Onslow County shifts into "most distressed" economic tier for 2023
Onslow County has moved into a different economic tier due to its increase in economic distress over the last year.
According to Monday's Jacksonville Onslow Economic Development newsletter, the North Carolina Department of Commerce is shifting Onslow County from Tier Two to Tier One for 2023.
The Development Tier Designation statute process assigns each county to a designation, Tier One being most distressed, the newsletter explained. The county's economic distress rank has also shifted from 41 to 40, largely driven by a change in the county's unemployment rank.
The tier designation system has been mandated by state law since 2007 and determines a variety of state funding opportunities to assist in economic development.
The newsletter explained that tier rankings are calculated by average unemployment rate for the most recent 12 months for which data are available, median household income for the most recent 12 months, percentage growth in population for the most recent 36 months and adjusted property tax base per capita for the most recent taxable year.
Since 2021, the newsletter added, when ranked against the other 99 North Carolina counties, Onslow County has slipped from #59 to #40.
It hasn't been all bad though.
Over the last three years, population growth has been steady, median household income has risen and the unemployment rate has decreased, according to the newsletter.
The newsletter added that Onslow County's average weekly wages and personal income have also risen, and both the overall poverty rate and number of children living in poverty has decreased.
Assuming no ties in rankings, the newsletter explained the statute requires the designation of 40 Tier One, 40 Tier Two and 20 Tier Three counties each year.
Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Onslow County shifts into "most distressed" economic tier for 2023
