Maury County tops economic investment rankings in state, nation

The sunset reflects on the Maury County courthouse at Public Square in downtown Columbia on July 27, 2023.
The sunset reflects on the Maury County courthouse at Public Square in downtown Columbia on July 27, 2023.

Maury County's ongoing growth has continued to make top rankings not only statewide, but in the nation based on a recent study by aggregate data generator SmartAsset.

SmartAsset's recent findings ranked Maury County as the top county in Tennessee under four major investment categories, which include business growth, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, new building permits and incoming investment.

In addition, the county also ranked No. 3 for incoming investment and No. 7 for incoming investment nationally, ranking in the Top 10 in more than 3,000 counties.

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The SmartAsset study breaks down investment figures over a three-year period, which demonstrates sustained performance.

The rankings come on the heels of the Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance Annual Dinner last week, celebrating a "record-breaking" year in many aspects of local growth, which has been building momentum for over 10 years in Maury County.

“The SmartAsset report findings serve as a capstone to ten years of sustained growth for Maury County," Maury Alliance Vice President Travis Groth said. "It is important to note that results like this would not be possible without teamwork and the strong local, regional, state, and TVA economic development partnerships that have been developed.

"We are proud of Maury County’s economic performance and the positive benefits it has delivered broadly across the local economy. That said, we are even more excited for what’s still to come for Maury County as we transition the focus of our local economic development efforts from community growth to community enhancement. Maury County is a great place to live and do business and that is getting truer every day."

Groth added that much of the continued success, which dates back nearly a decade, has been the combination of having a good team, a good location and the reputation for Maury County as a place worth investing in for jobs.

"This is an accumulation of all our efforts along the way, a measurement over time as far as sustainment and investment within the community over time," Groth said. "There is a wealth of opportunities that we at the Maury Alliance are here and happy to help assist on."

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And while the latest data has focused on the last three years of investment and job growth, much of Maury County's success can be traced back to almost 10 years, with many factory jobs, growth at the General Motors plant in Spring Hill, as well as opportunities for small business entrepreneurs.

"I think over the next few years you'll see our focus will now be from growth to enhancement, and so we are happy and excited to see the next chapter for Maury County," Groth said. "It's a combination of partnerships that we've not only seen locally, but statewide as well, and Maury County is just a perfect strategic location that's led to some really positive things. This is more of an affirmation than anything else, a real capstone."

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Maury County tops four categories for investment, Top 10 nationwide