See How Well Your Neighbors Have Recovered From the Recession

The recession may have officially ended in mid-2009, but millions of working Americans have seen their income remain frustratingly stagnant since the economy collapsed. New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau confirm that the median household income in the U.S. was $53,482 between 2010 and 2014, down from $56,568 between 2005 and 2009 when adjusted for inflation—a drop of 5%.

By the same metric, just 1,038 of 3,142 counties have a higher median income than they did five years ago. The following map shades every county by its growth or decline in median income since 2009.

Here are the 10 counties that have fared the best.

County 2009 income
(adjusted for inflation) 2014 income Change Loup, Nebraska $34,500 $55,125 60% Williams, North Dakota $57,352 $82,823 44% Garza, Texas $34,320 $49,479 44% Dimmit, Texas $26,694 $38,140 43% Garfield, Montana $36,168 $51,000 41% Slope, North Dakota $46,946 $65,577 40% Dunn, North Dakota $49,797 $69,063 39% Stark, North Dakota $51,064 $70,243 38% Glasscock, Texas $59,400 $81,563 37% Zapata, Texas $22,577 $30,758 36%

The dramatic rise in median income in parts of North Dakota, sources there confirm, is largely due to a bonanza in oil production. In fact, one can clearly see an “oil belt” running straight down the center of the country from the Dakotas to Texas.

And here are the 10 counties that have fared the worst.

County 2009 income
(adjusted for inflation) 2014 income Change Stewart, Georgia $37,149 $21,880 -41% Esmeralda, Nevada $48,529 $31,528 -35% Custer, Colorado $49,184 $32,261 -34% Mora, New Mexico $36,984 $24,425 -34% Lafayette, Florida $51,206 $35,720 -30% Wheeler, Georgia $39,187 $27,629 -29% Brooks, Georgia $44,924 $31,686 -29% Hampshire, West Virginia $38,028 $26,828 -29% Dolores, Colorado $46,157 $32,578 -29% Crook, Oregon $50,585 $36,158 -29%

Methodology

Data for 2009 comes from the American Community Survey’s five-year sample from 2005-2009 in 2009 dollars, while data for 2014 is from the ACS five-year survey for 2010-2014. (Five-year samples are necessary to get data for every county.) The 2009 figures in these maps and charts are adjusted up by 10% using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.