth in both younger and

older aged populations has created a favorable mix for

the economic growth and expansion in retirement

counties during the 1980’s.

Population and economic growth characterized the

retirement counties during the 1980’s. Nearly all

retirement counties experienced population growth.

Their average population growth rate from 1980 to

1990 was 23 percent, the highest of all 11 types

(versus 0.6 for all-nonmetro counties). Furthermore,

retirement counties in all four regions gained

population with rates ranging from a low of 15

percent in the Midwest to 28 percent in the Northeast.

The retirement group was the only type that had

inmigration overall and in all regions.

Nearly all retirement counties experienced job growth

during the decade; 60 percent grew faster than the

national average. These counties also had the highest

job growth (34.3 percent) and earnings growth (25.9

percent) of all types. Jobs grew more than three times

faster than the all-nonmetro rate due in part to growth

in services, government, and construction jobs. Nearly

three-fifths of jobs in the retirement group were in the

services sector (fig. 14).

Table 7--Retirement-destination counties: Selected

characteristics

Retire- Allment nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number

Population, 1990 Thousands

Elderly population, 19901 Percent

Population density, 19901,2 Number

Population change, 1980-901 Percent

Per capita income, 19891 Dollars

Per capita transfer income, do.

19891

Job growth, 1979-893 Percent

Service job growth, 1979-893 do.

190 2,276

5,205 50,898

17.8 15.9

38.3 36.3

22.7 .6

13,698 13,580

2,876 2.636

34.3 10.6

65.0 36.9

1Unweighted county averages. 2Persons per square mile.

3Calculated from aggregated data.

Figure 14

Job growth in retirement-destination and

all-nonmetro counties

The pace of job growth in retirement-destination counties

was far higher than that for all-nonmetro counties due in

large part to growth in the service sector

Index, 1979=100

160

150

140

130

120

110

100

90

80

Services jobs - retirement counties

Total jobs - retirement counties

Services jobs - all-nonmetro

Total jobs - all-nonmetro

1979 81 83 85 87

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

89

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 19
Policy Type

Federal Lands Counties

Federal lands counties are larger and more sparsely populated than are all-nonmetro counties,

but some counties have 20,000 to 50,000 people living in towns or small cities.

Federal lands counties, which are generally affected

by Federal policies relating to land and the

environment, as well as tourism activities, are an

important policy type. There were 270 Federal lands

counties--those with 30 percent or more of land area

in Federal ownership in 1987. The amount of

federally owned acreage in these counties ranged

from 30 to 99 percent. The Federal lands group

contained 12 percent of nonmetro counties, 11 percent

of nonmetro jobs, and 11 percent of nonmetro

earnings in 1989.

Western States accounted for 76 percent of Federal

lands counties (fig. 15). Over half of nonmetro

counties in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,

Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming are

Federal lands counties. Small concentrations of

counties are located in national forests in parts of

Figure 15

Nonmetro Federal lands counties, 1987*

Appalachia, the Ozarks, and in the northern parts of

Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Federal lands counties were a little more likely to be

totally rural than all-nonmetro counties (37 percent

compared with 34 percent) and much more likely not

to be adjacent to a metro area (74 percent compared

with 57 percent). With a much larger land area (4,312

square miles in the average county), population

density averaged only 15.4 persons per square mile,

the lowest of any of the county types except farming.

However, the population does not always live in rural

parts of these counties. About 14 percent of the

counties had between 20,000 and 50,000 people living

in towns or small cities.

With the bulk of the counties located in the rapidly

growing West, the population in Federal lands

*Counties with 30 percent or more of land area in Federal lands, 1987.

Source: Rural Economy Division. Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from the Soil Conservation Service, USDA.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
counties, on average, grew significantly faster during

the 1980’s than in the all-nonmetro counties, 9

percent versus 0.6 percent (table 8). Although the

population in the 18 to 34 age group declined, the

population in the 35 to 64 age group and the 65 and

over age group grew by 27.7 percent and 32.7

percent, respectively. Gain in the elderly category

reflects some overlap with the retirement-destination

counties, although only 14 percent of the population

in the average county was age 65 and over, the lowest

for any of the policy types.

People living in the Federal lands counties fared

slightly better economically than those in allnonmetro counties. The average poverty rate (15.8)

was the lowest of all the types. Their median family

income averaged $27,923 in 1989, over $1,900 higher

than the all-nonmetro figure, although per capita

income of $13,807 and per capita earnings of $8,823

were similar to the all-nonmetro figures.

The strong growth in the services sector in the 1980’s

probably contributed to higher levels of family

income. Nearly 70 percent of jobs in the average

Federal lands county were in the services or

government sectors, reflecting the recreational use and

land management functions of the group. Of the net

gain of slightly more than 430,000 new jobs, over

429,000 were in the services sector and about 63,000

in the government sector. Jobs in the farming and

mining sectors declined. Earnings from services jobs

grew about 17 percent compared with 13 percent for

all-nonmetro counties, and the jobs themselves grew

by 45.2 percent compared with 36.9 percent for

all-nonmetro counties (fig. 16). Earnings and jobs in

the government sector also grew more rapidly than

they did in the all-nonmetro group.

Table 8--Federal lands counties: Selected

characteristics

Federal Alllands nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number 270 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 5,425 50,898

34.0

36.3

.6

Totally rural, 19931,2 Percent

Population density, 19903,4 Number

Population change, 1980-904 Percent

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars

Counties with fast job

growth, 1979-895 Percent

Job growth, 1979-896

do.

Service job growth, 1979-896 do.

37.0

15.4

9.0

13,807

33.5

19.4

45.2

13,580

16.0

10.6

36.9

1No persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more.

2Percentage of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile.

4Unweighted county averages. 5Percentage of counties in group

with job growth greater than or equal to the average for U.S.

growing counties (22.29). 6Calculated from aggregated data.

Figure16

Job growth in Federal lands and

all-nonmetro counties

Growth in service sector jobs was an important

component of overall job growth in Federal lands counties

Index, 1979=100

140

Services jobs - Federal lands counties

130 Services jobs - all-nonmetro

Total jobs - Federal lands counties

120 Total jobs - all-nonmetro

110

100

90

80

70

60

1979 81 83 85 87 89

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 21

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysts.
Policy Type

Commuting Counties

Commuting counties have a substantial share of their workforce commuting to jobs outside the county,

are small, and are apt to be near a metro area.

The commuting counties represent counties whose

economies are shaped, in part, by major outflows of

workers commuting to jobs in other counties. These

381 counties had 40 percent to 84 percent of their

workforce commuting to jobs outside the county.

Over 6 million people, 12 percent of the nonmetro

population, lived in the commuting counties in 1990.

Nearly two-thirds of these counties are in the South,

and more than a fourth are in the Midwest (fig. 17).

Georgia has 51 commuting counties, the largest

number of any State. Other States having at least 20

commuting counties are Kentucky (33), Mississippi

(20), Texas (25), and Virginia (27).

Associated with their location in States where

counties tend to be small, commuting counties’

average land area was 530 square miles in 1990

Figure 17

Nonmetro commuting counties, 1990*

compared with an all-nonmetro county average of

1,256 square miles--the smallest of the 11 county

types. Over two-thirds of the commuting counties

adjoined a metro area to which their economies were

likely linked (table 9). Nearly all of these either had

no substantial urban population (under 20,000 persons

living in cities and towns over 2,500 population) or

were totally rural (no persons living in cities and

towns over 2,500 population). An additional 25

percent of counties were nonadjacent and totally rural.

Commuting counties gained population during the

1980’s at a rate higher than the all-nonmetro rate; the

fastest growth was in the 35 to 64 age group.

The dominant characteristics of the commuting

counties indicate somewhat higher shares of

disadvantaged populations. Relative to all-nonmetro

counties, commuting counties had higher percentages

*Counties with 40 percent or more of workers working outside county of residence, 1990.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from Bureau of the Census.

22 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
of Blacks, disabled, unemployed, persons lacking a

high school education, and high school dropouts,

characteristics consistent with disproportionately

southern location. The average per capita income in

the commuting counties was $12,579, about $1,000

less than the all-nonmetro average, but median family

income, which averaged $26,117, and per capita

earnings, which averaged $8,236, were similar to the

all-nonmetro values. Thus, income may be unevenly

distributed between the working and poor populations.

