Two separate rankings of micropolitan economies include Columbus and Starkville on their lists.
POLICOM Corporation, an independent economic research firm, released its 2016 economic strength rankings for 576 micropolitan areas, using data from 1995 to 2014.
Columbus and Starkville ranked in the survey but both fell — Columbus fell from 10 to 39 and Starkville dropped from 216 to 229. Despite the fall, Columbus remains in the top seven percent in the country and the second-highest ranked micropolitan in the state, after Oxford.
Micropolitan statistical areas are those with an urban core of 10,000 to 50,000 people, plus adjacent territory with a high degree of social and economic integration. They must include at least one county but often have multiple ones.
A Golden Triangle Development LINK press release said POLICOM addresses the condition of an economy based on its impact of the standard of living on the people who live and work in an area. Higher-ranked areas have rapid, consistent growth in size and quality for an extended time. The lowest-ranked areas have been in volatile decline for an extended period.
LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said the declines in the Golden Triangle rankings are the result of construction jobs recently. He said the trend shouldn’t last for long.
“We experienced one of the largest declines in indirect construction jobs recently, and can attribute our drop mostly to that loss,” Higgins said. “We’re working several large projects now, and if any were secured, we anticipate to reverse the decline in our rankings in the Golden Triangle.”
POLICOM CEO Bill Fruth also attributed the decline to the loss of construction jobs.
The decline in the rankings of the [Columbus Micro] is the direct loss of about 1,500 heavy construction jobs, most or all were involved in factory construction. When the factory work was completed, the jobs disappeared,” Fruth said. “Basically, you declined because you were successful.”
Site Selection magazine
A separate study, published in Site Selection magazine’s March 2016 named Starkville as one of the top micropolitan areas with ongoing major projects. The ranking is based on information from the Conway Projects Database.
Projects must create at least 20 new jobs, include 20,000 square feet or more, and at least a $1 million investment to meet the Conway Projects Database criteria.
Starkville is tied for 73rd in the ranking, with two projects. The report ranked Tupelo, with 13 projects, as the No. 4 micropolitan area in the nation and the top one in Mississippi. No other Mississippi communities were ranked in the report.
“We are proud to see Starkville on the list,” Higgins said. “We attribute this to the high number of large apartment complexes, retail and commercial projects that were completed last year.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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.