Wooster micropolitan area rated 7th in nation, No. 1 in Ohio
The Wooster micropolitan area — areas of one or two counties with a single principal city of 10,000-50,000 people, which is Wooster in the case of Wayne County — was ranked seventh in the nation in Policom Corporation’s 2023 annual Economic Strength Rankings report. The area also was ranked No. 1 in Ohio.
The Wooster micropolitan area earned the seventh spot in the nation in Policom Corporation’s 2023 annual Economic Strength Rankings report and also is No. 1 in Ohio.
Micropolitans are areas of one or two counties with a single principal city of 10,000-50,000 people, which is Wooster in the case of Wayne County.
The rank nationally jumped from 14th in last year’s rankings. The report assessed all 543 U.S. micropolitan areas nationwide. The result highlights gains in standard of living and investment. Consistency of growth is another factor included in the calculation.
Fellow Ohio micropolitans winning spots in the top 100 include Celina, ranked 45th; Mount Vernon, 74th; and Wapakoneta, 99th.
Micropolitans operate as their own economies, independently of a larger metropolitan area. These rankings indicate how well a community is growing economically. The rankings are developed by weighing jobs, wage and salary, and income maintenance (welfare) across multiple economic sectors, which are then evaluated through a two-decade period to affirm consistency in growth.
With 27,232 residents as of the last census, Wooster is the core city of the micropolitan area, accounting for nearly half of all of Wayne County’s paid wages. The city has been growing at a rate of four times faster than the rest of the county, which itself saw growth at a time when the majority of Northeast Ohio lost population.
The ranking shares how Wooster is faring among similar-sized independent economies. The study evaluates how an economy has behaved, not necessarily what has caused it to perform. Wooster’s continued strength may owe itself to a heavily diversified manufacturing sector, supportive business environment, constructive public-private partnerships, and the community’s efforts toward fostering a high quality of life to attract and retain economic opportunities, which would include downtown, school systems, parks and infrastructure.
The official report for 2023 is available at www.policom.com.