Manatee County seventh in Florida for incoming investment

As far as the Gulf Coast is concerned, Manatee County is booming.

According to a new report from SmartAsset, a New York City-based financial guidance company, Manatee County is seventh in the state for incoming investments. Hillsborough and Collier counties ranked Nos. 8 and No. 9, respectively. All other counties in the top 10 are located in the panhandle, central or northeast parts of the state.

The incoming investment index comprises four factors: business growth, inflation-adjusted GDP growth, new building permits and federal funding. SmartAsset used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and USAspending.gov, a federally mandated website that shows how tax dollars are spent.

Sharon Hillstrom, president and CEO of the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp., said she thinks it’s a combination of factors that contribute to Manatee County’s success with bringing in investment.

“One of the things that’s important is over the past several years, global corporations have chosen to expand or locate their facilities in Manatee County,” Hillstrom said. “That would suggest that we are the business destination for the South Tampa Bay region. It takes time to develop a reputation, but because we’ve had some wins there, we are getting noticed in that way.”

Industrial gas manufacturing company Air Products, live family entertainment powerhouse Feld Entertainment and United Kingdom-based manufacturer IRISS all moved or consolidated operations in Manatee County during the past few years. Hillstrom also credited Manatee County government’s “business-friendly attitude,” a low cost of doing business and the abundance of educational opportunities in the area as reasons for increased investment in the region.

The SmartAsset report aims to “capture the places across the country that are receiving the most incoming investments in business, real estate, government and the local economy as a whole.”

The job market is another indicator of economic health. All of the top 10 counties for incoming investment have unemployment rates at 4.1 percent or below, according to the most recent employment data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The outlier is Sumter County, which ranks at No. 10 on the SmartAsset list, and had an April unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.

“The county has bounced back very strong from the ’07-08-09 debacle and the county has been successful in steering its way through that,” said Steve Jonsson, a Manatee County commissioner and former banking professional. “And positioning itself to take advantage of this good economy around the country.

“I think a lot of it has to do with everyone feels good because their investment portfolio has gone up. As much as anything, I think it’s just the overall economy of the country is doing well.”

This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Manatee County seventh in Florida for incoming investment."