Activity within the local economies of commuting

counties was considerably less than that in

all-nonmetro counties. Reflecting the high reliance on

external sources of work for many residents, the

counties averaged only 35 jobs per 100 population,

the lowest ratio of any of the types. The economic

picture changes when the jobs and earnings for

commuting workers are taken into account. For

example, the worker/population ratio (all workers) for

commuting counties was 66 workers per 100

population, about the same as the all-nonmetro

average of 68 workers per 100 in 1990.

Industrial activity was slightly more oriented towards

goods-producing jobs than other types except for

manufacturing. Compared with all-nonmetro

counties, overall earnings grew faster and overall jobs

grew at a comparable rate (fig. 18). Over 70 percent

of commuting counties saw some job growth during

the decade.

The commuting counties’ overlap with other types

helps shed light on their economic status. A sizable

number of counties are farming and/or former farming

(140 in all), over 80 are also manufacturing, and 119

are in the nonspecialized category. Considering their

small population size and proximity to metro areas,

the commuting group, like the nonspecialized

counties, seems to be made up of different county

subgroups. One subgroup of counties is within

commuting proximity of metro centers that are

growing primarily from metro spillover and may

function primarily as residential communities for

commuting workers. A second subgroup includes

current or former farming or manufacturing counties

with low and/or declining economic bases that have

forced workers to leave the county for jobs. A third

subgroup includes very small counties that function as

part of a larger labor market area.

Table 9--Commuting counties: Selected

characteristics

Com- Allmuting nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number 381 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 6,048 50,898

Black population, 1990 Percent 13.0 8.0

Adjacent to metro area,

19931 do. 68.7 43.5

Population density, 19902,3 Number 35.0 36.3

Population change, 1980-903 Percent 4.7 .6

Per capita income, 19893 Dollars 12,579 13,580

Commuting workers, 19903 Percent 50.9 25.2

Earnings change, 1979-894

do. 6.1 3.4

1Percentage of counties in group. 2Persons per square mile.

3Unweighted county averages. 4Calculated from aggregated data.

Figure 18

Job growth in commuting and all-nonmetro

counties

Despite slightly lower levels of economic activity,

jobs in commuting counties grew at a rate very

similar to the all-nonmetro rate

Index, 1979=100

140

Services jobs - commuting counties

130 Services jobs - all-nonmetro

120 Total jobs - all-nonmetro

110

100

90

Total jobs - commuting counties

80

70

60

1979 81 83 85 87 89

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Policy Type

Persistent Poverty Counties

Persistent poverty counties have a disproportionate share of people with characteristics

associated with low levels of labor force participation.

Although poverty has declined over time in nonmetro

areas as a whole, it remains a serious, chronic

problem in many nonmetro counties. In 1990, 535

nonmetro counties with poverty rates of 20 percent or

more in 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1990 were classified

as persistent poverty counties. The poverty group

represented 24 percent of nonmetro counties, 19

percent of nonmetro population, and 32 percent (2.7

million) of the nonmetro poor in 1990. The 1990

poverty rates ranged from 20 percent to 63 percent

with an average of 29 percent, about twice other

nonmetro counties.

The persistent poverty counties are heavily

concentrated in the South: 83 percent, with

disproportionate representation in Appalachia, the

Ozark-Ouachita area, and the Mississippi Delta (fig.

19). Others are scattered in areas of the Southwest or

Northern Plains. Over 80 percent of Mississippi and

Louisana nonmetro counties and 50-60 percent of

Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina

nonmetro counties are persistent poverty counties.

Poverty counties tend to be smaller and have less

urban populations than many of the county types.

Nearly 40 percent of the counties had no people

living in towns or small cities in 1990, compared with

34 percent of all-nonmetro counties. Three-fifths of

poverty counties were nonadjacent to a metro area.

Poverty counties averaged 17,876 people in 1990;

population size was smaller in only three other county

types--farming, commuting, and transfers-dependent.

The poverty group has disproportionate numbers of

economically at-risk people with characteristics that

affect their levels of labor force participation. For

Figure 19

Nonmetro persistent poverty counties, 1990*

*Counties with 20 percent or more of persons in poverty in each of the years 1960,1970,1980, and 1990.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from Bureau of the Census.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
example, people living in persistent poverty counties

in 1990, compared with all-nonmetro counties, were

more likely to belong to a minority group (Black,

Hispanic, or Native American), live in a

female-headed household, lack a high school

education, be a high school dropout, and/or have a

physical or mental disability (table 10).

In keeping with the higher proportions of

disadvantaged people, poverty counties had lower

income levels and more pronounced underemployment

than most other county types. Per capita income in

1989 lagged the average all-nonmetro per capita

income by over $2,500. Similarly, earnings per capita

and median family income were the lowest among the

types with the exception of the transfers-dependent

counties. Residents relied heavily on transfer payment

income; the ratio of $42 of transfer income to every

$100 of earned income was exceeded only by the ratio

in transfers-dependent counties. The unemployment

rate in the persistent poverty counties was 8.5 percent

in 1990, considerably above the 6.6 all-nonmetro rate,

and the ratio of 39 jobs to every 100 people fell under

the all-nonmetro ratio of 47 jobs to every 100 people.

Only the transfers-dependent and commuting groups

had jobs/population ratios lower than the ratio in the

poverty group.

Evidence suggests that the chronic poverty in the

persistent poverty counties is directly attributable to

the composition and characteristics of the population,

although the role of local economies in encouraging

chronically high poverty levels is not as clearcut. On

the one hand, the high unemployment rate and the

lower number of jobs per capita suggest that the

economy plays a part in providing insufficient job

opportunities. On the other hand, the industrial mix of

jobs in persistent poverty counties does not differ

substantially from the all-nonmetro pattern, although

the shares of jobs in the farming, manufacturing, and

government sectors were slightly higher and the share

in the services sector was slightly lower. (Poverty

counties overlapped fairly heavily with farming (135),

manufacturing (119), and nonspecialized (124)

counties; but the greatest overlap (233 counties) was

with transfers counties.) Jobs grew by about 6 percent

from 1979 to 1989, while earnings grew only 0.1

percent. The rate of overall job growth was 5

percentage points under that for all-nonmetro counties

(fig. 20). Earnings per job in 1989 were the second

lowest of all the county types, suggesting that many of

the low-paying jobs were leading to high levels of

working poverty. Chronic poverty in the poverty

counties involves both a human resources problem and

a lack of opportunities for jobs that pay decent wages.

Table 10--Persistent poverty counties: Selected

characteristics

Persistent Allpoverty nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number 535 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 9,564 50,898

Totally rural, 19931,2 Percent 39.2 34.0

Population density, 19903,4 Number 29.7 36.3

Population change, 1980-904

Percent -1.3 .6

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars 11,056 13,580

Per capita transfer income, do.

19894

2,705 2,636

Black population, 19905

Percent 21.2 8.0

Poverty population, 19905

do. 29.1 18.3

Disabled population, 19905,6 do. 12.4 10.2

1No persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more.

2Percentage of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile.

4Unweighted county averages. 5Percent of persons; unweighted

county averages. 6Persons with a physical or mental health

condition of at least 6 months duration that limited the kind or

amount of work they could do.

Figure 20

Job growth in poverty and all-nonmetro

counties

Total jobs in the persistent poverty counties grew by

about 6 percent from 1979 to 1989, a rate slower than

the all-nonmetro rate

Index, 1979=100

140

Services jobs - all-nonmetro

Services jobs - poverty counties

Total jobs - all-nonmetro

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

Total jobs - poverty counties

60

1979 81 83 85 87

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

89

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 25
Policy Type

Transfers-Dependent Counties

Like the persistent poverty counties, counties that depend on income from government transfer payments

have disproportionate shares of people with traits limiting labor force participation.

The transfers-dependent counties had economies

heavily based on unearned income from government

transfer payments. Such payments include income

transferred to eligible recipients under the auspices of

Federal, State, and local programs including social

security, unemployment, medicare, medicaid, food

stamps, government and military pensions, and

welfare programs like Aid to Families with

Dependent Children (AFDC), Supplemental Security

Income (SSI), and State and local general assistance

programs. The 381 nonmetro counties in the transfers

category derived an annualized average of at least 25

percent of personal income from transfers, 1987 to

1989. Income from transfer payments in the transfers

counties ranged from 25 percent to 45 percent. By

definition, transfers counties are directly affected by

changes and variations in Federal, State, and local

government transfer programs. For example, the wide

State variation in benefit levels for AFDC affects the

chances of a county being classified as a transfersdependent county.

