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 destination-retirement--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
Go to: