The Greater Baltimore region, on the strength of a growing economy that has transitioned from an industrial to a knowledge-based work force, has outpaced former economic peers Cleveland, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The region now compares to metro areas like Minneapolis, San Diego and Seattle.
From 2000 to 2007, the region?s per capita income and employment level saw significant increases, according to the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore?s (EAGB) Economic Development Progress Report, which was presented Thursday night at EAGB?s annual meeting.
“This is a very different Baltimore than it was 10 to 20 years ago,” Brad McDearman, EAGB?s executive vice president, told The Examiner earlier this week. “We?ve found that the economy has really surged from 2000 to 2007, but ourcollective understanding and psyche hasn?t caught up with that reality.”
For years, the Baltimore region ? comprising Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne?s counties ? has been compared with other “industrial” regions like Buffalo, N.Y.; Cleveland; Pittsburgh and St. Louis, McDearman said.
McDearman and his staff, however, point to several economic indicators that support the claim that the region should now be compared to other “knowledge-based” economies.
» From 2000 to 2005, the Baltimore region?s per capita income increased 24.1 percent, ranking first among the 25 largest U.S. metro areas. San Diego ranked second (23.7 percent); Atlanta ranked 25th (5.1 percent).
» In 2005, the region ranked eighth among the 25 metro areas with a per capita income of $41,320. San Francisco, at $52,543, ranked first.
» Jobs have been added in the region, with Baltimore ranking eighth among the metro areas with a 5 percent employment increase from 2000 to 2006, and its 2006 unemployment rate (4.1 percent) was the seventh-lowest of the metro areas. Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit all lost jobs from 2000 to 2006, while Detroit and Cleveland reported the highest unemployment rates last year.
» More of the Baltimore region?s workers are joining the professional, scientific and technical service fields, with the region posting 19 percent growth in the sector from 2000 to 2006, ranking sixth among the top 25 metro areas.
“The region has really reached a new economic level,” McDearman said. “We score well in all pieces of the puzzle.”
Donald Fry, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said the study builds on what was reported in the 2005 State of the Region Report.
“We have trended out of a Rust Belt economy to a knowledge-based economy,” Fry said. “We have a highly educated work force withhigh income levels, and we?re no longer the city and region that people previously perceived us to be.”
Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, said people have begun to notice the region?s transformation, but it?s always good to quantify the area?s economic assets.
“This helps us sell the area to businesses,” Fowler said. “Businesses need to locate in an area where they?ve got the best work force.”
