Regional Matters

A look at where USDA Rural Development funding goes across the Fifth District. Which programs drive total investments, and which states and counties get the largest shares of funding?

Data from the Small Business Credit Survey show key differences between rural and urban small businesses, particularly around firm age, ability to access credit, and reliance on small banks.

Rural businesses were more likely to expect significant impacts from tariffs than their urban counterparts but were less likely to report those impacts would be negative.

This post highlights the short-term and potential long-term impacts of Hurricane Helene on Western North Carolina's housing market while also exploring how pre-existing market conditions may interact with the storm's impact.

In March, we asked Fifth District businesses about the impacts of tariffs. Most expected to be impacted negatively and anticipated passing through some of the additional costs to customers.

By examining where federal spending occurs in Fifth District states, we can assess which areas could be more impacted by spending cuts.

As we gear up for the 2025 Federal Reserve CDFI Survey, this post paints a picture of the current state of CDFIs and seeks to understand what might differ from our 2023 survey results.

Farms in the Fifth District produce necessary commodities like pork, chicken, soybeans, peanuts, and cotton. That production largely occurs in rural areas, creating value and employment opportunities in those communities.

A reduction of the federal workforce will affect D.C., Maryland, and Virginia more extensively than the rest of the country, but much depends on how and where the cuts occur.

In February, we asked firms how they would react to unanticipated cost increases. Most reported that they would increase customer prices, but passing costs to customers is equally or more difficult than last year.