Fueled by a rapid expansion in travel, tourism and recreation over the past decade, as well as a strong manufacturing base, the Elkhart-Goshen metropolitan statistical area has been ranked fourth in the nation by The Walton Foundation’s recently released “Most Dynamic Metropolitans” study.
This story by John Kline originally appeared in Goshen News.
The new study, released Monday, ranks the economic performance of metropolitan areas.
“As the dominant economic geography of America, metropolitan statistical areas largely determine our success as a nation. These groups of counties with a large central core account for 88.6 percent of jobs, 89.1 percent of wages and 90 percent of gross domestic product,” the study states. “Further, metropolitan statistical areas account for the bulk of innovation such as research and development and patenting activity. Understanding the mechanisms underpinning the growth of top-performing metropolitan areas, and sharing best practices, could assist other communities in boosting their economic fortunes. The Most Dynamic Metropolitan Index, ranking 379 metropolitan areas, seeks to provide an objective measure of the economic vibrancy of communities where the lion’s share of Americans work and live.”
According to the report, metro areas with knowledge-based economies tended to have greater economic growth and ranked higher than metro areas that have yet to make much-needed investments in technology, education, entrepreneurship and commercialization.
According to the study, of the 379 metropolitan areas ranked within the index, the Elkhart-Goshen metro area was ranked fourth among the top 30 metropolitan areas nationwide, due in large part to the rapid expansion in travel, tourism and recreation experienced within the region over the past decade.
“This is not surprising, as Elkhart is the RV capital of the world,” the study states. “For example, the motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing industry’s concentration is 191.4 times that of the U.S. overall and the sector employs 30,200 in the metro area and represents 22 percent of total jobs in the metropolitan area.”
Additionally, the Elkhart-Goshen metro area was also ranked third among the top 10 small-sized metropolitan areas from across the nation for economic performance. Small-sized metro areas include a population of up to 499,999 people, while medium-sized metros include between 500,000 and 999,999 people and large-sized metros more than 1 million people. The Elkhart-Goshen metro area has a population of just over 205,000 people.