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 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, Forsyth, and Gwinnett) 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

County Population Unemployment Rate Market Income Per Capita Poverty Rate Status Bibb 21,482 4.1% $16,886 20.6% At-Risk Blount 56,436 3.2% $19,354 11.7% Transitional Calhoun 112,903 4.0% $24,157 16.1% Transitional Chambers 35,176 7.9% $18,062 17.0% At-Risk Cherokee 24,863 4.2% $18,348 15.6% Transitional Chilton 41,953 3.5% $20,677 15.7% Transitional Clay 13,829 5.3% $18,756 17.1% Transitional Cleburne 14,700 3.6% $20,854 13.9% Transitional Colbert 54,766 4.6% $20,281 14.0% Transitional Coosa 11,044 5.8% $16,394 14.9% At-Risk Cullman 80,187 3.4% $21,038 13.0% Transitional DeKalb 69,014 4.2% $19,191 15.4% Transitional Elmore 75,688 3.5% $23,811 10.2% Transitional Etowah 103,362 4.3% $21,004 15.7% Transitional Fayette 18,005 4.7% $16,948 17.3% Transitional Franklin 30,847 4.9% $18,647 18.9% Transitional Hale 18,236 5.3% $15,762 26.9% Distressed Jackson 53,745 4.5% $20,610 13.7% Transitional Jefferson 656,700 3.9% $36,594 14.8% Competitive Lamar 14,548 5.7% $16,420 16.1% At-Risk Lauderdale 87,891 4.2% $22,186 14.4% Transitional Lawrence 34,312 4.5% $21,003 15.3% Transitional Limestone 72,446 3.4% $24,247 12.3% Transitional Macon 22,594 5.3% $15,193 32.8% Distressed Madison 304,307 3.1% $33,633 10.5% Attainment Marion 30,165 5.2% $18,726 15.6% Transitional Marshall 87,185 3.4% $22,546 14.7% Transitional Morgan 115,237 3.7% $28,069 12.3% Transitional Pickens 20,133 5.1% $18,275 24.9% At-Risk Randolph 22,673 5.2% $16,850 17.0% At-Risk Shelby 178,182 2.7% $40,595 6.3% Attainment St. Clair 75,232 3.5% $24,383 12.1% Transitional Talladega 80,271 5.2% $22,622 17.6% Transitional Tallapoosa 41,010 5.2% $20,518 16.6% Transitional Tuscaloosa 171,159 3.3% $28,044 17.0% Transitional Walker 70,034 4.3% $21,039 16.5% Transitional Winston 24,634 5.6% $17,041 17.1% At-Risk

Georgia

County Population Unemployment Rate Market Income Per Capita Poverty Rate Status Banks 14,422 3.6% $24,326 12.5% Transitional Barrow 46,144 4.9% $22,217 8.3% Transitional Bartow 76,019 5.7% $23,853 8.6% Transitional Carroll 87,268 5.5% $21,980 13.7% Transitional Catoosa 53,282 4.2% $22,313 9.4% Transitional Chattooga 25,470 6.9% $14,526 14.3% At-Risk Cherokee 141,903 4.2% $31,735 5.3% Attainment Dade 15,154 4.7% $20,621 9.7% Transitional Dawson 15,999 4.5% $28,243 7.6% Competitive Douglas 92,174 5.4% $24,243 7.8% Transitional Elbert 20,511 6.9% $18,837 17.3% At-Risk Fannin 19,798 4.7% $18,775 12.4% Transitional Floyd 90,565 5.2% $22,926 14.4% Transitional Forsyth 98,407 3.8% $36,334 5.5% Attainment Franklin 20,285 5.6% $19,603 13.9% Transitional Gilmer 23,456 4.3% $20,037 12.5.% Transitional Gordon 44,104 5.5% $20,958 9.9% Transitional Gwinnett 757,104 4.6% $30,541 5.7% Attainment Habersham 35,902 4.5% $20,006 12.2% Transitional Hall 139,277 4.3% $25,437 12.4% Transitional Haralson 25,690 5.3% $20,539 15.5% Transitional Hart 22,997 7.2% $17,604 14.8% At-Risk Heard 11,012 5.8% $18,112 13.6% Transitional Jackson 41,589 4.8% $23,306 12.0% Transitional Lumpkin 21,016 5.1% $22,870 13.2% Transitional Madison 25,730 4.2% $21,761 11.6% Transitional Murray 36,506 5.4% $19,292 12.7% Transitional Paulding 81,678 4.7% $26,634 5.5% Competitive Pickens 22,983 4.5% $28,622 9.2% Competitive Polk 38,127 5.1% $17,089 15.5% Transitional Rabun 15,050 5.9% $21,780 11.1% Transitional Stephens 25,435 5.3% $20,484 15.1% Transitional Towns 9,319 4.3% $22,737 11.8% Transitional Union 17,289 4.4% $20,794 12.5% Transitional Walker 61,053 5.1% $19,439 12.5% Transitional White 19,944 4.2% $19,762 10.5% Transitional Whitfield 83,525 5.5% $26,359 11.5% Transitional

