2040 eWall Street

Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

843-884-1208 (Office)

843-881-5846 (Fax)

 

Tri-county Population

• Bizjournals ranked the Charleston region fifth in the nation for per capita income (PCI) growth during the past 25 years, and second for PCI growth since 1995.

• Since 1970, the region’s population has grown by 70%; including a strong diversity in racial and age demographics.  The only exception in growth are the three years from 1994-1996, which were affected by the Navy base closing.

• It is projected that the Charleston area will have a population increase of 27%, to nearly 700,000 by 2025. This growth is expected to occur largely in the suburban areas in the region.

Tri-county Workforce

• Between 2000 and 2006 the region’s workforce grew 15.1%; with unemployment rates consistently remaining one or two percentage points below the state and the nation.

• There is a steady stream of educated workers relocating to the area, including nearly 6,000 local college graduates.

• The U.S military employs nearly 30,000 people in the region (active and civilian) and adds $3.5 billion to the local economy each year.  SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command) is a large employer of highly paid engineers and other technologically related professions.  Only 5% of its employees work in Charleston.  A conscience effort is now being made to attract more recent graduates and experienced engineers to the area.  Other large employers are the Charleston Air Force Base, the Naval Weapons Station, and the VA Medical Center.

• The Medical University of South Carolina employs more than 10,000 people and contributes more than $42.3 billion to the local economy.  MUSC also receives more than $19 million annually in funding and grants for research in area such as cancer research, marine biomedicine research, and drug/vaccine development.

• Other large hospitals in the area are Roper St. Francis and East Cooper Regional Medical Center; which currently have plans to expand throughout the tri-county and are renovating current facilities.

• The Port of Charleston is cited by customers as the most productive container port in the world.  The port as a high efficiency dockside with an average of 41 moves per crane per hour.  The yard efficiency boast the trucker turn around at 20minutes.  Readers of World Trade ranked it first in customer satisfaction.

• The Port of Charleston has recently expanded to serve Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines as an embarkation/debarkation port.

Tri-county Development

• Entrepreneur magazine listed the region second among the nation’s mid-size metros “Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs” in September 2006.

• 40% of local companies surveyed in the Angelou Report (see note below) plan to expand jobs and capital investment, with 60% planning to expand in real estate.

• The region maintains its attractiveness to firms that compete on cost.  Business costs in the state are among the lowest in the U.S. including labor unionization, corporate tax rate, and overall tax burden.

• The Port of Charleston and the region’s lifestyle amenities are the region’s top business assets which attract and retain established companies.

• A current initiative in the region is urban redevelopment, with two projects underway, including a 3,000 acre sustainable community and a 500 acres for multiuse with riverfront property.