Atlanta-based
Site Selection Magazine, published by Conway Data Group, released their
2014 Governor's Cup Awards in their March 2015 Issue. The annual awards recognize the top performing economic development efforts throughout the United States. The rankings are organized by the population of the Community involved and the number of economic development projects offered incentives by the various State economic development organizations.
According to the rankings, Huntington, Indiana was tied for 74th out of the top 576 Micropolitan Communities in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a "Micropolitan" as having an urban core population of at least 10,000 residents but fewer than 50,000 and generally located in small towns in rural Counties. There were 7 Micropolitan Communities in Indiana receiving recognition and Indiana ranked 6th in the nation with the most Communities recognized.
This is the third year Site Selection has recognized Huntington's efforts - 2010, 2011, and now 2014.
The magazine also recognized the leading industry sectors which were the focus of the projects. The top 5 industry categories were:
1. Transportation Equipment Manufacturing.
2. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals.
3. Food Processing.
4. Machinery.
5. Fabricated Metal.
The magazine recognized Huntington for two projects meeting the selection criteria, however, overall, Huntington County had 15 industrial projects in 2014, accounting for commitments to create 365 new jobs supported through private capital investments totaling nearly $35 million. The Huntington projects included all of the top 5 industry sectors reported by Site Selection Magazine.
The 2014 Huntington County economic development effort was also recognized by the
Community Research Institute (CRI) of Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) campus. According to the CRI report, Huntington County ranked second behind only Allen County (Fort Wayne) in the impact of 2014 projects.