Counties that depend on transfers income are

regionally concentrated in parts of the South and

Midwest (fig. 21). The majority (64 percent) are in

the Southern States. An additional 26 percent are in

Midwestern States, and nearly 10 percent are in the

Western States. Counties in the transfers group,

relative to all-nonmetro counties, tended to be located

in more remote locations away from metro areas and

to be slightly more sparsely populated. Nearly 70

percent of the counties did not adjoin a metro area,

and over half of these were totally rural counties.

Transfers counties were less apt to be located in the

South and more apt to be located in the Midwest and

West than were the persistent poverty counties.

Figure 21

Nonmetro transfers-dependent counties, 1989*

*Counties with 25 percent or more total personal income from transfer payments, 1987-89 annualized average.

Source: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

26 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Because of the heavy overlap (233 counties) with

persistent poverty counties, the transfers-dependent

counties exhibit many of the same demographic and

economic traits attributed to the persistent poverty

counties. Like the persistent poverty counties, the

transfers-dependent counties had populations with

disproportionate shares of economically disadvantaged

groups, including Blacks, Hispanics, female-headed

households, handicapped persons, and undereducated

persons including high school dropouts (table 11).

Counties averaged a poverty rate of 27.5 percent, only

slightly under the poverty rate in persistent poverty

counties. Given the general makeup of the populations

in many of the transfers-dependent counties, the group

had the lowest incomes and highest unemployment of

the county types. On average, transfers income made

up 29 percent of personal income in the transfersdependent counties compared with 20.1 percent in

all-nonmetro counties. Over 36 percent of households

in the transfers group received social security and

about 15 percent received some form of public

assistance in 1989.

Unlike the persistent poverty counties but in keeping

with the large share of transfer payments accounted

for by social security and medicare, the population of

transfers-dependent counties included a larger share of

elderly. Only the farming and retirement counties had

proportions of elderly population higher than that for

the transfers-dependent counties. Thus, transfersdependent counties dispoportionately represent areas

dependent on assistance to poverty-prone populations

and/or areas with high proportions of retired people.

The industrial mix of jobs in transfers-dependent

counties generally resembled the mix for all-nonmetro

counties as of 1989; however, their economies grew

more slowly over the 1980’s. Overall real earnings

declined by 9 percent, the highest loss of any type

except the mining group. And the pace of overall job

growth in the transfers-dependent counties was much

slower than the all-nonmetro pace. Services jobs in

the transfers-dependent counties grew at a faster rate

than overall job growth, but still significantly under

the all-nonmetro rate (fig. 22). Furthermore, there

was a substantial decline in earnings per job between

1979 and 1989.

Table 11--Transfers-dependent counties: Selected

characteristics

AllTransfers nonmetro

Item Unit counties counties

Counties Number 381 2,276

Population, 1990 Thousands 6,658 50,898

Totally rural, 19931,2 Percent 44.7 34.0

Population density, 19903,4 Number 29.0 36.3

Population change, 1980-904 Percent -.9 .6

Per capita income, 19894 Dollars 10,737 13,580

Per capita transfer income, do.

19894

3,096 2,636

Black population, 19905 Percent 12.0 8.0

Disabled population, 19906do. 13.7 10.2

Transfers/earned income,

19904 Ratio .53 .34

1No persons living in towns of 2,500 population or more.

2Percentage of counties in group. 3Persons per square mile.

4Unweighted county averages. 5Percent of persons; unweighted

county averages. 6Persons with a physical or mental health

condition of at least 6 months duration that limited the kind or

amount of work they could do.

Figure 22

Job growth in transfers-dependent and

all-nonmetro counties

Jobs in transfers counties (total and services) grew over

the 1980’s, but at rates well under the all-nonmetro rates

Index, 1979=100

140

Services jobs - all-nonmetro

130 Services jobs - transfers counties

120 Total jobs - all-nonmetro

110

100

90

Total jobs - transfers counties

80

70

60

1979 81 83 85 87 89

Source: Rural Economy Division, ERS, USDA, using data from

the Bureau of Economic Analysts.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 27
References

Ahearn, Mary, and David Banker. “Urban Farming Has Financial Benefits,” Rural Development Perspectives,

Vol. 5, No. 1, Oct. 1988, pp. 19-21.

Ahearn, Mary, Susan Bentley, and Thomas Carlin. FarmingDependent Counties and the Financial Well-Being of

Farm Operator Households. AIB-544. U.S. Dept. Agr.,

Econ. Res. Serv., Aug. 1988.

Beale, Calvin L. “Prisons, Population, and Jobs in Nonmetro

America,” Rural Development Perspectives, Vol. 8, No.

3, June 1993, pp. 16-19.

Bender. Lloyd D.. Bernal L. Green, Thomas F. Hady, John

A. Kuehn, Marlys K. Nelson, Leon B. Perkinson, and

Peggy J. Ross. The Diverse Social and Economic Structure of Nonmetropolitan America. RDRR-49. U.S.

Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv.. Sept. 1985.

Bentley. Susan. “Farming Dependent Counties,” Fact Sheet.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv., Nov. 1990.

Cook, Peggy J., and Thomas F. Hady. Updating the ERS

County Typology: A View From the 1980’s. Staff Report AGES9327. U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv.,

Dec. 1993.

Deavers, Kenneth L. “1980’s: A Decade of Broad Rural

Stress,” Rural Development Perspectives, Vol. 7, No. 3,

June-Sept. 1991. pp. 1-5.

Deavers, Kenneth L., and David L. Brown. Natural Resource Dependence, Rural Poverty. RDRR-48. US.

Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv., May 1985.

Ghelfi. Linda M. (ed.). Rural Conditions and Trends, Vol. 4,

No. 3, Fall 1993.

Green, Bernal L., and Thomas A. Carlin. Agricultural Policy, Rural Counties and Political Geography. Staff Report AGES850429. U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv.,

May 1985.

Hady, Thomas F.. and Peggy J. Ross. “Nonmetro Counties

Less Dependent on Farming, Manufacturing, and Mining,” Rural Development Perspectives, Vol. 6, No. 3,

June-Sept. 1990, pp. 43-45.

Hady, Thomas F., and Peggy J. Ross. An Update: The Diverse Social and Economic, Structure of Nonmetropolitan America. Staff Report AGES9036, U.S. Dept. Agr.,

Econ. Res. Serv., May 1990.

Henry, Mark, Mark Drabenstott, and Lynn Gibson. “A

Changing Rural America,” Economic Review, JulyAug. 1986. pp. 23-41.

Hoppe, Robert A. Economic Structure and Change in Persistently Low-Income Nonmetro Counties. RDRR-50.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv., Oct. 1985.

Hoppe, Robert A. Farming Operations and Households in

Farming Areas--A Closer Look. AER-685. U.S. Dept.

Agr., Econ. Res. Serv., May 1994.

Ross, Peggy J. “The Changing Landscape of Rural America:

Implications for Policy Planning,” Looking Ahead, Vol.

IX, No. 2, Spring 1986, pp. 6-10.

Ross, Peggy J. “Remarks on the Development of a PolicyOriented Classification of Nonmetropolitan Counties,”

in Rural People and Places: A Symposium on Typologies. A. E. Luloff (ed.), Pub. No. 47, The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, Oct. 1986, pp.

177-180.

Ross, Peggy. J, and Bernal L. Green. Procedures for Developing a Policy-Oriented Classification of Nonmetropolitan Counties. Staff Report AGES850308. U.S. Dept.

Agr., Econ. Res. Serv., Aug. 1985.

Salsgiver, Jacqueline, and Fred K. Hines. Profiling Farming

Counties Using Employment and Income-Based Measures. Staff Report AGES9320. U. S. Dept. Agr., Econ.

Res. Serv., Oct. 1993.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. “Developing Policies to Fit the Diversity of Rural

America,” Farmline, Vol. VI, No. 9, Sept.-Oct. 1985,

pp. 8-10.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. “Rural America Shifts Away from Traditional

Sources of Support,” Farmline News Service, Sept.

1990, pp. 8-14.

28 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix: Data, Definitions, and Procedures

This appendix discusses the general approach and

procedures used to develop the 1989 revised ERS

typology. The ERS research team considered different

models for revising the ERS typology ranging from

doing a complete overhaul to updating the original

1979 typology while making only modest definitional

changes. The team chose a middle-ground approach.

