Study: Manufacturing is ‘Thriving’ in Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo ranks in the top 10% of cities with strong manufacturing economies, according to the latest research.

The financial services advisory startup AdvisorSmith ranked the top 50 cities with the strongest manufacturing economies based upon four primary factors: the growth rate of manufacturing output, manufacturing output per capita, the location quotient for manufacturing workers, and the growth rate in manufacturing jobs. Kalamazoo scored 33rd out of 318 U.S. cities studied, showing that manufacturing is, indeed, thriving in the Mall City.

Kalamazoo had manufacturing output of $3.15 billion in 2018, which was $9,281 per capita. The area's manufacturing output growth rate was 5% during the study period as manufacturing employment grew 2.3%. How do we stack up against the leaders? Here are the top 3 cities where U.S. manufacturing is booming.

1 Elkhart, IN

In 2018, the city produced 507% more jobs for manufacturing, on a per-capita basis, than the average U.S. city and had a manufacturing output of $6.68 billion. During the study period, manufacturing output grew by a compounded annual growth rate of 6.4%, while manufacturing employment grew by 4.1%. Manufacturing output per capita in Elkhart was $32,489 at the end of the study period.

2. Columbus, IN

Columbus, Indiana had manufacturing output of $4.0 billion in 2018, which was $48,799 per capita. The city has 350% more manufacturing jobs than the national average on a per-capita basis, and had a manufacturing output growth rate of 3.6% during the study period. Manufacturing employment also grew 1.5% over the same period.

3. Rock Mount, NC

The manufacturing output of Rocky Mount was $6.2 billion in 2018, which was $42,270 on a per-capita basis. Manufacturing output grew by 11.8% annualized over the study period. The city also has 108% more manufacturing jobs than the national average.

Get more on the methodology and complete results of the AdvisorSmith study here.

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