JACKSON — Businesses scouting Mississippi as a potential location have a new tool that state officials hope will give them an edge.
YallBusiness is a new website that aggregates economic, census and consumer data in an effort to make research a little easier for businesses considering a project in the state.
“If you are a business looking to come to Mississippi, YallBusiness does all of your research for you,” Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said in touting the website, YallBusiness.sos.ms.gov. “YallBusiness is a positive step toward promoting job creation and economic development.”
The Commercial Appeal reports the website will provide the kind of precise data companies look for when considering a move to the state.
Hosemann, whose office launched the YallBusiness site on Wednesday, said it will help continue job creation by providing in-depth research on a variety of topics in a way that Hosemann said is not offered by any other state.
Topics addressed will include: details about registered businesses in the state, banking and insurance information, and data on health, education, people, agriculture, public lands, transportation, taxes and technology.
Hosemann said the site will provide the kind of precise data companies look for when considering a move to the state.
“Individuals can pinpoint a location on a map, determine traffic counts, drive times, school district information and retail marketing data,” Hosemann said. “We can even show how many times people ate at a fast-food restaurant in the last six months.”
The website breaks down detailed demographic information for each county.
In DeSoto County, for example, it shows a median household income of $58,505, well above the state average of $39,031. It shows a population of 163,975 for the county, and a median age of 41.4 years old.
Gary Hennington, president of the company that developed the website, said the site aggregates state and federal information that is available to all but sometimes hard to find.
“Working with the Secretary of State’s office, we have combined close to 400 categories of freely available, and sometimes difficult to access, information from federal and state agencies into a single site,” said Hennington, president of The Geospatial Group.
The site is live, but Hosemann called it a work in progress and said public feedback is welcome.
“More information will be added to the site,” Hosemann said
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.