Several initial decisions were made to guide the

analysis:

l Retain the basic conceptual scheme of the original

typology but expand it from 8 to 11 types to reflect

several new themes believed to be important to a better understanding of rural diversity today.

l Employ a 1993 definition of nonmetro status.

l Use essentially the same data sources and procedures as used in the earlier typologies making some

definitional and procedural changes that would improve the clarity and usefulness of the typology:

a. Establish mutually exclusive economic types,

making the typology more useful for

quantitative statistical analyses.

b. Extend the classification to include county

equivalents in Alaska and Hawaii.

c. Redefine the persistent poverty type using a

poverty-based rather than an income-based

measure.

d. Use multi-year measures to define all the

economic types.

Eleven types were identified for inclusion in the

revised typology. Four types were retained from the

original typology: farming-dependent, manufacturingdependent, mining-dependent, and governmentdependent, A fifth type, services-dependent counties,

was added in response to the growing proliferation of

services jobs in the national economy. The sixth type,

nonspecialized counties, includes those counties

whose economies did not meet the criteria for any of

the major economic specializations.

Five additional policy types were identified. Three of

the policy types--retirement-destination, Federal lands,

and persistent poverty--were revised from the original

typology. A commuting type was added to reflect

county economies influenced by workers commuting

to jobs in other counties, and a transfers-dependent

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89

type was added to identify county economies heavily

reliant on income from government transfer payments.

Data Sources

Several data sources were used to implement an

analysis following the criteria laid out above.

Three-year annualized averages of earnings by

industry obtained from the Local Area Personal

Income Series produced by the Bureau of Economic

Analysis (BEA) were used to define the six economic

types and one of the policy types (transfers-dependent

counties). BEA furnished ERS with unsuppressed

estimates for all but 5 of 50 States--Alaska, Maine,

Michigan, Ohio, and Wyoming. Public use estimates

(with suppression) for these five States were utilized

to cover as many of their counties as possible.

County-level data from the Bureau of the Census’s

decennial Censuses of Population were employed to

define three of the policy types: retirementdestination, commuting, and persistent poverty. The

Federal lands type was defined using data from the

1987 Natural Resources Inventory, produced by the

Soil Conservation Service, U. S. Department of

Agriculture. 1

Data to perform the descriptive analysis of the various

types were drawn from the data sources noted above

and, additionally, from BEA’s county employment

estimates reported by industry and county

unemployment estimates from the Bureau of Labor

Statistics (BLS).

Procedures To Define the Types

The analysis to develop definitions for the 11 types

and subsequently to classify 2,276 counties designated

as nonmetro in 1993 according to these types

involved several steps.

Establishing Cutting Points

The first step was to develop measures and establish

cutting points for defining the types (excluding the

persistent poverty category) from data drawn from the

sources specified above (appendix table 1). The exact

measures and the years covered are indicated in the

definitions provided in the introduction section.

Distributions of these measures were evaluated along

with means and standard deviations to establish

threshhold levels or cutting points. As with earlier

typologies, the rule of mean plus one standard

deviation was used as a rough guideline (along with

29
the researchers’ judgment of the nature and relative

importance of the various types) to establish the

cutting points shown in appendix table 1. A cutting

point for the persistent poverty type was selected by

evaluating the use of two measures: poverty rates in

excess of 30 percent or 25 percent in each of 4

selected years.

Adjusting for Economic Overlaps

The second step was to classify the counties

according to the designated cutting points and

implement procedures to establish the nonoverlapping

economic types. Counties overlapping on one or more

economic types were handled in the following

manner. Counties that qualified as farming, mining, or

manufacturing and also qualified as government

and/or services counties were assigned to the farming,

mining, or manufacturing types, respectively. Other

overlaps such as farming-mining, miningmanufacturing, or government-services were assigned

to the type with the largest percentage point

difference above the cutting point divided by the

standard deviation.

Following these procedures, we were able to classify

2,259 of the 2,276 nonmetro counties into one of the

six economic types (appendix table 2.) As noted

above, data were suppressed in some instances for

some counties in five States. Data were available to

classify most of these suppressed data counties into

an economic type. However, 17 such counties that did

not meet the definitional criteria for any economic

type were omitted from the analysis.2

The number of nonmetro counties qualifying for one

or more policy types was 1,197. The number of

two-way overlaps of the policy types with the

economic types and with other policy types appears in

appendix table 3.

Appendix tables 4-18 report the detailed economic

and socioeconomic statistics used to construct the

descriptive profiles. These statistics are reported as

either numbers, unweighted county averages, or

aggregated values as indicated in the table footnotes.

In a few instances, the profiles may contain statistics

that do not appear in the tables.

Endnotes

1Data for Alaska were not available in this source. Therefore, the

amount of land area in Federal ownership was estimated from detailed maps for county equivalents in Alaska.

2Although excluded from the main analysis, economic types were

determined for the 17 counties using definitions based on single

years or earlier years. Ten counties that qualified as nonspecialized

are Haines, AK, Ketchikan Gateway, AK, Wrangell-Petersburg,

AK, Hancock, ME, Washington, ME, Alcona, MI, Benzie, MI,

Dickinson, MI, and Oceana, MI. Six counties--Valdez-Cordova,

AK, Lincoln, ME, Leelanau, MI, Adams, OH, Ottawa, OH, Platte,

WY--qualified as services-dependent. One county, Ontonagon, MI,

qualified as mining-dependent.

30 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 1--Selected statistics for measures used to define county types

Minimum Maximum

Measure 1value value Mean

Standard

deviation

Selected

cutting

point2

Total labor and proprietors’ income from:

Farming

Mining

Manufacturing

Government

Services 3

Increase in elderly population

from inmovement

Land area Federally owned

Workers commuting to jobs

outside county of residence

Personal income from transfer payments

0 88.8

0 79.2

0 82.3

2.1 76.8

2.4 77.9

-47.7 120.9

0 98.7

1.5 84.0

3.6 44.7

Percent

14.3

3.4

18.0

18.1

40.2

2.9

9.5

25.2

20.1

14.5 20

8.2 15

15.0 30

8.3 25

10.5 50

11.5 15

19.0 30

15.2 40

5.5 25

1See definitions for exact measures. Information pertains to all types except persistent poverty and nonspecialized counties.

2Cutting points were established using mean plus one standard deviation as a rough guideline coupled with researchers’ judgment of the nature

and relative importance of the type.

3

IncIudes transportation and public utilities; wholesale trade: retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; services; and agricultural services.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 31
Appendix table 2--Count of nonmetro counties for selected cutting points by county type

Overlaps3

County type1 Cutoff2> Cutoff Retained Reassigned Final counts

Percent ---------------------------- Number of counties ----------------------------

Farming 20 565 71 9 556

Mining 15 151 22 5 146

Manufacturing 30 510 24 4 506

Government 25 323 18 79 244

Services 50 370 8 47 323

Nonspecialized NA NA NA NA 484

Total NA 1,775 143 144 2,2594

Retirement

Federal lands

Commuting

Persistent poverty

Transfers

15 190 NA

30 270 NA

40 381 NA

20 535 NA

25 381 NA

NA 190

NA 270

NA 381

NA 535

NA 381

Total NA 1,197 NA NA 1,1975

NA = Not Applicable.

1

The six economic types are defined as mutually exclusive (nonoverlapping) categories. The five policy types are defined as overlapping categories

(with each other and with the economic types).

2Selected cutting points used to define types (see definitions).

3

The procedure of establishing nonoverlapping (mutually exclusive) economic types was as follows: farming, mining, and manufacturing counties

also qualifying as a government or services county were assigned to farming, mining, or manufacturing, respectively. Other overlaps such as farmingmining, mining-manufacturing, or government-services were assigned to the type with the largest percentage point difference above the cutting point

divided by the standard deviation.

4Number of nonmetro counties that qualify for one of the six economic types, including counties with missing data (suppressed or unavailable) in

one or more sectors. Seventeen counties with missing data that did not qualify for another sector are excluded.

5Number of nonmetro counties qualifying for one or more policy types. An additional 1,079 counties did not qualify as one of the policy types.

32 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 3--Overlaps1 among types

County type Retirement Federal lands Commuting Persistent poverty Transfers

Number

Farming 20

Mining 6

Manufacturing 15

Government 27

Services 70

Nonspecialized 248

41 82 135 63

34 17 27 37

31 82 119 38

61 43 84 89

60 35 45 50

38 119 124 99

Retirement

Federal lands

Commuting

Persistent poverty

Transfers

--

--

__

__

__

58

--

__

__

__

36

31

--

--

--

23 48

27 48

109 62

-- 233

__ --

-- = Duplicative values.

