ERC Tool V3 Updates - June 2025
Added
New Quality of Life category including:
- Quality of Life percentile over time metric
- Housing-related indicators
New Entrepreneurship metric: Number of startups in each county or region (sourced from PitchBook)
Introduction section enhancements:
- Nonmetro status for each county
- Population data for each county
Update to broadband metrics: FCC NBM data release update
Technical notes
Average compensation per worker and Employment metrics have been updated due to the discontinuation of regional data tables from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (result of federal budget cuts)
- These metrics are now sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)
- Using Average annual pay and Average annual employment data
Refined the language, metrics, and ETL processes associated with the Form D dataset following insights from the report Rural America’s Struggle to Access Private Capital
Reorganized the grouping and order of metrics within the tool based on feedback from Research Director Dr. Amanda Weinstein
Revised the names of urbanization level categories for improved clarity and consistency
Broadband service data updated with the December 2024 release of the FCC National Broadband Map
- FCC NBM data now includes satellite service coverage, affecting BSL calculations and rural broadband metrics
- Integration of satellite service availability has significant impact on total Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs)
- Updated data reflects biannual NBM release cycle with improved coverage metrics
- FCC NBM data now includes satellite service coverage, affecting BSL calculations and rural broadband metrics