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The five counties with at least 150 wells have seen their sales tax receipts grow 24 percent, said a Penn State University white paper. Counties with no wells saw a 5 percent decline.

Realty transfer and income taxes grew 4.3 percent in these counties with wells, compared with decreased receipts in counties with fewer or no wells.

The authors said the study looked at tax records from 2007 to 2011. They also noted they did not take into account costs to local governments or communities.

The drillers in the private sector made $3.5 billion in 2011 capturing about 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas with hydrofracturing wells in the Marcellus shale formations of Pennsylvania, according to an Associated Press analysis. However, the wholesale price of natural gas has plummeted to a decade low, and some producers have shut down selected wells; thus the future earnings of natural gas may not be similar to last year's.

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