On average, the metropolitan economies of individual States• exhibited better economic performance during the 1979-86 period than their nonmetro economies. There was wide variation across States, however. To highlight these differences, States are grouped into five performance categories based on the 1979-86 growth of real earnings within a State's metropolitan area, 1979-86 earnings growth within a State's nonmetropolitan area, and the degree of difference between each. This typology is offered as an aid to policymakers in determining whether a special rural development policy may be appropriate for individual States.