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This paper explores the process of uneven development in the Deep South, focusing on the decade of 1970-1980. Measures developed from Census and County Business Pasterns data are used to examine several industrialization processes in all the counties of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi. These data reveal that changes in manufacturing establishments and employment are not uniform across the region, and low-wage industries continue to dominate the economy of the region. Further, the analysis documents the continuing significance of racial composition in these industrialization processes: plant and employment increases are more likely for predominantly white counties and losses more likely for counties having large black populations. Counties having high proportions of blacks and poor whites display the strongest attractions for low-wage industries. I also examine the effects of other labor-market characteristics upon the development process and suggest policy implications on the basis of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]