Counties For Economic Mobility
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.
Resource
Economic Mobility Resource Hub
Explore resources to promote inclusive economic prosperity for county residents.
Featured Initiative
Counties for Housing Solutions
NACo’s Counties for Housing Solutions program supported 23 counties through free 14-week technical assistance sprints to increase local housing supply by developing publicly owned land and reforming zoning to allow a wider range of housing types.
Featured Initiative
Rural Leaders for Economic Mobility
NACo’s Rural Leaders for Economic Mobility program supported 10 counties with populations under 50,000 through a 22-month peer-learning cohort, providing $50,000 grants and tailored technical assistance to develop and implement Mobility Action Plans focused on workforce, housing, broadband, childcare and other drivers of rural prosperity.
Resource
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.
What participants are saying
County leaders from NACo’s economic mobility program discuss their work to support economic mobility in our communities—from access to housing, education, health care and good‑paying jobs to removing barriers and creating pathways for long‑term opportunity.
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Thank You to Our Funder
Counties for Economic Mobility was 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.
Other NACo Community & Economic Development Programs & Initiatives
Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities
The Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities initiative connected coal communities, supported local leaders and built capacity in under-resourced communities to advance new approaches and projects for economic diversification.
SolSmart
SolSmart is a national program that helps cities, towns, counties and regional organizations become solar energy ready.
Military Communities Initiative
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.
Loan fund helps counties support entrepreneurs
The City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Revitalization envisioned a microloan program for some time, but adding an Economic Recovery Corps fellow finally made it happen.
National Association of Counties Appoints Task Force on Youth Housing and Homelessness
County leaders to strengthen local approaches to youth homelessness
HUD expected to revise CoC NOFO following court decision
New HUD notice signals revised CoC NOFO coming
NACo submits comments on proposed CDBG-DR formula change
NACo submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on its notice proposing changes to the CDBG-DR formula, the methodology HUD uses to calculate disaster recovery allocations to states and localities
County-backed loan fund unlocks thousands of affordable housing units
Montgomery County, Md. is using a $100 million revolving loan fund to develop more than 3,000 affordable housing units across the county.