Kentucky

County Population Unemployment Rate Market Income Per Capita Poverty Rate Status Adair 17,244 6.2% $14,883 24.0% Distressed Bath 11,085 8.2% $15,055 21.9% Distressed Bell 30,060 8.4% $12,161 31.1% Distressed Boyd 49,752 5.6% $22,853 15.5% Transitional Breathitt 16,100 7.3% $12,352 33.2% Distressed Carter 26,889 7.8% $14,335 22.3% Distressed Casey 15,447 6.3% $13,855 25.5% Distressed Clark 33,144 5.6% $24,902 10.6% Transitional Clay 24,556 10.5% $9,707 39.7% Distressed Clinton 9,634 6.0% $13,747 25.8% Distressed Cumberland 7,147 7.5% $11,281 23.8% Distressed Edmonson 12,085 7.0% $16,301 18.4% At-Risk Elliott 6,748 8.2% $9,977 25.9% Distressed Estill 15,307 7.1% $12,647 26.4% Distressed Fleming 13,792 6.8% $14,291 18.6% Distressed Floyd 42,441 6.7% $14,809 30.3% Distressed Garrard 14,792 6.1% $17,299 14.7% At-Risk Green 11,518 6.6% $13,078 18.4% Distressed Greenup 36,891 6.0% $21,230 14.1% Transitional Harlan 33,202 8.8% $12,178 32.5% Distressed Hart 17,445 6.2% $13,726 22.4% Distressed Jackson 13,495 11.8% $9,090 30.2% Distressed Johnson 23,445 6.6% $14,810 26.6% Distressed Knott 17,649 7.0% $13,015 31.1% Distressed Knox 31,795 7.2% $14,283 34.8% Distressed Laurel 52,715 6.0% $17,343 21.3% At-Risk Lawrence 15,569 8.4% $13,129 30.7% Distressed Lee 7,916 7.2% $11,883 30.4% Distressed Leslie 12,401 8.8% $11,428 32.7% Distressed Letcher 25,277 7.4% $14,191 27.1% Distressed Lewis 14,092 8.5% $10,770 28.5% DistressedLincoln23,3617.2%$15,01421.1%Distressed Madison 70,872 5.1% $19,835 16.8% Transitional Magoffin 13,332 10.7% $11,415 36.6% Distressed Martin 12,578 7.8% $12,930 37.0% Distressed McCreary 17,080 9.8% $8,985 32.2% Distressed Menifee 6,556 9.1% $10,459 29.6% Distressed Metcalfe 10,037 6.1% $13,504 23.6% Distressed Monroe 11,756 7.2% $13,023 23.4% Distressed Montgomery 22,554 6.5% $19,075 15.2% Transitional Morgan 13,948 9.2% $11,267 27.2% Distressed Nicholas 6,813 6.9% $17,044 13.2% At-Risk Owsley 4,858 8.7% $10,393 45.4% Distressed Perry 29,390 7.0% $16,825 29.1% Distressed Pike 68,736 6.0% $18,772 23.4% At-Risk Powell 13,237 7.6% $14,404 23.5% Distressed Pulaski 56,217 6.5% $17,883 19.1% At-Risk Robertson 2,266 5.9% $13,959 22.2% Distressed Rockcastle 16,582 7.0% $12,900 23.1% Distressed Rowan 22,094 5.8% $16,183 21.3% At-Risk Russell 16,315 6.8% $14,677 24.3% Distressed Wayne 19,923 7.3% $13,111 29.4% Distressed Whitley 35,865 6.7% $14,105 26.4% Distressed Wolfe 7,065 9.9% $9,737 35.9% Distressed

