US County Opportunity Index
Composite score across 3,137 US counties. Higher = better. Methodology is transparent and below the rankings — adapt it for your own thesis.
Look up any county
Pick a state and county to see its score and national rank.
Top 100 counties (overall)
| # | County | State | Score | Median HH Income | 5-yr Pop Δ | Estab / 1k pop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Juan County | CO | +2.94 | $73,889 | +26.8% | 101.45 |
| 2 | Loving County | TX | +2.82 | $51,087 | -47.1% | 203.70 |
| 3 | Nantucket County | MA | +2.63 | $119,750 | +28.8% | 86.51 |
| 4 | Skagway Municipality | AK | +2.28 | $78,594 | +23.3% | 83.33 |
| 5 | Teton County | WY | +2.11 | $112,681 | +1.3% | 101.34 |
| 6 | Bristol Bay Borough | AK | +2.10 | $100,625 | -1.3% | 111.62 |
| 7 | Harding County | NM | +1.93 | $41,250 | +63.0% | 5.35 |
| 8 | Pitkin County | CO | +1.76 | $100,318 | -4.4% | 98.90 |
| 9 | Jones County | SD | +1.75 | $64,688 | +40.1% | 32.04 |
| 10 | Alpine County | CA | +1.74 | $110,781 | +47.9% | 23.60 |
| 11 | Blaine County | ID | +1.73 | $84,470 | +11.8% | 69.86 |
| 12 | Valley County | ID | +1.66 | $76,125 | +16.7% | 60.15 |
| 13 | Fairfax city | VA | +1.65 | $132,774 | +2.6% | 82.93 |
| 14 | Dukes County | MA | +1.63 | $102,348 | +19.9% | 58.89 |
| 15 | San Miguel County | CO | +1.61 | $80,117 | +0.7% | 85.47 |
| 16 | Gallatin County | MT | +1.54 | $87,454 | +16.7% | 54.68 |
| 17 | Sheridan County | WY | +1.53 | $70,855 | +5.2% | 72.06 |
| 18 | Mineral County | CO | +1.44 | $52,455 | -2.9% | 83.85 |
| 19 | Madison County | ID | +1.44 | $58,259 | +38.4% | 20.03 |
| 20 | San Juan County | WA | +1.38 | $83,682 | +10.9% | 57.70 |
| 21 | Summit County | CO | +1.38 | $106,255 | +1.4% | 75.15 |
| 22 | Routt County | CO | +1.35 | $104,803 | +0.5% | 75.27 |
| 23 | Camas County | ID | +1.32 | $55,536 | +30.4% | 26.84 |
| 24 | Ouray County | CO | +1.31 | $84,556 | +6.4% | 65.29 |
| 25 | Summit County | UT | +1.31 | $137,058 | +5.4% | 65.02 |
| 26 | Gunnison County | CO | +1.29 | $77,358 | +3.8% | 68.19 |
| 27 | Hinsdale County | CO | +1.25 | $64,327 | +6.9% | 61.77 |
| 28 | Park County | MT | +1.20 | $66,607 | +7.6% | 53.82 |
| 29 | Broadwater County | MT | +1.18 | $63,636 | +25.3% | 27.63 |
| 30 | Eagle County | CO | +1.17 | $103,174 | +1.9% | 66.04 |
| 31 | Teton County | ID | +1.17 | $90,740 | +9.2% | 50.82 |
| 32 | Comal County | TX | +1.16 | $99,015 | +29.2% | 27.23 |
| 33 | Dolores County | CO | +1.15 | $70,490 | +29.5% | 25.58 |
| 34 | Lincoln County | SD | +1.15 | $96,552 | +24.4% | 30.58 |
| 35 | Falls Church city | VA | +1.14 | $154,734 | +3.7% | 60.44 |
| 36 | Williams County | ND | +1.12 | $90,224 | +15.6% | 39.93 |
| 37 | Flathead County | MT | +1.11 | $71,327 | +10.6% | 45.96 |
| 38 | Grand County | CO | +1.10 | $84,558 | +4.8% | 58.95 |
| 39 | Dare County | NC | +1.09 | $81,214 | +5.0% | 54.94 |
| 40 | Bryan County | GA | +1.08 | $94,234 | +30.1% | 17.31 |
| 41 | Dawson County | GA | +1.07 | $88,986 | +20.3% | 31.01 |
| 42 | Kaufman County | TX | +1.07 | $88,606 | +35.2% | 15.11 |
| 43 | Washington County | UT | +1.07 | $76,411 | +18.2% | 36.82 |
| 44 | Wallowa County | OR | +1.06 | $65,559 | +8.8% | 48.19 |
| 45 | Door County | WI | +1.06 | $71,785 | +10.4% | 43.53 |
| 46 | McKenzie County | ND | +1.05 | $88,289 | +13.9% | 39.78 |
| 47 | Madison County | MT | +1.05 | $67,420 | +9.2% | 45.46 |
| 48 | Walton County | FL | +1.04 | $79,281 | +21.2% | 40.05 |
| 49 | Bonner County | ID | +1.04 | $65,168 | +15.8% | 36.27 |
| 50 | Wasatch County | UT | +1.03 | $115,146 | +17.3% | 36.72 |
| 51 | Deschutes County | OR | +1.03 | $87,640 | +12.4% | 41.62 |
| 52 | Iron County | UT | +1.03 | $65,527 | +21.2% | 31.13 |
| 53 | Rich County | UT | +1.03 | $76,875 | +10.1% | 46.75 |
| 54 | Cook County | MN | +1.01 | $71,643 | +6.1% | 52.55 |
| 55 | Johnson County | WY | +1.00 | $63,905 | +1.0% | 56.85 |
