The North Carolina Department of Commerce released its economic development ratings for all 100 counties. Here's more on what that means and how Western North Carolina ranked: Each year, the department groups all 100 counties into tiers. The law calls for 40 counties to be designated as Tier One, 40 counties to be designated as Tier Two, and 20 counties to be designated Tier Three. Each county is measured against the others based on economic data and adjustments. This year, the state took away all adjustments and is using four economic development factors: unemployment rate, median household income, population growth and assessed property value per capita. Sarah Thompson is the executive director of the Southwestern Commission, and she explains why Jackson County is moving up from Tier One to Tier Two because of the lack of adjustments. "There used to be an adjustment factor that had to do with poverty rate and due to the high number of students at Western Carolina University who have