An economic check-up for the Roanoke Valley
The Roanoke Valley just got one of its periodic check-ups — an economic one in this case. Generally speaking, our vitals are good, really good in some areas, but there’s one category where it’s strongly recommended we get some “strategic intervention” if we want to stay economically healthy.
The category: We need more entrepreneurs.
That’s the assessment of a recent report from the Roanoke Regional Partnership, the economic development agency that covers from Franklin County to the Alleghany Highlands (but doesn’t include the New River Valley).
This report —“Four Factors for the Future” — updates a 2014 report that measured the Roanoke region against both national averages and six communities that are deemed economically and demographically our peers — Asheville, North Carolina; Chattanooga; Tennessee; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Lynchburg, Virginia; Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
In many ways, the report underscored what we know already — our cost of living is low and our quality of life is high. We just don’t have many start-ups driving the local economy. (For our purposes here today, “Roanoke” refers to the whole partnership region, not simply the city).
To learn more, check out the whole article below.