1

Two-way overlaps.

2Of the 484 nonspecialized counties, 199 were not classified in any of the policy types

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 33
Appendix table 4--Distribution of nonmetro population, earnings, jobs and counties by county type1

Counties Population Jobs Earnings

County type 199321990 1989 1989

Number Thousands Millions Dollars

Farming 556 4,647 2.1 39.2

Mining 146 2,847 1.2 24.9

Manufacturing 506 15,768 7.7 145.6

Government 244 6,571 3.0 55.0

Services 323 9,594 4.9 87.5

Nonspecialized 484 11,105 4.9 85.8

Retirement 190 5,205 2.4 41.7

Federal lands 270 5,425 2.7 50.3

Commuting 381 6,048 2.2 37.3

Persistent poverty 535 9,564 3.9 65.7

Transfers 381 6,658 2.4 40.4

All-nonmetro 2,276 50.898 24.0 441.7

Percent

8.8 8.9

4.9 5.6

32.1 33.0

12.5 12.4

20.3 19.8

20.6 19.4

Farming 24.4 9.1

Mining 6.4 5.6

Manufacturing 22.2 31.0

Government 10.7 12.9

Services 14.2 18.8

Nonspecialized 21.3 21.8

All-nonmetro 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

1With the exception of number and percent of counties, values are aggregated data or calculated from aggregated data. Values for the economic

types do not sum to the all-nonmetro value because of the omission of 17 counties with missing data. Values for the policy types reflect overlapping

structure of these types.

2Nonmetro status designated as of 1993 Census.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of the Census,

34 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 5--Distribution of nonmetro counties and population by region and county type, 1990

Region

County type Northeast Midwest South West

Percent of counties

Farming 0 52.5 31.0 16.5

Mining 1.4 14.4 55.4 28.8

Manufacturing 5.9 29.4 60.9 3.8

Government 5.8 24.2 43.0 27.0

Services 7.7 38.1 32.8 21.4

Nonspecialized 4.3 37.2 48.8 9.7

Retirement 2.1 15.8 50.0 32.1

Federal lands .7 6.3 17.0 76.0

Commuting 3.4 27.6 64.0 5.0

Persistent poverty 0 11.4 82.8 5.8

Transfers 1.0 25.7 63.9 9.4

All-nonmetro 4.2 36.6 44.3 14.9

Percent of population

Farming 0 45.9 33.8 20.3

Mining 4.6 11.2 62.2 22.0

Manufacturing 11.0 33.0 52.3 3.7

Government 14.9 22.3 38.3 24.5

Services 14.1 31.3 32.2 22.4

Nonspecialized 8.7 33.1 46.2 12.0

Retirement 3.3 10.6 44.1 42.0

Federal lands 1.5 3.7 18.0 76.8

Commuting 10.1 30.1 56.3 3.5

Persistent poverty 0 6.8 85.7 7.5

Transfers 2.1 21.6 66.4 9.9

All-nonmetro 10.4 31.4 43.9 14.3

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of the Census.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 35
Appendix table 6--Nonmetro population change and migration rate by region and county type, 1980-901

County type Northeast

Region

Midwest South West All regions

Population change rate

Farming 0 -10.0 -4.7 -1.2 -6.9

Mining -2.4 -2.5 -3.9 6.8 -.6

Manufacturing 1.6 -.5 2.3 3.6 1.5

Government 5.6 .6 6.1 11.3 6.2

Services 11.4 -2.8 8.5 17.2 6.3

Nonspecialized 4.0 -2.4 3.2 9.1 1.7

Retirement 28.3 14.8 22.9 26.0 22.7

Federal lands 4.3 -1.5 8.4 10.0 9.0

Commuting 9.7 -.7 5.5 20.9 4.7

Persistent poverty 0 -4.9 -1.5 9.0 -1.3

Transfers -3.6 -1.7 -1.8 7.3 -.9

All-nonmetro 5.5 -4.5 1.9 7.8 .6

Net migration rate

Farming

Mining

Manufacturing

Government

Services

Nonspecialized

0

-5.5

-2.4

1.4

7.1

-. 1

-13.1 -8.7 -8.5 -11.0

-6.3 -10.8 -6.2 -8.8

-5.4 -2.0 -4.9 -3.1

-4.7 -.2 -.4 -1.3

-5.9 4.9 6.6 1.3

-5.5 -.6 1.0 -2.2

Retirement 23.9 12.7 20.1 17.9 18.3

Federal lands 2.2 -4.6 4.5 -.6 .1

Commuting 4.2 -4.1 1.5 9.4 .5

Persistent poverty 0 -10.3 -6.7 -5.2 -7.0

Transfers -5.2 -4.4 -5.6 -.4 -4.8

All-nonmetro 1.4 -8.1 -2.6 -2.0 -4.4

1Unweighted county averages.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from Bureau of the Census.

36 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 7--Urbanization characteristics for nonmetro counties by county type

Total urban population and metro adjacency, 19931 Adjacent to Population

20,000 or more 2,500 to 19,999 less than 2,500 metro area, size,

County type Adjacent Nonadjacent Adjacent Nonadjacent Adjacent Nonadjacent 1993 19902

-------------------------------------- Percent of counties -------------------------------------- Number

Farming 0.5 0.4 11.4 21.0 14.4 52.3 26.3 8,358

Mining 3.4 4.8 19.2 39.0 11.0 22.6 33.6 19,498

Manufacturing 11.5 3.8 38.5 28.3 8.3 9.7 58.3 31,162

Government 10.2 10.2 23.0 27.5 9.0 20.1 42.2 26,931

Services 6.2 13.3 22.9 39.9 7.7 10.0 36.8 29,703

Nonspecialized 4.5 3.5 39.7 26.2 12.6 13.5 56.8 22,945

Retirement 6.8 4.8 27.4 22.1 14.7 24.2 48.9 27,396

Federal lands 5.6 8.1 13.3 36.0 7.4 29.6 26.3 20,091

Commuting 1.3 0 32.8 6.6 34.6 24.7 68.7 15,873

Persistent poverty 2.5 2.6 25.0 30.7 11.2 28.0 38.7 17,876

Transfers 1.8 1.6 19.9 32.0 8.7 36.0 30.4 17.475

All-nonmetro 5.8 5.0 26.8 28.4 10.9 23.1 43.5 22,363

1Urban population refers to persons living in incorporated and unincorporated towns and cities of at least 2,500 inhabitants. Counties with fewer

than 2,500 urban residents are defined as totally rural.

2Unweighted county averages.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from Bureau of the Census.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 37
Appendix table 8--Population characteristics for nonmetro counties by county type1

Persons per Persons aged

Land area, square mile, 65 and over, Population growth by age group, 1980-90

County type 1990 1990 1990 All persons 18-34 35-64 65+

Square miles Number Percent ----------------------- Population change rate -----------------------

Farming 1,048 11.8 18.3 -6.9 -17.4 .5 6.4

Mining 1,625 31.8 13.1 -.6 -13.6 14.7 16.8

Manufacturing 639 59.2 14.7 1.5 -4.9 12.7 15.2

Government 3,508 38.4 13.7 6.2 -2.4 20.7 21.2

Services 1,097 43.4 16.2 6.3 -6.0 19.9 21.3

Nonspecialized 874 36.0 16.4 1.7 -5.9 11.9 12.3

Retirement 1,370 38.3 17.8 22.7 9.3 35.4 45.4

Federal lands 4,312 15.4 13.6 9.0 -9.0 27.7 32.7

Commuting 530 35.0 14.8 4.7 -1.1 17.3 14.9

Persistent poverty 1,571 29.7 15.0 -1.3 -5.7 9.8 8.2

Transfers 1,792 29.0 16.8 -.9 -6.7 9.2 10.4

All-nonmetro 1,256 36.3 15.9 .6 -8.7 11.6 14.1

1Unweighted county averages.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from Bureau of the Census

38 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 9--Demographic characteristics for nonmetro counties by county type, 19901

Disabled Persons aged

Racial and ethnic Households population 25 and over

composition headed by aged 16-64 not Dependent who completed High school Persons in

County type Black2 Hispanic females3

institutionalized4 populations 5 high school dropouts6poverty

---------------------------- Percent ---------------------------- Ratio ----------------------- Percent -----------------------

Farming 4.9 6.0 4.1 8.9 0.87 69.3 9.3 18.9

Mining 2.9 10.1 5.1 11.1 .74 65.1 11.9 20.1

Manufacturing 13.0 1.1 5.9 10.6 .71 64.2 12.7 16.9

Government 9.0 8.0 6.2 10.7 .70 68.8 10.9 21.0

Services 5.1 3.7 5.2 9.8 .74 72.4 9.9 16.5

Nonspecialized 9.6 2.7 5.5 10.8 .77 66.1 11.6 18.7

Retirement 5.2 6.7 4.9 11.3 .75 70.3 12.7 16.3

Federal lands 1.8 6.8 4.9 10.1 .74 74.9 10.6 15.8

Commuting 13.0 2.0 5.3 11.1 .72 63.9 12.3 18.1

Persistent poverty 21.2 7.8 7.5 12.4 .78 56.6 14.3 29.1

Transfers 12.0 5.8 6.7 13.7 .80 59.2 13.2 27.5

All-nonmetro 8.0 4.3 5.2 10.2 .77 67.7 11.0 18.3

1Unweighted county averages.

