Washington County Ranked Nation's Number One Economic Recovery Leader
Hagerstown, Md. (PRWEB) August 12, 2014 -- Washington County, Maryland has been named the number one Economic Rapid Recovery Leader in the U.S. by Business Facilities magazine -- a leading source for corporate site selectors. This is the first time Washington County has topped the national rankings.
A Rapid Recovery Leader is defined as a community with the most impressive surges in job creation, wages and salaries in the past year. Since 2009 the median household income in Washington County has increased by 25 percent from $41,984 to $54,239 – six percent above the national average. Commercial permits issued are up 28 percent from 2012 and 478 companies in the County have $1 million or more in annual sales.
The teamwork of many partners including the Board of County Commissioners, the Washington County Department of Business Development, the Economic Development Commission, Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development and private industry has resulted in the creation of local jobs and company expansion projects including Baltimore Mack, Duvinage, Dynamark Monitoring, Freightliner, Lehigh Phoenix, Parker Plastics, Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics and Volvo Group, among others.
According to the Washington County Economic Data Summary, the County has also seen a 9.5 and 2.5 percent increase in information tech and professional and business services jobs, respectively.
Strong fiscal management and positive economic development indicators also helped the County secure an AA+ rating from Standard & Poor’s and an upgraded outlook from Moody’s. A success managed despite the County’s absorption of more than $46 million from revenue reductions over the past several years while maintaining all government services – without a County tax increase in 13 years.
Other promising economic indicators include the issuance of commercial permits – up 28 percent from 2012. More permits means many businesses are reinvesting in facilities and expanding to new Washington County locations.
Other economic drivers in our community include the Hagerstown Regional Airport and on-site businesses that employ more than 1,300 with a personal income of $74.4 million and more than $109 million in generated business revenue. With a multi-million dollar expansion project from fixed-base operator, Rider Jet, set for completion by the end of 2014, HGR will continue its integral role in providing travel service for the quad-state region.
These rankings are part of the Business Facilities 2014 State Rankings Report issued annually to gauge the competitiveness of state economic development programs and economic indicators across the nation.
For media interested in more information, contact Public Relations and Community Affairs Manager, James Jenkins at 240-313-2384 or jajenkins(at)washco-md(dot)net.
About the Washington County Department of Business Development
Washington County Department of Business Development (DBD) is a county agency providing assistance to new and expanding businesses throughout Washington County, Maryland. The DBD interacts with a vast network of public, private and nonprofit organizations to address the business needs of the community, as well as attract new companies to the county. Visit hagerstownedc.org for more information.
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James Jenkins, Washington County Government, http://washco-md.net, 240-313-2384, [email protected]
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