Distressed Counties Seeing Uptick in Strategic Investments and Jobs, But Local Strategies Still Needed to Link Residents

Employment-distressed counties have secured 16% of $525B in strategic sector investments since 2021, double their 8% share of GDP.

Strategic investments going to distressed counties are 2-4x higher than their share of overall private investment in recent years.

70 distressed counties across 27 states have attracted strategic investments, especially smaller "micropolitan" regions.

Distressed counties receiving investments have 31% higher advanced industry employment than those without investments.

While more investments are flowing to distressed areas, intentional local strategies are still needed to link residents to new jobs.