Only 2 Percent Of American Counties Have Fully Recovered From The Recession

Last year, national employment surpassed pre-recession levels for the first time, and GDP growth reached an 11-year high. But that doesn't mean the economy is totally back on track - home prices haven't fully recovered, and the unemployment rate is still above pre-recession levels.

So how does that all play out on the ground? According to the National Association of Counties, "county economies are where Americans feel the national economy." And, they've found, at the county level, only 2.1 percent of counties have fully recovered from the recession.

That's according to a new NACo study, which compares each county based on four indicators: jobs growth, unemployment rates, GDP output, and median home prices.

(Bear in mind, it's tough to compare data at the county level because of the disparities in size and makeup, so these estimates are likely very approximate.)

Many counties (72 percent) showed improvement in at least one of those indicators. But only 65 of 3,069 showed recovery in all four areas.

The counties that did show strong improvement tended to be smaller, with strong energy or agricultural sectors.

Here's what else the study found:

• Home prices recovered in just under 50 percent of counties in 2014.
• 2014 saw more net job creation than 2013. (Job growth was faster in 2014 than in 2013 for 63 percent of counties.)
• Job growth was most impressive in counties in the southwest of the country.
• Unemployment rates were by far the area in which counties fared the worst: 95 percent of counties remained above pre-recession unemployment levels.

NACo created an interactive county map, with information on a variety of indicators for each county. (In the "Map an Indicator" drop-down menu, navigate to "Economy" and then "County Economic Tracker.")

Read NACo's full report here.