Taxes levied by local and state governments have a major impact on a company’s corporate site location decisions. Taxes by the state and local governments are a critical component of measuring the cost of doing business in a region.  Different local and state governments tax businesses differently. What and how much local and state governments […]

Wisconsin remains a global manufacturing center in line with other Great Lakes States.    Industry clusters are regional concentrations of related industries.[i] Clusters consist of companies, suppliers, and service providers, as well as government agencies and other institutions that provide education, information, research, and technical support to a regional economy.[ii] Clusters are a network of

Housing is joining workforce development to become a major corporate site location issue.  Regions not growing are failing to develop substantial residential growth.  Finally, rural regions are losing population at an alarming rate and desperately need new residential products to retain existing employers and to keep their young people.  No matter where you are in

Pennsylvania is the nation’s 23rd largest state in the union with 5.8 M people, but its strategic location is connected to the Great Lakes positions Wisconsin for corporate site location projects.   Key demographic measures that impact corporate site location decisions include total population and population growth which impact the ability of a region to

Rural markets seeking high-wage job creation and capital investment should focus on four key strategies all with the underlying goal of ensuring the talent needed for their company is available in these otherwise attractive markets. The four strategies include building communities young talent wants to live, work, and play in; retaining and attracting tech and

Tax credits, tax abatements, grants and loans all make up the typical local and state economic development incentive toolbox.  Tax credits are usually a state performance-based incentive tied to job creation and capital investment.  These tax credits in most cases are competitively awarded as there is a limited amount of state government funding available to

Rural communities present substantial economic opportunities.  Manufacturers in the United States account for 11.39% of the total output in the economy, employing 8.51% of the workforce.[i] Total output from manufacturing was $2,334.60 billion in 2018.[ii] In addition, there were an average of 12.8 million manufacturing employees in the United States in 2018, with an average

Demographics have a major impact on corporate site location decisions.  Regions with a large and growing population base, have a younger, more educated workforce and less poverty are more attractive for economic investment.  A comparison of Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Ohio offers insights into the competitiveness of these rural markets for corporate site location

The overall economic growth in rural communities across America is on-par with large, legacy cities but they are not growing at the same rate as the mid-sized urban markets located in the same state.  However, these rural markets are sizable and capable of serving a range of corporate site location projects.  Measures of a region’s

United States’ highways and roads move 72%, or nearly $17 trillion, of the nation’s goods.  Yet, the nation’s roadway infrastructure is struggling to meet the existing demand with nearly half of our existing roadways in poor or mediocre condition according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.  Many communities are looking for new tools to