Government dependent counties are those where at least 13 percent of the county’s annual average earnings came from Federal and State Government or at least 8 percent of the annual average number of jobs in the county came from Federal and State Government over the 3-year average of 2019, 2021, and 2022. Federal earnings and jobs include (but are not limited to) those of civilian military, national park, and Federal correctional facility employees. State earnings and jobs include (but are not limited to) those of public State university, State correctional facility, and State legislature employees.
Persistent Poverty Counties
Persistent poverty counties are those where 20% or more of county residents were poor, measured by the 1990 and 2000 Decennial Censuses and in the 2007–11 and 2017–21 5-year American Community Surveys.
Mining Dependent Counties
Mining dependent counties are those where at least 11 percent of the county’s annual average earnings came from mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction or at least 7 percent of the annual average number of jobs in the county were in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction over the 3-year average of 2019, 2021, and 2022.
Retirement Destination Counties
Retirement destination counties are those where the number of residents ages 55 to 74 increased by at least 15 percent from 2010 to 2020 because of migration. Based on data from the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Public Education Expenditures
This layer data was obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD) School District Finance Survey. The survey provides finance data for all local education agencies (LEAs) that provide free public elementary and secondary education in the United States. County-level data was generated by CARES by aggregating school-district level records with valid reported figures for total students and total expenditures.
Expenditures are spent by each public school district on instruction, support services, capital outlay, and non-elementary/secondary education.
Non-Specialized Counties
Non-specialized counties are those that did not have a high concentration of earnings or jobs in any one of farming, mining, manufacturing, or Federal and State Government and did not have a high concentration of economic activity (as measured using a weighted index) in recreation. Metropolitan and non metropolitan areas are based on the U.S. Office of Management and Budget 2023 delineation of core based statistical areas.
Banking Deserts
This layer displays the average number of active branches of banks as of 2024. Data are available at the census tract.
Farming Dependent Counties
Farming dependent counties are those where at least 20 percent of the county’s annual average labor and proprietors’ earnings came from farming or at least 17 percent of the annual average number of jobs in the county were derived from farming over the 3-year average of 2019, 2021, and 2022.
Rural-Urban Commuting Zones
The USDA, Economic Research Service’s (ERS) Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes are a classification scheme allowing for flexible, census tract delineation of rural and urban areas throughout the United States and its territories. RUCA codes were designed to address a major limitation associated with county-based classifications; they are often too large to accurately delineate boundaries between rural and urban areas. The more geographically-detailed information provided by RUCA codes can be used to improve rural research and policy—such as addressing concerns that remote, rural communities in large metropolitan counties are not eligible for some rural assistance programs.
The RUCA codes consist of two levels. The primary RUCA codes establish urban cores and the census tracts that are the most economically integrated with those cores through commuting. The secondary RUCA codes indicate whether a census tract has a strong secondary connection (through commuting) to an even larger urban core. For more information, visit the “RUCA website” here.
Drought Intensity, U.S. Drought Monitor
This layer displays areas that experienced dry or drought conditions in the last seven days. Data are retrieved as shapefiles from the U.S. Drought Monitor and are updated on a weekly basis. The affected areas are represented by polygons, which are classified according to drought intensity. Using quantitative and objective indicators, as well as local condition and impact reports, the U.S. Drought Monitor defines each drought intensity level as follows:
D0 – Abnormally Dry
D1 – Moderate Drought
D2 – Severe Drought
D3 – Extreme Drought
D4 – Exceptional Drought.
For more information about the data, please see the U.S. Drought Monitor Data Classification web page.