Appalachia, as defined in the legislation from which the
Appalachian Regional Commission
derives its authority, is a 200,000-square-mile region that follows
the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to
northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of
twelve other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland,
Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
About 23 million people live in the 410 counties of the Appalachian
Region; 42 percent of the Region's population is rural, compared with
20 percent of the national population. The Region's economic fortunes
were based in the past mostly on extraction of natural resources and
manufacturing. The modern economy of the Region is gradually
diversifying, with a heavier emphasis on services and widespread
development of tourism, especially in more remote areas where there is
no other viable industry. Coal remains an important resource, but it
is not a major provider of jobs. Manufacturing is still an economic
mainstay but is no longer concentrated in a few major industries.
Kentucky’s Appalachian counties are: Adair, Bath, Bell, Boyd,
Breathitt, Carter, Casey, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Edmonson,
Elliott, Estill, Fleming, Floyd, Garrard, Green, Greenup, Harlan,
Hart, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie,
Letcher, Lewis, Lincoln, McCreary, Madison, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee,
Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski,
Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Wayne, Whitley, and Wolfe.
For more information on Kentucky Appalachia visit the web-site of the
Appalachian Center of the University of Kentucky.
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County Economic Status
in Appalachia, Fiscal Year 2004
Subregions in Appalachia
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