The Appalachian Region: A Data Overview from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey

June 2020
Kelvin Pollard and Linda A. Jacobsen
Population Reference Bureau

This study examines state- and county-level data for the 13 Appalachian states from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey (ACS) and from U.S. Census Bureau population estimates on topics including population, age, race and ethnicity, housing occupancy and tenure, education, labor force, employment and unemployment, income and poverty, health insurance coverage, disability status, migration patterns, and veteran status. Additionally, data are provided on types of housing units, homeownership, types of living arrangements, travel time to work and location of work, and income-to-poverty ratio. New to the study this year are trends in the bachelor’s degree field of study and an appendix comparing rural Appalachia to rural areas outside the Appalachian Region.

Information is summarized for five Appalachian subregions and five metro designations. The report also compares data from two recent non-overlapping time periods, allowing the study of trends.

Full Report in PDF (52 MB)

Supplementary Files

All Report Tables (Excel file: 516 KB)

All Report Maps (Zip file: 21 MB; includes 96 PNG files, approximately 250 KB each, and 1 TXT file)

All Report Data (Excel file: 13 MB): This file contains the data presented in the report's tables and maps. It includes data for all U.S. counties and states, the Appalachian Region, and the five Appalachian subregions.



Data Snapshots: Population, Education, Employment, Income and Poverty, and Computer and Broadband Access in Appalachia
Data Sources: American Community Survey, 2014–2018; U.S. Census Bureau 2018 Population Estimates
Population
Graphic: Data Snapshot: Appalachia's Population
Education
Graphic: Data Snapshot: Education in Appalachia
Employment
Graphic: Data Snapshot: Education in Appalachia
 
Income and Poverty
Graphic: Data Snapshot: Income and Poverty in Appalachia
Computer & Broadband Access
Graphic: Data Snapshot: Computer and Broadband Access in Appalachia