Investigating the distinction between submetropolitanization and decentralization of industry, the "Datafile for National Sample of Nonmetropolitan Counties" (a 10 percent national sample, involving 205 counties) was employed to test the following hypotheses: (1) the nearer the county to a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA), the higher the level of manufacturing activities; (2) the higher the level of activities, the higher the degree of concentration, density, and number of residents working in services; (3) the larger the size of the surrounding metropolitan population, the higher the levels of density, population concentration, and service employed residents in the rural county; (4) the closer the rural county to SMSA, the greater the net migration; (5) the larger the size of the surrounding metropolitan population, the higher the level of net migration in the rural county; (6) the more isolated the county, the greater the importance of size of the largest city in attracting jobs and providing residences and affecting positively further growth. Data derived from the County Business Patterns (1947, 1959, and 1970) and U.S. Censuses (1950, 1960, and 1970) were used to measure: number of county jobs, number of plants, and average plant size (manufacturing indicators) and density, concentration, and number of residents working in services (urbanization indicators). It was concluded that submetropolitanization would characterize industrialization trends. (JC)