NEWS RELEASES
Walton Foundation Ranks Elkhart-Goshen Among Top Metro Areas In US
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Walton Family Foundation's website.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — A study of dynamic metropolitan areas around the country, funded by The Walton Family Foundation, ranked Elkhart-Goshen as fourth in the nation among the 379 metropolitan areas examined, and third among the top 10 small-sized metropolitan areas for economic performance. Each metropolitan area was ranked on performance-based metrics, including GPD expansion, pay per capita, job growth, increases in average pay, and the proportion of total jobs at young firms – a key measure of entrepreneurial performance, according to the study.
The study’s authors suggest several reasons for their findings, including the rapid expansion of the travel, tourism and recreation industries over the past decade. “Elkhart is the recreation vehicle capital of the world,” the study states. “Elkhart had the highest rate of job growth in the nation from 2009-2017. One in two RVs on the road in North America were built in the metro area.” The study found RV shipments from the Elkhart-Goshen metro area increased over 57 percent between 2013 and 2017, and that the region exports more than one-fifth of its production, predominately to Canada and Mexico. It also found employment in the area to have a higher dependence on manufacturing than in any other metropolitan area in the nation, 49.8 percent versus 8.5 percent for the nation.
To read the full report, visit the Walton Family Foundation website.