(ERS County Typology Codes, 2015)

Non-specialized County – County is classified as a non-specialized county meaning the county did not meet other defining requirements for any of the other classifications.

Farm-dependent County – County is classified as a farm-dependent county meaning that farming made up at least 25% of the overall earnings for the county OR at or over 16% of the overall employment.

Mining-dependent County – County is classified as a mining-dependent county meaning that mining (e.g., metal, coal, ore, oil, natural gas, stone, sand, gravel, clay, among others) made up at least 13% of the overall earnings for the county OR at or over 8% of the overall employment.

Manufacturing-dependent County – County is classified as a manufacturing-dependent county meaning that manufacturing made up at least 23% of the overall earnings for the county OR at or over 16% of the overall employment.

Federal-State Government-dependent County – County is classified as a Federal-State Government-dependent county meaning that Federal and State governmental entities made up at least 14% of the overall earnings for the county OR at or over 9% of the overall employment.

Recreation-dependent County – County is classified as a recreation-dependent county by standardizing and weighting percent of wage and salary employment in county from entertainment and recreation, accommodations, eating and drinking places, and real estate; percent of overall earnings in same categories; AND percentage of housing units identified for seasonal or occasional use.

Metro County – County is considered a metro area due to one or more cities at or over 50,000 residents AND/OR classified as a county tied economically to another metro county.

Non-metro County – County is considered a non-metro area because it has no cities at or over 50,000 residents AND is considered outside the boundary of a metro county.

(American Community Survey, 2010-2017)

Population Variables

• Total Population – Total number of people.
• Median Age – The age at the midpoint of the population.
• Age Dependency Ratio – A measure defined by dividing the combined under 18 years and 65 years and over by the 18-64 years population and multiplying by 100.
• Old Age Dependency Ratio – A measure derived by dividing the population 65 years and over by the 18 to 64 years population and multiplying by 100.
• Child Dependency Ratio – A measure derived by dividing the population under 18 years by the 18 to 64 years population and multiplying by 100.

Employment & Earnings Variables

• Median Household Income – The midpoint for all household (i.e., all the people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence) incomes.
• Median Male Earnings – The midpoint for all male full-time, year-round workers.
• Median Female Earnings – The midpoint for all female full-time, year-round workers.
• Percent 16 and Over Unemployed – All civilians 16 years old and over who are classified as unemployed.

Education Variables

• Percent HS and Above – Percent of population who have attained a high school degree (or equivalent such as a GED) or higher.
• Percent Bachelors and Above – Percent of population who have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Race & Ethnicity Variables

• Percent American Indian Only – Percent of individuals who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native only.
• Percent Asian Only – Percent of individuals who identified as Asian only.
• Percent Black Only – Percent of individuals who identified as black or African American only.
• Percent White Only – Percent of individuals who identified as white only.
• Percent Two or More Races – Percent of individuals who identified as two or more races.
• Percent Hispanic/Latino – Percent of individuals of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.

Housing Variables

• Total Housing Units – Housing units include a house, an apartment, a mobile home or trailer, a group of rooms, or a single room occupied as separate living quarters, or if vacant, intended for occupancy as separate living quarters.
• Percent Occupied Units – A housing unit that is the usual place of residence of a person or group of people.
• Percent Vacant Units – A housing unit that is has no one living in it or has only temporary residence by people who have permanent residence elsewhere.
• Median Home Value – The midpoint of all home values.
• Median Rent – The midpoint of all rent prices.

American Community Survey (ACS) – The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide longitudinal data to communities. Data are collected from questionnaires mailed to a sample of addresses to obtain information about households — that is, about each person and the housing unit itself. ACS produces demographic, social, housing and economic estimates in the form of 1-year, 3-year and 5-year estimates based on population thresholds.

USDA ERS County Typology Codes – USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) developed a set of county-level typology codes intended to captures a range of economic and social characteristics. The 2015 County Typology Codes classify all U.S. counties according to six mutually exclusive categories of economic dependence including: farming, mining, manufacturing, Federal/State government, recreation, and nonspecialized counties.

USDA ERS Rural-Urban Continuum Codes – USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) developed a classification scheme that distinguishes metropolitan counties by the population size of their metro area, and nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area. Metor and nonmetro categories have been subdivided into three metro (i.e., counties in metro areas of 1 million population or more; 250,000 to 1 million population; and fewer than 250,000 population) and six nonmetro categories (i.e., urban populations of 20,000 or more, adjacent to a metro area; urban population of 20,000 or more, not adjacent to a metro area; urban population of 2,500 to 19,999, adjacent to a metro area; urban population of 2,500 to 19,999, not adjacent to a metro area; completely rural or less than 2,500 urban population, adjacent to a metro area; and completely rural or less than 2,500 urban population, not adjacent to a metro area).