Rapid growth in service and manufacturing employment increasing numbers of working women and a steep rise in single-parent families were leading changes in the economic and social profile of nonmetro counties during the 1970s. This report documents the changes in the economic and social characteristics of both metro and nonmetro residents from 1970-1980. Among the reports findings: 1) the US population rate slowed from 13.3% in the 1960s to 11.5% in the 1970s; the growth rate of the labor force rose from 18.6% to 29.3%; 2) the service sector accounted for 82% of US employment growth during the 1970s and 73% of nonmetro employment growth; 3) manufacturing employment grew 20.4% in nonmetro areas during the 1970s compared with 7.2% in metro areas; 4) the nonmetro labor force grew by 1/3 during the 1970s while the number of nonmetro women working or looking for work grew by over 1/2; 5) the number of working women with children grew rapidly from 40.8% in 1970 to 55.3% in 1980; this rate was the same in both metro and nonmetro areas in 1980; 6) nonmetro median income was only 79% of metro income in 1979; 7) nonmetro black families fared better in terms of increased median income than did all nonmetro families during the 1970s rising over 25% compared with the 10.6% nonmetro average; 8) poverty among the elderly fell nationwide from 27.3% in 1969 to 14.8% in 1979 and from 37% to 20.3% in nonmetro areas; 9) the number of housing units increased faster (28.2%) during the 1970s than did the population (11.5%); 10) although the % of adults aged 25+ with a high school education rose from about 50% during the 1960s to 67% during the 1970s differences in education between metro and nonmetro areas (69.1%) in 1980 compared with 34.5% for nonmetro and 43.7% for metro areas in 1960.