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This website, created for the Appalachian Regional Commission by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Regional Economic Applications Laboratory and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, provides diversity and demographic data for all 3,100+ U.S. counties. This site is based on research for and serves as a companion to the report "Economic Diversity in Appalachia: Metrics, Tools, Strategies and Guides." Use the buttons below for more information.

About this site Read the report Read the user guide

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The Appalachian Regional Commission compares economic data for each county in the Appalachian Region to national economic data. The economic status represents the state of the county's economy in relation to the national economy.

This data only applies to counties in the Appalachian Region, so it is not recommended that you use this filter in non-Appalachian states.

Click the header to see all of the options defined, and for more information about how the economic status is determined.
A county's industry function specialization represents its largest specialization relative to the share of US employment accounted for by each of the industry functions. Industry function specialization was determined by comparing county employment in each functional category to the average national employment in each category.

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A county's occupational knowledge cluster specialization represents its largest specialization relative to the share of US employment accounted for by each of the clusters. Occupational knowledge cluster specialization was determined by comparing county employment in each cluster to the average national employment in each cluster.

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Note: nearly 75% of counties have a specialization of "skilled, semi-skilled labor & machine operation" or "semi-skilled service".
  • Industry Diversity
  • Function Diversity
  • Occupation Diversity
The map shows the level of industry diversity for counties. Industry diversity measures the number of industry types in a region and the evenness of employment across a maximum of 1,110 industry types that employ a region's residents. More info...
Low Diversity
Implies employment concentrated in only a few industries.
High Diversity
Implies employment distributed relatively evenly across many industries.
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County
Character

Economic
Status, FY 2013

Industry Function Specialization

Occupational Knowledge Cluster

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