This study examines state- and county-level data for the 13 Appalachian states from the 2019-2023 American Community Survey (ACS) and from U.S. Census Bureau population estimates on topics including population, age, 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. This data also compares the characteristics of Appalachia’s 107 rural counties to those of rural counties located in the rest of the country. For the first time, this report provides information on household characteristics and includes the topics of housing cost burden and the types of householders with whom children under 18 reside.

The data contained in the 2019-2023 Chartbook describe how residents in the Appalachian Region were faring during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020 and was declared over in May 2023. Thus, the entirety of the pandemic is included in this Chartbook release. Future data releases will reflect the post-pandemic era, allowing data users insights into pandemic recovery and its effects on Appalachia’s social and economic dynamics. 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.