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How to Read this Report
This report provides information about economic and population indicators. Information is presented that compares the experience of the 61 Adirondack Park Towns (“Park Towns”) with eight other geographic areas in New York and the U.S. This report provides findings about long-term trends from 1970 to 2020 and “snapshot” comparisons from 2020 between the Park Towns and other areas.
In this report, information is presented in tables, graphs, and maps. This report primarily uses “gradient” maps (choropleths), which means that the maps for all towns, etc., in New York State and all counties in the U.S. are color coded to show on a scale whether these places performed better or worse than the 61 Park Towns for various economic or population indicators. Throughout this report, red areas on maps show places that performed worse than the Park Towns and green areas show those places that performed better. The darkness or lightness of the shading shows the degree to which a county or town was better or worse than the Park Towns. Gray colored counties are metropolitan counties that are not analyzed in the Rural America maps, which focus solely on rural counties.
Figure 8 shows two example gradient maps used in this report. The top map is an example of a U.S. map indicating counties that fared better (green) or worse (red) than the Park Towns. The lower map is an example of a Rural America map with red and green shaded counties as well as metropolitan counties shaded gray. Figure 9 shows examples of two gradient maps, one for the U.S. (top) and one for Rural America (bottom). The top U.S. map compares growth in median household income from 1970 to 2020 of the Park Towns with that of all counties across the U.S. The lower map compares 2020 median household income of the Park Towns with that of Rural America counties. ❑
Figure 8: Example gradient maps used in this report
Example U.S. map used in this report
Counties in the U.S. that performed worse than the 61 Park Towns.
Counties in the U.S. that performed better than the 61 Park Towns.
This report utilizes gradient maps to present information on long-term trends from 1970 to 2020 and 2020 snapshot comparisons of the experience of the 61 Park Towns in the Adirondacks with New York State, the United States, and rural areas in the Northeast U.S. and across Rural America. Throughout this report the color red shows a county or town that performed worse than the Park Towns, while green shows a county or town that performed better. The colors are presented on a gradient according to how much they are worse than the Park Towns (light to dark red) to how much they are better than the Park Towns (light to dark green). Gradient maps are used throughout this report for all indicators. These maps are accompanied by summary information. These maps are used at the state level in New York with town-, city- or borough-level data and at the national level in the U.S. with county-level data. The figure above shows an example U.S. map with counties scaled accordingly.
Example Rural America map used in this report
U.S. metropolitan counties
Counties in Rural America that performed worse than the 61 Park Towns.
Counties in Rural America that performed better than the 61 Park Towns.
Another variation of the gradient map presents information just for rural counties. In these maps, data for rural counties are presented on a gradient of green and red colors, while all “metropolitan” counties, the more heavily populated urban and dense suburban areas, are shaded gray. The “metropolitan” counties follow the USDA Rural-Urban Continuum Codes system of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These maps are used to compare the 61 Park Towns against other rural areas. These maps are used at the national level for Rural America and at the regional level for the Northeast U.S. The figure above shows an example Rural America map with county data shown on a gradient accordingly.