| 56 | Kootenai County | ID | +0.98 | $77,034 | +15.7% | 34.10 |
| 57 | Forsyth County | GA | +0.98 | $138,000 | +18.3% | 29.98 |
| 58 | Oconee County | GA | +0.96 | $115,925 | +15.6% | 33.16 |
| 59 | Grand County | UT | +0.95 | $62,521 | +0.8% | 57.13 |
| 60 | Sully County | SD | +0.95 | $70,250 | +11.3% | 41.19 |
| 61 | Rockwall County | TX | +0.94 | $124,917 | +24.9% | 24.55 |
| 62 | Chaffee County | CO | +0.94 | $70,909 | +3.7% | 53.83 |
| 63 | New York County | NY | +0.93 | $104,553 | -0.3% | 58.31 |
| 64 | Vilas County | WI | +0.92 | $67,132 | +8.4% | 40.67 |
| 65 | Lincoln County | WY | +0.91 | $86,092 | +6.0% | 46.09 |
| 66 | Hays County | TX | +0.90 | $85,827 | +25.6% | 22.05 |
| 67 | Ada County | ID | +0.89 | $88,907 | +13.9% | 33.05 |
| 68 | Sawyer County | WI | +0.89 | $59,055 | +11.4% | 34.97 |
| 69 | Sterling County | TX | +0.88 | $78,750 | +21.7% | 26.64 |
| 70 | Jackson County | GA | +0.87 | $85,012 | +22.6% | 19.56 |
| 71 | Petersburg Borough | AK | +0.87 | $77,026 | +4.3% | 53.92 |
| 72 | Kane County | UT | +0.86 | $75,000 | +8.8% | 42.15 |
| 73 | Jackson County | CO | +0.86 | $41,809 | +9.7% | 42.19 |
| 74 | St. Johns County | FL | +0.86 | $106,169 | +24.1% | 28.37 |
| 75 | Daggett County | UT | +0.86 | $58,750 | +22.1% | 22.76 |
| 76 | Ravalli County | MT | +0.85 | $71,323 | +9.3% | 37.29 |
| 77 | Custer County | ID | +0.85 | $56,957 | +6.5% | 41.94 |
| 78 | Lawrence County | SD | +0.84 | $66,766 | +5.3% | 45.46 |
| 79 | Bonneville County | ID | +0.84 | $76,646 | +13.0% | 32.05 |
| 80 | Gove County | KS | +0.82 | $63,203 | +6.8% | 43.63 |
| 81 | Horry County | SC | +0.81 | $64,623 | +15.0% | 27.93 |
| 82 | Sweet Grass County | MT | +0.81 | $69,426 | +1.6% | 46.59 |
| 83 | Hamilton County | NY | +0.81 | $68,950 | +11.5% | 36.65 |
| 84 | Billings County | ND | +0.81 | $81,250 | +0.2% | 49.58 |
| 85 | Sherman County | OR | +0.80 | $59,500 | +18.9% | 23.06 |
| 86 | Monroe County | FL | +0.80 | $82,430 | +7.2% | 50.23 |
| 87 | Chugach Census Area | AK | +0.80 | $88,565 | — | 56.43 |
| 88 | Sanders County | MT | +0.80 | $54,035 | +12.3% | 30.77 |
| 89 | Arthur County | NE | +0.79 | $67,500 | +29.2% | 5.56 |
| 90 | Gem County | ID | +0.79 | $66,245 | +16.4% | 25.23 |
| 91 | Union County | SD | +0.79 | $84,137 | +11.5% | 34.41 |
| 92 | Williamson County | TX | +0.79 | $108,309 | +22.2% | 22.28 |
| 93 | Oneida County | WI | +0.79 | $69,621 | +7.5% | 36.44 |
| 94 | Dallas County | IA | +0.79 | $102,349 | +24.0% | 23.47 |
| 95 | Powder River County | MT | +0.78 | $68,009 | +8.8% | 35.19 |
| 96 | Williamson County | TN | +0.78 | $131,202 | +16.4% | 33.13 |
| 97 | Fredericksburg city | VA | +0.78 | $85,368 | -0.3% | 51.86 |
| 98 | Greene County | GA | +0.78 | $84,530 | +15.4% | 26.04 |
| 99 | Mineral County | MT | +0.78 | $61,117 | +13.9% | 27.73 |
| 100 | Clatsop County | OR | +0.78 | $68,705 | +7.2% | 38.75 |
Methodology
The composite score is a weighted sum of z-scored components. Each component is z-scored across the universe of counties with non-null inputs, then multiplied by its weight. A neutral 0 z-score is used when a single component is missing for a given county.
| Component | Source | Weight | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| income | ACS 2023 5yr B19013_001E | 30% | positive |
| popGrowth | ACS 2023 5yr B01003_001E vs ACS 2018 5yr | 25% | positive |
| estabDensity | CBP 2022 establishments per 1k population | 25% | positive |
| stateExclusionIntensity | LEIE 2026-05 + SAM 2026-05 per 100 state establishments (proxy) | 20% | negative |
Notes
- Each component is z-scored across all counties with non-null inputs, then weighted.
- Counties missing population growth get zGrow=0 (neutral), not penalized.
- Exclusion intensity is computed at the STATE level — per-county data is not publicly published.
Want to drill into a specific county's sector mix? Hit the /markets index for ~49,000 county × NAICS pages.