Counties For Economic Mobility
Author
Alseta Gholston
In the United States, economic mobility is centered on the goal that each generation can achieve greater financial well-being than the previous one. In recent decades, this goal has become harder to reach. According to Opportunity Insights, only about half of Americans born since 1980 go on to earn more than their parents did. Using evidence-based and community-informed economic development strategies, county leaders can reverse this trend and help move Americans move out of poverty.
Counties for Economic Mobility (C4EM) is a National Association of Counties initiative for county leaders to advance equitable upward economic mobility to move individuals and families out of poverty. C4EM supports a range of activities to drive data-driven and community-informed policymaking in county government.
Counties for Housing Solutions
Understanding that economic mobility requires access to affordable housing supply, NACo’s Counties for Housing Solutions (C4HS) offers three-month technical assistance sprints for counties with populations over 200,000. The technical assistance sprint approaches are informed by NACo’s Housing Task Force recommendations. Applications are currently open for the second of three sprint sessions, to be held April to June 2025. Application deadline is Friday, February 21, 2025, 11:59 p.m. ET.
Rural Leaders for Economic Mobility
Small, rural counties face unique challenges such as limited resources and capacity for research and data analysis. NACo’s Rural Leaders for Economic Mobility (RLEM) is a technical assistance program that supports economic mobility planning for 10 counties with populations under 50,000. Based on the RLEM 2024-2025 peer learning initiative, NACo and the participating counties will develop recommendations to be shared with similar communities across the country.
Economic Mobility Resource Hub
NACo’s Economic Mobility Resource Hub provides county leaders with a curated directory of materials and tools in seven key policy areas, including housing, education and workforce development, financial security, health, community and neighborhood development, justice and public safety, and technology and information.
County Levers to Drive Economic Mobility: Local Solutions and Strategies
NACo’s County Levers report defines the role, authority and approaches for counties to improve economic outcomes and upward mobility for residents, organized by priority policy areas with county examples.
Other NACo Community & Economic Development Programs & Initiatives
Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities
The Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities initiative connects coal communities, supports local leaders and builds capacity in under-resourced communities to advance new approaches and projects for economic diversification.
Connecting Counties & Military Installations
The U.S. Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative Program helps manage encroachment and incompatible development near military installations. The program forms partnerships that protect military operations from restrictive development and strengthens long-term relationships between the Department of Defense and counties.
Thank You to Our Funder
Counties for Economic Mobility is generously funded by the Gates Foundation. The contents of this webpage and recommended resources do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the Gates Foundation.