The
Need in Appalachia
Appalachia is a region of stark contrasts, some
would say. of paradox: While this region of the United States designated
as Appalachia comprises some of the most beautiful land & richest
natural resources in the nation, it also has the greatest poverty. Over
91 of the 410 counties within this region are designated by the The Appalachian Regional Commission
as economically distressed.
Distressed counties are defined as ones where poverty and unemployment rates
are
at least 150 percent of the national averages and where per capita market
incomes that are no more than two-thirds of the national average.
Counties are also considered distressed if they have poverty rates that
are at least twice the national average and they qualify on either the
unemployment or income indicator.
Data from which these determinations are made:
The data used by ARC to
determine the Region’s economic status were updated and released by
source agencies. These updates include the
annual release of income and unemployment data, as well as the decennial
release of poverty data. Therefore, the most current data available for
calculating the economic status in fiscal year 2004 include the
1999–2001 three-year average unemployment rate (U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics), 2000 per capita market income (U.S. Bureau of Economic
Analysis), and the 2000 poverty rate (U.S. Census Bureau). |
The states with the most distressed counties are :
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Kentucky, 35 distressed counties
West Virginia with 21 distressed counties
Mississippi with 12,
Tennessee, 8
Ohio, 6
Alabama, 5
Virginia, 3
North Carolina, 1 |
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Links about Appalachia:
Map of Appalachia
Hunger in Appalachia: One Story
Back to "Donate an Animal" page
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