Federal Funds in Nonmetro Areas: Patterns and Trends

Excerpts from the report: Federal funds to rural areas and small towns grew more rapidly in 1976-79 than Federal funding to metropolitan areas, but were still 10 percent less than the 1979 national average. Nonmetro Federal funding per capita reached $1,994, 87 percent of the metro level. The South received $172 billion in Federal funds, more than any other region and nearly a third of the $483 billion national total. The West received the most Federal funds on a per capita basis. This bulletin outlines the allocation of Federal dollars among regions and localities, concentrating on the recent gains in the level of Federal funding to nonmetro counties. Data are for fiscal years 1976-79, the most recent available for analysis. While recent and contemplated congressional actions will probably have major effects on Federal funding, it may take several years for those actions to be fully reflected at the local level. In the meantime, this bulletin should serve as a useful baseline against which to measure changes.