2Blacks of non-Hispanic origin.

3Percent of households with female householder, no husband present and own children under 18 years old.

4Persons with a physical or mental health condition lasting 6 or more months that limited the kind or amount of work they could do

5Persons aged 17 or younger and persons aged 65 or older to persons aged 18-64.

6Percent of civilians age 16-19 not enrolled in school and not a high school graduate.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from Bureau of the Census.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 39
Appendix table 10--Income characteristics for nonmetro counties by county type, 19891,2

Per capita Transfer

Per capita transfer Per capita Median family Personal income from-- payments to

County type income income earnings income Earnings Transfers Property earned income

---------------------------- Dollars ---------------------------- ----------------------- Percent ----------------------- Ratio

Farming 14,743 2,651 9,166 24,394 61.5 18.7 19.9 0.32

Mining 13,081 2,567 8,502 26,114 63.4 20.3 16.3 .34

Manufacturing 13,081 2,455 8,672 26,936 66.1 19.2 14.7 .30

Government 12,118 2,753 7,467 25,301 61.0 23.6 15.4 .41

Services 14,384 2,721 8,650 27,677 59.9 19.7 20.5 .34

Nonspecialized 13,004 2,695 7,939 25,591 60.9 21.3 17.9 .36

Retirement 13,698 2,876 7,773 26,657 56.6 21.7 21.7 .40

Federal lands 13,807 2,582 8,823 27,923 63.1 19.6 17.3 .33

Commuting 12,579 2,445 8,236 26,117 65.1 20.1 14.8 .32

Persistent poverty 11,056 2,705 6,749 20,731 60.6 24.9 14.4 .42

Transfers 10,737 3,096 5,942 20,358 55.4 29.0 15.6 .53

All-nonmetro 13,580 2,636 8,508 25,949 62.2 20.1 17.6 .34

1Unweighted county averages.

2

The income characteristics are reported for place of residence (versus place of work) and thus reflect the well-being of residents rather than the

well-being of the local economies.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of the Census.

40 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 11--Employment characteristics for nonmetro counties by county type

Workers

commuting

Unemployment outside county Goods to Jobs to

rate, of residence, service jobs, population, County job growth, 1979-89

County type 19891

1990119891

19891,2 Fast3

Some None/declining

------------------ Percent ------------------ ------------------ Ratio ------------------ ------------------ Percent of counties ------------------

Farming 5.5 23.5 0.62 0.47 3.8 26.8 69.4

Mining 8.0 22.1 .60 .46 13.0 38.4 48.6

Manufacturing 6.8 27.8 .81 .48 15.6 63.2 21.1

Government 7.6 24.1 .30 .42 22.6 55.6 21.8

Services 6.2 20.7 .28 .52 35.0 36.2 28.8

Nonspecialized 6.8 29.2 .52 .44 14.0 53.3 32.6

Retirement 6.6 25.6 .33 .43 59.8 37.6 2.6

Federal lands 7.1 18.4 .43 .50 33.5 44.6 21.9

Commuting 7.1 50.9 .64 .35 19.9 52.5 27.6

Persistent poverty 8.5 28.4 .60 .39 10.1 49.5 40.4

Transfers 9.7 27.6 .50 .37 12.1 47.8 40.2

All-nonmetro 6.6 25.2 .56 .47 16.0 45.8 38.2

1Unweighted county averages.

2

Total jobs relative to civilian noninstitutionalized persons aged 16-64.

3

Fast growth is growth rate greater than or equal to the average for U.S. growing counties (22.29).

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of the

Census.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 41
Appendix table 12--Earnings per county for nonmetro counties by industrial sector and county type, 19891

Industrial sector All

County type Farming Mining Manufacturing Government Trade/Services Other2

industries

Farming 23,008 779 6,692 11,400 24,145 4,427 70,451

Mining 5,911 48,765 12,493 25,735 68,663 9,659 170,507

Manufacturing 13,712 2,202 114,778 38,072 101,906 17,129 287,699

Government 9,234 2,657 25,374 84,465 88,436 14,640 225,274

Services 14,131 4,171 36,279 41,889 151,104 23,296 270,871

Nonspecialized 16,354 3,772 37,189 29,188 76,744 14,033 177,260

Retirement 12,718 2,899 31,980 41,397 108,463 22,595 219,234

Federal lands 11,600 8,555 27,290 39,465 83,527 16,055 186,334

Commuting 10,197 2,317 22,854 16,490 38,158 7,964 97,802

Persistent poverty 11,610 4,310 26,164 24,758 48,041 7,392 122,821

Transfers 7,971 7,097 15,464 22,947 45,597 6,600 106,116

All-nonmetro 15,563 5,524 44,102 34,388 80,910 13,613 194,080

Farming 36.2 1.3 6.7 16.3 33.6 5.9

Mining 6.3 29.0 6.1 16.1 36.6 5.9

Manufacturing 6.3 .9 40.2 13.9 33.1 5.6

Government 7.0 2.0 10.4 35.0 39.1 6.5

Services 7.4 2.0 10.9 16.2 55.1 8.4

Nonspecialized 11.3 2.2 19.1 17.3 42.1 8.0

Retirement 8.9 1.8 13.5 19.8 45.8 10.2

Federal lands 10.7 6.3 12.8 22.2 40.0 8.0

Commuting 14.2 2.7 18.8 19.1 37.4 7.8

Persistent poverty 14.8 3.2 18.0 20.3 37.6 6.1

Transfers 11.2 4.7 14.5 22.7 40.6 6.3

All-nonmetro 14.9 3.3 17.8 18.0 39.2 6.8

Thousand dollars

Percent

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

1Unweighted county averages.

2Other includes agricultural services, forestry, fisheries, and construction.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

42 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 13--Jobs per county for nonmetro counties by industrial sector and county type, 19891

County type

Industrial sector All

Farming Mining Manufacturing Government Trade/Services Other 2

industries

Farming 831 35 351 657 1,645 275 3,794

Mining 429 1,258 557 1,361 4,034 468 8,068

Manufacturing 966 87 4,609 2,024 6,627 875 15,182

Government 642 87 1,135 3,909 5,820 717 12,298

Services 880 148 1,617 2,134 9,108 1,145 15,030

Nonspecialized 1,031 155 1,708 1,576 5,033 711 10,213

Retirement 670 88 1,435 1,988 7,149 1,169 12,454

Federal lands 569 221 1,128 1,852 5,303 822 9,797

Commuting 708 76 1,059 921 2,511 426 5,691

Persistent poverty 728 136 1,315 1,388 3,188 438 7,192

Transfers 616 200 806 1,251 3,139 397 6,380

All-nonmetro 862 174 1,873 1,767 5,162 693 10,523

Farming 26.3 1.2 6.9 17.9 41.0 6.7

Mining 8.5 17.3 5.8 17.2 45.2 6.0

Manufacturing 8.4 .6 31.2 14.0 40.2 5.6

Government 9.1 1.2 9.0 29.4 45.1 6.2

Services 8.8 1.3 9.3 14.6 58.5 7.5

Nonspecialized 13.2 1.6 15.8 15.9 46.5 7.0

Retirement 8.4 1.0 11.2 16.9 53.1 9.4

Federal lands 9.4 3.6 10.5 20.5 48.3 7.7

Commuting 15.9 1.6 16.4 17.8 40.9 7.4

Persistent poverty 15.0 1.9 16.1 19.3 41.4 6.3

Transfers 13.2 2.7 12.8 20.1 45.0 6.2

All-nonmetro 13.9 2.2 14.8 17.3 45.2 6.6

Number

Percent

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

1Unweighted county averages.

