The Revised ERS County Typology: An Overview.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Manufacturing-dependent counties (506) represented 31
percent of nonmetro population and 55 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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. Over 85 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.
- 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,
transfers-dependent 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.
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