Socioeconomic Heterogeneity of Mining‐Dependent Counties¹

Recent typologies of U.S. counties differentiated by sustenance base suggest that mining‐dependent counties are characterized by levels of socioeconomic well‐being slightly above national averages. However, striking regional differences in well‐being among mining‐dependent counties are masked when such counties are considered as a single category. Comparison with nonmetropolitan nonmining‐dependent counties in the same states reveals that the differences are only partly accounted for by overall regional effects. Further disaggregation demonstrates substantial effects of mining subsector and of subsector‐region interaction on well‐being. Of particular concern is the disadvantage associated with coal mining dependence in the South and Great Lakes regions contrasted with the advantage associated with such dependence in the West.