2Other includes agricultural services, forestry, fisheries, and construction.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 43
Appendix table 14--Total earnings for nonmetro counties by industrial sector and county type1

Industrial sector All

County type Farming Mining Manufacturing Government Trade/Services Other2

industries

1979:

Farming 13,680,120

Mining 1,101,227

Manufacturing 8,104,286

Government 2,492,216

Services 5,662,254

Nonspecialized 9,328,616

Retirement 2,150,330 647,945 5,862,100 6,041,815 14,553,253 3,817,562 33,073,004

Federal lands 2,797,607 3,427,376 8,030,013 8,924,392 18,676,728 5,258,881 47,114,997

Commuting 4,306,106 1,382,974 8,620,915 5,286,758 12,225,839 3,288,918 35,111,510

Persistent Poverty 7,623,753 4,060,667 13,402,690 11,082,054 23,930,980 5,515,026 65,615,170

Transfers 3,864,851 5,025,107 7,127,796 7,740,792 16,818,766 3,707,934 44,285,247

All-nonmetro 40.449,594 19,760,737 103,118,495 66,049,394 161,239,747 36,618,194 427,236,161

1989:

Farming

Mining

Manufacturing

Government

Services

Nonspecialized

Retirement 2,416,470 547,883 6,076,204 7,865,364 20,499,476 4,225,205 41,654,450

Federal lands 3,120,389 2,250,052 7,286,497 10,655,401 21,800,456 4,270,520 50,310,088

Commuting 3,884,912 875,725 8,707,281 6,282,854 14,423,825 2,994,586 37,262,525

Persistent poverty 6,210,848 2,292,976 13,919,140 13,245,629 25,509,534 3,932,315 65,709,312

Transfers 3.036,887 2,625,845 5,845,341 8,742,825 16,962,035 2,461,626 40,430,039

12,792,665 433,286 3,720,817 6,338,575 13,424,460 2,461,135 39,170,938

863,052 7,119,620 1,811,515 3,757,254 9,818,760 1,400,595 24,894,049

6,938,017 1,100,965 58,077,711 19,264,553 51,258,592 8,547,123 145,575,789

2,243,907 621,734 6,089,665 20,609,404 20,782,444 3,513,573 54,966,820

4,564,417 1,347,308 11,718,059 13,530,023 48,806,706 7,524,657 87,491,170

7,915,212 1,825,624 17,999,377 14,127,199 37,144,014 6,778,102 85,793,888

All-nonmetro 35,404,940 12,462,058 100,156,397 78,267,270 182,452,598 30,766,307 441,726,020

Farming -6.5 -23.6 -7.7 12.5 -6.2 -29.4 -6.1

Mining -21.6 -31.9 -19.6 16.4 -1.5 -46.6 -16.0

Manufacturing -14.4 -29.4 1.9 16.2 15.0 -10.2 6.0

Government -10.0 -65.3 -4.0 21.9 15.9 -12.9 11.0

Services -19.4 -41.1 -13.9 21.0 23.5 -10.7 8.5

Nonspecialized -15.2 -39.0 -6.1 18.0 10.2 -16.1 .6

Retirement 12.4 -15.4 3.7 30.2 40.9 10.7 25.9

Federal lands 11.5 -34.4 -9.3 19.4 16.7 -18.8 6.8

Commuting -9.8 -36.7 1.0 18.8 18.0 -8.9 6.1

Persistent poverty -18.5 -43.5 3.9 19.5 6.6 -28.7 .1

Transfers -21.4 -47.7 -18.0 12.9 .9 -33.6 -8.7

All-nonmetro -12.5 -36.9 -2.9 18.5 13.2 -16.0 3.4

567,292 4,029,837 59634,396 14,318,928 3,488,466 41,719,040

10,453,001 2,252,018 3,227,639 9,970,010 2,621,413 29,625,307

1,558,939 56,985,342 16,579,317 44,582,647 9,513,381 137,323,912

1,791,530 6,340,751 16,903,686 17,937,480 4,032,842 49,498,505

2,286,705 13,605,150 11,177,793 39,506,667 8,430,245 80,668,814

2,990,816 19,171,350 11,972,761 33,697,827 8,082,716 85,244,087

Percent change, 1979-89

Real thousand dollars3

1Aggregated dollars or calculated from aggregated data. Values may not sum to the all industries value due to missing data within the industries.

2Other includes agricultural services, forestry, fisheries, and construction.

3Values are converted to 1989 dollars using the PCI deflator.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

44 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 15--Total jobs for nonmetro counties by industrial sector and county type1

Industrial sector All

County type Farming Mining Manufacturing Government Trade/Services Other2

industries

1979:

Farming

Mining

Manufacturing

Government

Services

Nonspecialized

Retirement 145,482 17,825 248,951 317,768 818,759 147,172 1,761,851

Federal lands 170,166 81,358 292,455 437,030 949,463 164,919 2,214,973

Commuting 331,813 38,764 393,247 319,946 660,117 121,127 1,965,358

Persistent poverty 502,400 106,088 666,180 669,180 1,446,625 235,171 3,640,883

Transfers 277,834 125,488 331,492 446,566 877,817 136,359 2,344,567

All-nonmetro 2,418,059 530,874 4,237,684 3,652,054 8,492,664 1,299,924 21,655,266

1989:

Farming

Mining

Manufacturing

Government

Services

Nonspecialized

Retirement 127,235 15,952 272,730 377,778 1,351,233 219,702 2,366,293

Federal lands 153,666 57,301 301,126 499,996 1,378,749 217,834 2,645,303

Commuting 269,616 28,538 403,428 350,945 949,090 160,231 2,168,195

Persistent poverty 389,638 72,487 699,329 742,727 1,692,644 233,136 3,847,770

Transfers 234,616 72,495 304,822 476,474 1,164,718 148,390 2,430,906

All-nonmetro 1,960,659 388,539 4,254,307 4,022,374 11,624,585 1,565,045 23,950,110

Farming -19.4 -7.5 3.4 6.6 7.9 .3 -1.2

Mining -16.1 -28.2 -12.0 10.6 23.7 -9.2 -1.5

Manufacturing -20.9 -14.0 2.8 7.3 46.3 27.9 10.5

Government -16.1 -53.1 -.5 13.6 59.2 43.3 16.9

Services -17.3 -27.6 -7.3 12.4 37.4 20.1 17.8

Nonspecialized -18.6 -20.0 0 9.5 27.6 13.2 8.9

Retirement -12.5 -10.5 9.6 18.9 65.0 49.3 34.3

Federal lands -9.7 -29.6 3.0 14.4 45.2 32.1 19.4

Commuting -18.7 -26.4 2.6 9.7 43.8 32.3 10.3

Persistent poverty -22.4 -31.7 5.0 11.0 17.0 -.9 5.7

Transfers -15.6 -42.2 -8.0 6.7 32.7 8.8 3.7

All-nonmetro -18.9 -26.8 .4 10.1 36.9 20.4 10.6

573,107 21,013 188,957 342,926 847,054 152,461 2,134,266

74,654 255,851 91,764 179,788 466,323 74,722 1,196,143

618,009 50,196 2,269,057 954,108 2,277,605 341,550 6,953,502

186,873 43,029 273,614 839,658 851,693 119,119 2,567,380

343,492 65,185 563,691 613,008 2,141,143 308,046 4,119,551

612,824 93,082 827,113 696,924 1,908,846 304,026 4,539,498

461,811 19,441 195,339 365,492 914,348 152,967 2,109,406

62,601 183,633 80,733 198,763 576,918 67,817 1,177,915

488,603 43,171 2,332,032 1,024,009 3,333,221 436,775 7,682,247

156,736 20,199 272,302 953,897 1,355,992 170,742 3,000,687

284,132 47,213 522,283 689,131 2,941,891 369,870 4,854,535

499,039 74,505 826,831 762,801 2,435,881 344,152 4,943,216

Percent change, 1979-89

Number

1Aggregated numbers or calculated from aggregated data. Values may not sum to the all industries value due to missing data within the industries

2Other includes agricultural services, forestry, fisheries, and construction.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 45
Appendix table 16--Earnings per job and change in earnings per job by industrial sector and county type1

