The Appalachian Region's economy,once highly dependent on heavy industry, agriculture, and mining, today is becoming increasingly reliant on jobs in service industries, retailing, and government.

In 1965, one in three Appalachians lived in poverty. By 1990, the poverty rate had been cut in half. These gains have transformed the Region from one of almost uniform poverty to one of contrasts: some communities have successfully diversified their economies; some are still adjusting to structural changes in declining sectors; and some severely distressed areas still require basic infrastructure, such as water and sewer systems.

These contrasts are not surprising in light of the Region's size and diversity. The Region includes 420 counties in 13 states. It extends more than 1,000 miles, from southern New York to northeast Mississippi, and is home to 24.8 million people.

Income Trends
Poverty Rates. The 1990 Census data showed that metropolitan counties in northern and southern Appalachia had poverty rates slightly below the national average of 13.1 percent. In rural areas of northern and southern Appalachia, the poverty rate was 16 percent. In central rural Appalachia the poverty rate was nearly 27 percent.

Per capita Income. Per capita income, perhaps the best overall indicator of economic well being, grew strongly in the Region in the early 1990s, but began to slip between 1995 and 1999. In 1999, regional per capita income recovered to 81.9 percent of the U.S. average. This is a decline from the 1994 peak of 83.2 percent of the U.S. average.

Employment Trends
Appalachia's civilian labor force grew to more than 12.2 million in 2001, with increases registered in most counties, including the most economically distressed. The Region's three-year unemployment rate fell from 5.3 percent in the 1996–98 period to 4.6 percent in the 1998–2000 period but is still high compared with the national 1998–2000 rate of 4.2 percent. In addition, the Region's unemployment rate understates the lack of job availability because of the high number of discouraged workers who are not counted in the labor force. Labor force participation rates in Appalachia for 1998 were 61.6 percent, compared with 67.7 percent for the nation as a whole, and estimates of underemployment stood at 10 percent for Appalachia, compared with 8.6 percent for the nation.

Educational Trends
The Region's educational attainment levels have improved sharply since 1960. In 1990, for the first time, the share of people aged 18 to 24 with 12 or more years of schooling was slightly higher in Appalachia (77 percent) than in the U.S. (76 percent). However, considerable educational deficits remain, particularly in central Appalachia, where the average high school completion rate for this age group is only 68 percent. Reflecting the educational shortcomings of past decades, only 68.4 percent of Appalachian adults aged 25 years and older are high school graduates, compared with 75.2 percent for the United States.

Population Trends
According to the 2000 Census, Appalachia's population had grown to 22.9 million, gaining 1.9 million people since 1990. This population gain represented a 9.1 percent increase over the 1990 level.

Employment Reports
Appalachian Employment Report, 2009 First Quarter (PDF—2.6 MB)
Appalachian County Employment Report, 2009 First Quarter (PDF—73 KB)

Regional Data, Maps, and Research
Regional Data
Maps
Research Reports