The Vast Majority of Georgia’s Counties Are Economically “Distressed” or “At Risk”

It’s a bleak outlook for 104 counties, with a whopping seven ranking anywhere near the top nationally.

Using data from the Appalachian Regional Commission, Reddit user u/killroy200 created a harrowing map of the economic status of Georgia’s counties. As you might guess, metropolitan areas are doing well. The rest of the state–well….

There are 50 “distressed” counties meaning they rank in the worst 10 percent of the country’s counties. “At-risk” counties rank in lowest 10 to 25 percent of the country’s counties. The largest tranche of counties nationwide is classified as “transitional” but Georgia only has 48 of those.

“Competitive” counties rank in to top 10 to 25% of the country, and there’s five here. “Attainment” counties are the best-ranked countries obviously, and only Forsyth and Oconee counties have that designation.