The Triangle's surrounding counties see jump in economic prosperity
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The Southeast has become distinctly more prosperous in just a few years — part of a shift in the geography of economic distress in the U.S., according to new data reported first by Axios.
Why it matters: The latest update of the Distressed Community Index, out Wednesday from the Economic Innovation Group, shows large parts of the country becoming more vibrant, Axios' Neil Irwin writes.
- That is especially true in the counties surrounding fast-growing cities, like Raleigh, Atlanta and Nashville.
- Every county that touches Wake, Durham and Orange counties saw a decline in economic stress in the study.
How it works: The index is based on seven factors, pulled from U.S. census data, and aims to capture in a single number whether a given area is rich with economic opportunity or faltering.
- Those factors include the share of adults not working, the housing vacancy rate and growth in the number of businesses.
- The latest edition is based on data from 2017 to 2021.
Zoom in: The report found that 39.2% of residents in Raleigh have prosperous or comfortable economic situations — while 17.8% have distressed or at-risk economic situations.
- In Durham, those numbers jumped to 45.4% and 23.8%, respectively.