Maryland

County Population Unemployment Rate Market Income Per Capita Poverty Rate Status Allegany 73,639 5.5% $18,482 14.8% Transitional Garrett 29,846 4.7% $22,776 13.3% Transitional Washington 143,748 4.8% $27,738 9.5% Transitional

Mississippi

County Population Unemployment Rate Market Income Per Capita Poverty Rate Status Alcorn 34,558 7.5% $17,453 16.6% At-Risk Benton 8,026 10.1% $11,831 23.2% Distressed Calhoun 15,069 8.6% $17,397 18.1% At-Risk Chickasaw 19,440 10.2% $15,815 20.0% Distressed Choctaw 9,758 7.9% $14,063 24.7% Distressed Clay 21,979 13.2% $18,977 23.5% Distressed Itawamba 22,770 7.4% $19,426 14.0% At-Risk Kemper 10,453 8.2% $13,477 26.0% Distressed Lee 75,755 6.5% $25,212 13.4% Transitional Lowndes 61,586 7.5% $23,211 21.3% At-Risk Marshall 34,993 8.0% $17,861 21.9% Distressed Monroe 38,014 9.5% $18,602 17.2% At-Risk Montgomery 12,189 9.2% $15,433 24.3% Distressed Noxubee 12,548 12.6% $12,690 32.8% Distressed Oktibbeha 42,902 6.4% $22,010 28.2% At-Risk Panola 34,274 8.2% $16,610 25.3% Distressed Pontotoc 26,726 6.9% $18,813 13.8% Transitional Prentiss 25,556 7.8% $14,693 16.5% At-Risk Tippah 20,826 8.1% $15,886 16.9% At-Risk Tishomingo 19,163 8.2% $14,190 14.1% At-Risk Union 25,362 6.5% $18,778 12.6% Transitional Webster 10,294 8.6% $12,983 18.7% Distressed Winston 20,160 7.2% $17,094 23.7% Distressed Yalobusha 13,051 8.2% $15,125 21.8% Distressed

New York

County Population Unemployment Rate Market Income Per Capita Poverty Rate Status Allegany 49,927 5.8% $16,850 15.5% At Risk Broome 200,536 5.0% $24,199 12.8% Transitional Cattaraugus 83,955 5.5% $21,285 13.7% Transitional Chautauqua 136,409 4.9% $19,622 13.8% Transitional Chemung 91,070 5.1% $22,513 13.0% Transitional Chenango 51,401 5.5% $20,896 14.4% Transitional Cortland 48,599 5.7% $21,134 15.5% Transitional Delaware 48,055 4.9% $21,160 12.9% Transitional Otsego 61,676 4.9% $21,819 14.9% Transitional Schoharie 31,582 6.0% $23,145 11.4% Transitional Schuyler 19,224 5.4% $21,042 11.8% Transitional Steuben 98,726 5.6% $28,065 13.2% Transitional Tioga 51,784 4.8% $24,885 8.4% Transitional Tompkins 96,501 3.7% $26,007 17.6% Transitional

North Carolina