The Revised ERS County Typology: An Overview

by Peggy J. Cook and Karen Mizer

Describes an expanded and revised version of ERS' 1979 classification of nonmetro counties, commonly called the ERS typology. The classification has been widely used by researchers, policy analysts, and public officials as a source of information about the economic and social diversity characterizing rural America. Classifies nonmetro counties into one of six types: farming-dependent, mining-dependent, manufacturing-dependent, government-dependent, services-dependent, and nonspecialized.

Keywords: economic base, typology, county types, rural, farming, mining, manufacturing government, services, nonspecialized, retirement-destination, Federal lands, commuting, persistent poverty, transfer payments, rural development

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