Eddy County Ranked First in Business Growth and Investment

    CARLSBAD, NM, August 03, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In a recent study released by the financial consulting firm SmartAsset, Eddy County's business growth ranked number one in New Mexico for the second straight year. The study, provided to the Carlsbad Department of Development (CDOD), looked at the number of new businesses, GDP growth, and building permits in counties across New Mexico. Eddy County topped New Mexico with a 10.3% business growth rate and an incoming investment index of 43.52.

Strong industrial diversity has led to Eddy County leading the way in growth for the state. The market relies on more than just one industry, to include nuclear, potash, manufacturing, retail, oil and gas, aviation, and construction. Several of these have flourished lately, as the community has seen an influx of new businesses. Commercially, retail and restaurant businesses have added to the market mix as well.

"Continued Economic Growth and Vitality in a small community requires perseverance, leadership skills, and a lot of critical thinking," said Eddy County Commissioner Susan Crockett. "It also requires constant motivation. The minute you are satisfied with where you are, you aren't there anymore. Carlsbad and Eddy County are energized by change and new economic growth and this is a result of all forces working together."

Carlsbad is full of companies that provide a terrific synergy for others looking to relocate. The market has a well-trained and educated employee base with skills needed in the manufacturing world. State incentives are available based on industry and employee type, as well as local incentives like no municipal impact fees and Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) as well. Carlsbad continues its unprecedented market growth, as both industrial and retail sectors are expanding. Carlsbad, in Eddy County, has been leading oil production in the state of New Mexico for three years, and Eddy County continues to rank high in the nation for oil production.

"This report gives merit to what we see every day in economic development," said John Waters, executive director for the CDOD. "We meet with companies from everywhere across the spectrum, both locally and new to our market. This area is the prime place for growth right now."

SmartAsset incorporated several factors in the methodology for the study. The study aimed to capture the places across the country that are receiving the most incoming investments in business, real estate, government and the local economy as a whole. To do this they looked at four factors: business establishment growth, GDP growth, new building permits and municipal bond investment.

The change in the number of businesses established in each location over a 3-year period was tracked. This showed whether or not people were starting new business ventures in the county.

The second factor reviewed was the GDP growth. Real growth (inflation adjusted) in the local economy was used in the study.

Investment and development in the local residential real estate market was also tracked. To measure this real estate growth, they calculated the number of new building permits per 1,000 homes.

The final factor considered was investment in municipal bonds. They found total municipal bond debt raised by a county over the last five years, which was divided by population. This provided a per capita look at investment in local government.

Every county was scored on these four factors in the study, with weights being equally allocated to each factor. The scores were then combined to create a final ranking of cities. With that ranking, they created an index where the county with the most incoming investments was assigned a value of 100 and the county with the least investment activity received a zero.

The Carlsbad Department of Development is the economic development agency for the City of Carlsbad and Eddy County, New Mexico.

For additional information regarding this release
Carlsbad Department of Development / News Division
Office: 575-887-6562
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.DevelopCarlsbad.org

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