Industrial sector All

County type Farming Mining Manufacturing Government Trade/Services Other2

industries

1979:

Farming

Mining

Manufacturing

Government

Services

Nonspecialized

Retirement 14,781 36,350 23,547 19,013 16,631 24,349 18,772

Federal lands 16,440 42,127 27,457 20,421 17,869 27,861 21,271

Commuting 12,978 35,677 21,922 16,524 16,330 24,746 17,865

Persistent poverty 15,175 38,276 20,119 16,561 16,393 23,248 18,022

Transfers 13,911 40,045 21,502 17,334 16,663 24,103 18,888

All-nonmetro 16,728 37,223 24,334 18,086 17,185 25,539 19,729

1989:

Farming

Mining

Manufacturing

Government

Services

Nonspecialized

Retirement 18,992 34,346 22,279 20,820 15,171 19,232 17,603

Federal lands 20,306 39,267 24,198 21,311 15,812 19,604 19,019

Commuting 14,409 30,686 21,583 17,903 15,198 18,689 17,186

Persistent poverty 15,940 31,633 19,904 17,834 15,071 16,867 17,077

Transfers 12,944 36,221 19,176 18,349 14,563 16,589 16,632

All-nonmetro 18,058 32,074 23,542 19,458 15,695 19,658 18,444

Farming 16.0 -17.4

Mining -6.5 -5.1

Manufacturing 8.3 -17.9

Government 7.3 -26.1

Services -2.5 -18.7

Nonspecialized 4.2 -23.7

Retirement 28.5 -5.5 -5.4 9.5 -8.8 -21.0 -6.2

Federal lands 23.5 -6.8 -11.9 4.4 -11.5 -29.6 -10.6

Commuting 11.0 -14.0 -1.5 8.3 -6.9 -24.5 -3.8

Persistent poverty 5.0 -17.4 -1.1 7.7 -8.1 -27.4 -5.2

Transfers -6.9 -9.5 -10.8 5.9 -12.6 -31.2 -11.9

All-nonmetro 7.9 -13.8 -3.3 7.6 -8.7 -23.0 -6.5

23,870 26,997 21,327 16,430 16,754 22,708 19,547

14,751 40,856 24,541 17,952 19,599 30,696 24,767

13,114 31,057 25,114 17,377 16,683 24,405 19,749

13,336 41,635 23,174 20,132 16,738 26,438 19,280

16,484 35,080 24,136 18,234 17,837 26,397 19,582

15,222 32,131 23,179 17,179 16,905 25,563 18,778

27,701 22,287 19,048 17,343 14,682 16,089 18,570

13,787 38,771 22,438 18,903 17,019 20,653 21,134

14,200 25,502 24,904 18,813 15,378 19,569 18,950

14,316 30,780 22,364 21,605 15,326 20,578 18,318

16,064 28,537 22,436 19,633 16,590 20,344 18,023

15,861 24,503 21,769 18,520 15,249 19,695 17,356

Percent change, 1979-89

-10.7

-8.6

8

-3.5

-7.0

-6.1

5.6 -12.4 -29.1 -5.0

5.3 -13.2 -32.7 -14.7

8.3 -7.8 -19.8 -4.0

7.3 -8.4 -22.2 -5.0

7.7 -7.0 -22.9 -8.0

7.8 -9.8 -23.0 -7.6

Real earnings per job3

1Calculated from aggregated data reported in Appendix tables 14 and 15.

2Other includes agricultural services, forestry, fisheries, and construction.

3Calculated from converted 1989 dollars using the PCI deflator.

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis,

46 Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
Appendix table 17--Economic county types by State, 1989

Economic type AllState Farming Mining Manufacturing Government Services Nonspecialized nonmetro

Alabama 2 1 27 3 0 13 4-6

Alaska 0 0 0 8 0 1 13

Arizona 1 2 0 4 2 1 10

Arkansas 26 0 18 1 4 15 64

California 6 0 0 7 6 5 24

Colorado 17 6 0 6 20 4 53

Connecticut 0 0 1 0 0 1 2

Delaware 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Florida 5 0 4 11 9 4 33

Georgia 17 3 48 12 7 30 117

Hawaii 0 0 0 0 3 0 3

Idaho 18 3 7 4 7 3 42

Illinois 7 7 8 7 23 22 74

Indiana 3 1 30 3 5 13 55

Iowa 41 0 11 2 9 26 89

Kansas 44 1 7 5 14 25 96

Kentucky 9 18 24 10 7 30 98

Louisiana 8 4 8 6 6 8 40

Maine 0 0 5 3 1 1 13

Maryland 0 0 1 2 6 0 9

Massachusetts 0 0 0 0 3 0 3

Michigan 2 2 17 17 5 8 58

Minnesota 29 0 10 6 7 17 69

Mississippi 11 0 29 5 10 20 75

Missouri 13 1 10 6 24 39 93

Montana 21 7 1 7 14 4 54

Nebraska 70 0 4 0 7 6 87

Nevada 0 8 0 2 3 1 14

New Hampshire 0 0 2 0 5 0 7

New Jersey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

New Mexico 7 4 1 10 3 2 27

New York 0 0 7 9 5 3 24

North Carolina 6 0 33 7 6 13 65

North Dakota 28 3 1 2 11 4 49

Ohio 0 5 36 1 2 3 49

Oklahoma 19 4 4 13 7 16 63

Oregon 8 0 5 1 3 10 27

Pennsylvania 0 2 14 1 5 12 34

Rhode Island 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

South Carolina 1 0 25 1 1 2 30

South Dakota 49 1 0 6 6 1 63

Tennessee 1 0 48 2 4 14 69

Texas 65 30 11 19 24 47 196

Utah 3 4 1 7 5 5 25

Vermont 0 0 1 0 6 4 11

Virginia 2 4 21 4 9 19 59

Washington 11 0 4 1 2 9 27

West Virginia 0 17 7 9 6 4 43

Wisconsin 6 0 15 4 10 16 51

Wyoming 0 8 0 9 1 2 21

All States 556 146 506 244 323 484 2,276

Number

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89 47
Appendix table 18-Policy county types by State, 1989

Policy type AllState Retirement Federal lands Commuting Persistent poverty Transfers nonmetro

Alabama 0 0 9 24 9 46

Alaska 1 10 0 3 3 13

Arizona 5 7 0 3 3 10

Arkansas 7 8 8 31 26 64

California 11 14 0 0 5 24

Colorado 10 33 6 7 10 53

Connecticut 0 0 2 0 0 2

Delaware 1 0 0 0 0 1

Florida 19 3 10 12 13 33

Georgia 9 8 51 64 12 117

Hawaii 3 0 0 0 0 3

Idaho 2 32 2 1 1 42

Illinois 0 1 18 4 8 74

Indiana 0 1 18 0 0 55

Iowa 0 0 7 0 0 89

Kansas 0 0 9 0 2 96

Kentucky 1 3 33 54 33 98

Louisiana 0 1 8 33 21 40

Maine 1 0 2 0 1 13

Maryland 2 0 1 0 0 9

Massachusetts 1 0 0 0 0 3

Michigan 15 7 12 1 26 58

Minnesota 1 2 4 2 10 69

Mississippi 0 1 20 62 27 75

Missouri 8 1 14 26 23 93

Montana 3 23 1 3 4 54

Nebraska 0 0 3 2 1 87

Nevada 6 13 2 0 0 14

New Hampshire 1 1 0 0 0 7

New Jersey 0 0 0 0 0 0

New Mexico 4 12 3 13 7 27

New York 0 0 3 0 0 24

North Carolina 17 8 15 19 4 65

North Dakota 0 1 0 7 7 49

Ohio 0 0 11 2 10 49

Oklahoma 1 0 5 20 28 63

Oregon 6 16 0 0 0 27

Pennsylvania 1 1 4 0 3 34

Rhode Island 0 0 0 0 0 1

South Carolina 2 2 5 16 0 30

South Dakota 0 2 2 17 5 63

Tennessee 2 2 18 21 11 69

Texas 27 1 25 72 26 196

Utah 4 23 2 1 1 25

Vermont 0 0 2 0 0 11

Virginia 6 7 27 4 4 59

Washington 6 10 3 0 2 27

West Virginia 1 2 9 11 29 43

Wisconsin 6 2 7 0 6 51

Wyoming 0 12 0 0 0 21

All States 190 270 381 535 381 2,276

Number

Source: All measures were calculated by ERS using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

48

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Revised ERS County Typology / RDRR-89
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