Appalachian commission says 22 of its counties raised their economic-status grade in the last year, while 11 fell a notch

Twenty-two counties in "official Appalachia" gained a grade in economic status in the past year, while 11 fell a notch on the Appalachian Regional Commission's five-point scale, according to the ARC's latest County Economic Status map. The Rural Blog has added plus signs in counties that moved up a level and minus signs in those that dropped. Most gains were in Southern Appalachia. For an Excel spreadsheet of the county-level data on which the map is based, click here.

ARC map, adapted by The Rural Blog; for a slightly larger and sharper version, click on it.