For the past two years, Forbes Magazine has ranked the Thurston County region as one of the top ten places in the U.S. to do business. This year's 8th-place ranking acknowledges favorable performance in cost of living, job growth, recreational and cultural opportunities and educational attainment. Read more about this year's Forbes ranking.
For the past two years, Forbes Magazine has ranked the Thurston County region as one of the top ten places in the U.S. to do business. This year's 8th-place ranking acknowledges favorable performance in cost of living, job growth, recreational and cultural opportunities and educational attainment.
Two words best describe the business climate found in Thurston County's economy: Emerging opportunity. In part, this is because of the county’s strategic location at the mid-point between the major metropolitan areas of the central Puget Sound to the north, and Portland, Oregon to the south.
Within the last three years, the Puget Sound region has awakened to the incredible opportunity in Thurston County. It is identified with an infrastructure that can provide service and access throughout the entire state, and ultimately the west coast of the United States. Our region’s major north-south artery, Interstate 5, traverses the entire county offering access points to vibrant communities, emerging industrial and commercial business parks, and access to the state’s major recreational opportunities.
The region economy obviously can be identified as the Washington state capital. In fact, one of the strong clusters of business activity centers around the government’s legislative process. State government accounts for nearly 45 percent of the county workforce.
In the last several years, the county has noticed quite a dramatic shift in the regional diversification of its workforce. Professional services ranks as one of the leading components of industry. These include a solid anchor with technical Internet and web design firms, and legal and consultant companies. Other strong elements include:
- Warehouse and distribution businesses that take advantage of the transportation links
- Medical services that provide emergency and maintenance health care for the surrounding five-county region
- Traditional manufacturing by many of our local producers that captures a significant piece of their specific global market
- An emerging life sciences community that has grown in the region within the last five years
The entire county has transformed as growth continues and communities develop. While undergoing this change, each of the communities has proactively managed growth to ensure and maintain a quality place to live and work.