Competition among communities for new talent and responsible investment is fierce. The Fourth Economy team has worked on various community and economic development projects across the country. We have witnessed firsthand the ways that communities and organizations are responding to their new economic reality. We continue to learn a lot about how and why competitive communities attract sustainable investment in the “fourth economy.”
We are building upon these experiences to launch the Fourth Economy Community Index. This is not another stale “best places” ranking. Rather, this index will serve as a high level dashboard for community stakeholders to gauge their capacity to attract and retain sustainable investment.
The Fourth Economy Community Index will examine both statistical and qualitative factors at the County level within five areas: 1) Investment, 2) Talent, 3) Sustainability, 4) Place, and 5) Diversity. Our experience suggests that these five areas serve as a foundation for future economic success.
How Does the FEC Index Work?
Our team has divided all of the U.S. counties into 4 classification categories based on population: Large-, Mid-, Small- and Micro-size categories.
Key data are collected to include wage and employment growth, education levels, drive times, home values, minority business ownership, agricultural capacity and population density. The measures are weighted based on the level of influence they have on both internal and external investment decisions.
The analysis also considers the capacity for a community to support innovation. The FEC Index expresses an innovation capacity score as a letter grade, determined by the online source Stats-America. This grade considers factors such as human capital, state policy context and productivity.
Over the course of a year, we will release the top 10 FEC Index scores for the communities in each classification.
2012 Fourth Economy Community Index: Small-Sized Counties
View more about these communities in this article.
1Clarke County, Georgia
- FEC Index Score: 4.37
- Innovation Capacity: B
- Population: 116,714
6La Crosse County, Wisconsin
- FEC Index Score: 1.66
- Innovation Capacity: B
- Population: 114,638
2Monroe County, Indiana
- FEC Index Score: 2.16
- Innovation Capacity: A
- Population: 137,974
7Olmsted County, Minnesota
- FEC Index Score: 1.65
- Innovation Capacity: A
- Population: 144,428
3Johnson County, Iowa
- FEC Index Score: 1.80
- Innovation Capacity: A
- Population: 130,882
8Warren County, Kentucky
- FEC Index Score: 1.47
- Innovation Capacity: B
- Population: 113,792
4Tompkins County, New York
- FEC Index Score: 1.79
- Innovation Capacity: A+
- Population: 101,564
9Wood County, Ohio
- FEC Index Score: 1.46
- Innovation Capacity: A
- Population: 125,488
5Lee County, Alabama
- FEC Index Score: 1.67
- Innovation Capacity: B
- Population: 140,247
10Randall County, Texas
- FEC Index Score: 1.29
- Innovation Capacity: A
- Population: 120,725
2012 Fourth Economy Community Index: Mid-Sized Counties
View more about these communities in this article.
1Fayette County, Kentucky
- FEC Index Score: 4.5
- Innovation Capacity: A-
- Population: 295,000
6Greene County, Ohio
- FEC Index Score: 2.0
- Innovation Capacity: A-
- Population: 161,000
2New Hanover County, North Carolina
- FEC Index Score: 4.4
- Innovation Capacity: A-
- Population: 202,000
7Brazos County, Texas
- FEC Index Score: 1.9
- Innovation Capacity: A+
- Population: 195,000
3Sarpy County, Nebraska
- FEC Index Score: 3.1
- Innovation Capacity: B+
- Population: 159,000
8Lancaster County, Nebraska
- FEC Index Score: 1.8
- Innovation Capacity: A+
- Population: 285,000
4Brown County, Wisconsin
- FEC Index Score: 2.3
- Innovation Capacity: B+
- Population: 248,000
9Lubbock County, Texas
- FEC Index Score: 1.8
- Innovation Capacity: B-
- Population: 279,000
5Greene County, Missouri
- FEC Index Score: 2.1
- Innovation Capacity: B-
- Population: 275,000
10Pitt County, North Carolina
- FEC Index Score: 1.7
- Innovation Capacity: B-
- Population: 168,000
2012 Fourth Economy Community Index: Large-Sized Counties
Releasing later in 2012…
2012 Fourth Economy Community Index: Micro-Sized Counties
Releasing later in 2012…
