Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Charleston, long the historical power of this state, is still on top and driving the states economy. Several reasons give fact to this statement, among them:
- Charleston has the #1 ranking in share of adults with 4 year degree (see link above)
- Boeing, the Chas-Int'l Airport and the Air Force Base are setting ground for Charleston to be a new Seattle, an aerospace giant on the East Coast.
- Tourism...one of the states biggest economic draws, is king on the coast, and according to Conde Nast..Charleston is among the elite tourism cities in the entire world.
- State Port- The port is one of the largest in the USA, and is located in North Charleston/Mount Pleasant and Downtown Chas. It fuels the rest of the states trade, including the anchor economic giant of the upstate BMW, as BMW uses the Port of Chas as it's primary transport mechanism for the upstate plant.
- Military- The metro area has the US Air Force Base, for C-17's, where the majority of supplies for all US wars are flying out of, the US Navy's Weapons Base, the FLETC Federal Gov't Law Enforcement Training Center, among other military/federal complexes.
As a non-native of Charleston, I wanna thank the Lowcountry for making it possible for the whole state to thrive!!!
Well, if we get particular about it, the economic boom that "Charleston" is providing can be credited almost more to North Charleston and Mount Pleasant, since the port is located in both those cities, NC's got the #1 retail sales in the state and Boeing, etc, etc, etc. Plus, one of Charleston's biggest draws are the beaches, NONE of which are located in Charleston City limits.
National articles cite both Columbia and Charleston as having added lots of jobs recently, especially in professional services. Columbia added about 8,500 jobs overall to Charleston's 3,000+ in 2011. Both metros are slated to have gained back 96% of the jobs they lost in the recession by the end of this year, according to an article in Columbia's Free Times this week. It's easy to read big headlines like Boeing's and forget that the real job gains come from smaller businesses that don't grab a lot of attention. Even USC economists can get hung up on those headlines, and, unlike The State in Columbia, some newspapers eat up such attention.
Also, Forbes just released its list of America's most overpriced cities and Charleston is #9, worse than New York and San Francisco. They could have at least used a photo that flatters the city.
Charleston threads should be in the Charleston forum. I feel free to comment on any SC city in the SC forum. I love Charleston. I just don't see it as the king of the state's economy. If this thread were in the Charleston forum, however, I would keep my opinion to myself.
National articles cite both Columbia and Charleston as having added lots of jobs recently, especially in professional services. Columbia added about 8,500 jobs overall to Charleston's 3,000+ in 2011. Both metros are slated to have gained back 96% of the jobs they lost in the recession by the end of this year, according to an article in Columbia's Free Times this week. It's easy to read big headlines like Boeing's and forget that the real job gains come from smaller businesses that don't grab a lot of attention. Even USC economists can get hung up on those headlines, and, unlike The State in Columbia, some newspapers eat up such attention.
Also, Forbes just released its list of America's most overpriced cities and Charleston is #9, worse than New York and San Francisco. They could have at least used a photo that flatters the city.
Charleston threads should be in the Charleston forum. I feel free to comment on any SC city in the SC forum. I love Charleston. I just don't see it as the king of the state's economy. If this thread were in the Charleston forum, however, I would keep my opinion to myself.
Without the tourism of the coastal cities, and the Port of Charleston, this states economy wouldn't be nearly what it is. The entire state thrives off that port. The upstates biggest economic boom in decades was BMW, which relies hugely on the port to ship all the cars.
Just wait....North Charleston is about to start casino cruises, which will cause a mini-boom down here similiar to Biloxi, MS, style entertainment.
The one thing I can thank Columbia for is entertaining me with the two best Gamecocks football seasons ever!
Each city in the state plays roles. Each will continue to do so.
Agree. Each city has specific industries that do better in that area than any other.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
