The following list contains the 420 counties and eight independent cities that comprise the region of Appalachia as defined by the

Appalachian Regional Commission The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established A ...

, even though the delineation of which Counties said commission places in Appalachia is quite flawed. The ARC was established by the United States federal government in 1965 to alleviate poverty in the Appalachian region, and currently monitors areas in 13 states. The list shows the population of each county as of the 2000 U.S. Census; cities in Virginia, which are legally independent of counties, are included within the county with which they were historically associated. It also gives the following four variables: *3-year average unemployment rate, based on data collected 2006-2008 *Per capita market income, as of 2007 *Poverty rate, showing what percentage of the county lives below the national poverty rate, as of 2000 *Status, the ARC's economic status designation for the county, based on the three variables above. There are five possible designations: **Distressed — these counties have at least twice the national poverty rate and have a per capita market income 67% of the national average or a three-year average unemployment rate that is twice the national average. **At-Risk — these counties meet two of the following three criteria: 1) 3-year unemployment rate 125% of the national average, 2) per capita market income 67% or less of national average, or 3) poverty rate of 125% or more of the national average **Transitional — these counties are worse than the national average on at least one of the three indicators, but do not meet criteria for "At-Risk" or "Distressed" **Competitive — these counties have a three-year unemployment rate and poverty rate at least equal to the national average, and a per capita market income at least 80% of the national average **Attainment — these counties are at least equal to the national average on all three indicators. To date, only six counties meet Attainment status, with five of them between Alabama and Georgia; the three that are in Georgia (

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Forsyth Forsyth may refer to: Places Oceania * Forsyth Island, Queensland, Australia, one of the West Wellesley Islands (aka Forsyth Islands) * Forsyth Island, Tasmania, Australia * Forsyth Island (New Zealand), in the outer Marlborough Sounds of South I ...

, and

Gwinnett Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...

) are all part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The other county that has reached Attainment status, as of 2013, is in Virginia. The national 3-year average unemployment rate for the United States was 5.0% in the period 2006-2008. The national per capita market income was $32,930 in 2007. The national poverty rate was 12.4% in 2000. The 3-year average unemployment rate for the Appalachian region in 2006-2008 was 5.2%. The region's per capita market income in 2007 was $24,360. The region's poverty rate was 13.6%. Alabama's Appalachian counties led all states' Appalachian counties in unemployment (3.8%) and per capita market income ($27,723). Georgia's Appalachian counties had the lowest average poverty rate (9.2%). Mississippi's Appalachian counties had the highest average unemployment rate at 7.9%, while Kentucky's Appalachian counties had the lowest average per capita market income ($15,690) and the highest average poverty rate (24.4%).

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

New York

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Although none of the counties in Pennsylvania have reached Attainment status, six of them have reached Competitive stats. Of the six, four of them ( Allegheny, Butler,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and Westmoreland) are all part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, including the city of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. The area has been largely unaffected by the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

and has seen economic growth due to recent activity in the

Marcellus Formation The Marcellus Formation or the Marcellus Shale is a Middle Devonian age unit of sedimentary rock found in eastern North America. Named for a distinctive outcrop near the village of Marcellus, New York, in the United States, it extends throughou ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

In Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as "cities" are legally separate from the counties in which they are located. As of the 2000 Census, nine cities were part of the federally designated Appalachia region. This number was reduced to eight in 2001, when

Clifton Forge Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County, Virginia, United States which is part of the greater Roanoke Region. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. The Jackson River flows through the town, which as a result was once known as J ...

relinquished its city charter and reincorporated as a town within Alleghany County.

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

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