Some nonmetropolitan counties, largely in the southern United States, remained severely economically depressed during the 1970's despite nonmetro America's economic gains during the period; other severely economically depressed counties improved their incomes in the 1970's. This report builds on an earlier study which identified 298 persistently low-income nonmetro counties during 1950-1970 and uses discriminant analysis to examine what happened to those counties during 1975 and 1979. The 231 counties which retained low-income status had higher rates of work disabilities, larger nonwhite populations, more female-headed families, fewer high school graduates, fewer workers, depended heavily on transfer payments for income, and had a poverty rate much above the nonmetro average. Twenty-seven counties escaped low-income status during 1975 and 1979 primarily through nonfarm industries such as services, manufacturing, and mining. Despite falling farm incomes 11 counties escaped low-income status in 1979 because they were predominately retirement or college counties or adjacent to urban areas. Tables present demographic and economic characteristics of nonmetro and low-income counties. Appendices containing tables compare southern low-income counties with other southern counties and describe use of discriminate analysis. (LFL)