A Split Story: Economic Trends in Public Lands Counties

Sixty-two percent of counties have federally owned land within the county boundaries. These counties cannot collect property taxes on federal land yet must still provide essential services for residents and visitors each year. 

Federal public lands counties experience high growth on average; however, when analyzing by county size and share of public lands, the story becomes more complex and the economic trends of these counties demonstrate both growth and decline. 

One consistent likeness among public lands counties, growth or decline, remains the limitation on revenue generation through taxation, property or otherwise, which can cause revenue shortages that strain service delivery expenditures.  

To understand the county landscape and the impact of public lands on counties, we examine the local economic trends by share of public lands counties across the nation, breaking the analysis into high share (85% or more), medium share (25-84%) and low share (24% or less). 

Depending on the share of public land in a county’s boundary, challenges such as remote area access, infrastructure development, substantial visitor traffic, difficulty rebounding the economy amidst natural disasters, and coordination with the federal government persist at multiple levels. While share of land is an important distinction, all public lands counties face the challenge of county needs outstripping resources.

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