A recent study by the National Association of Counties found that only one in 50 U.S. Counties has fully recovered from the Great Recession, seven years after it began.
Most of the counties that have recovered from the recession are located in energy-rich areas including Texas and North Dakota as well as other parts of the Midwest. Additionally, Kent County, Michigan, surpassed its prerecession unemployment rate when it reached 3.5 percent in November. The number of recovered counties may also increase in 2015 as the Federal Reserve has projected nearly 3 percent GPD growth this year.