US Counties with Hydraulic Fracturing Have Seen Much Higher Income Growth since the Recession

Almost all the counties that have seen large increases in median household income since 2007 have a large fracking presence

As a number of bloggers (including myself) have pointed out, the highest rates of social mobility are found in areas of the US with hydraulic fracturing. For example, the highest social mobility rate in the country is found in Bowman, North Dakota, which is adjacent to the heavily fracked Bakken shale. Indeed, thanks to fracking, North Dakota’s economy has grown by 57% since 2005––more than twice as much as any other state.

Today, I came across this map, produced by the US Census Bureau, which shows change in median household income from 2007–2015 for every US county:

If we compare it to the map of hydraulic fracturing sites, we see that almost all the counties that have seen large increases in median household income since 2007 have a large fracking presence:

The counties with high income growth in Western North Dakota lie atop the Bakken shale. The counties with high income growth in South-Western Nebraska and North-Eastern Colarado lie atop the Niobara shale. The counties with high income growth in Northern Texas lie atop the Woodford shale. The counties with high income growth in South-Western Texas lie atop the Barnett shale. The counties with high income growth in Southern Texas lie atop the Eagle Ford shale. And the counties with high income growth in Pennsylvania lie atop the Marcellus shale.

The only areas of the US that have seen large increases in median income since 2007 without fracking are Eastern South Dakota and Northern Nebraska.