According to Chamber President and CEO Christie Moore, a dollar stretches much further in Valdosta.

VALDOSTA – Valdosta is making strides in industry but is still dwarfed by surrounding metro areas, according to a recent economic overview.

Andrea Schruijer, executive director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority, presented a report about the city’s economic status to Valdosta City Council during a retreat last month.

The report notes that Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area – as defined by the United States Census Bureau as consisting of four counties – Lowndes, Brooks, Echols and Lanier – has a population of 149,152 and Lowndes County as a whole has a population of 114,436, and Valdosta has a population of 56,320, compared to 54,518 from the 2010 census.

The basic demographic profile of the city includes a civilian labor force of 25,135, with a participation rate of 57.2% of individuals 25 to 64, 27.3% have a bachelor’s degree or higher, lower than the state average at 33.6% and the national average at 34.3%.

During Quarter 3 of 2022, total employment for the City of Valdosta was 38,351 (based on a four-quarter moving average).

During the year ending 2022/Q3, employment increased 1.8% in the region.

Compared to Notable

Metro Areas

Christie Moore, Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer, told City Council that the median household income in Valdosta was $38,667 and the median home value was $156,495.

Her report used comparison models of other surrounding metropolitan statistical areas such as Brunswick, Jacksonville, Fla., Tallahassee, Fla., and Atlanta.

“The median household income in Atlanta is 2.07 times greater than Valdosta’s MHI but Atlanta’s median home value is 2.67 times greater than Valdosta’s MHI. Household incomes go much farther in Valdosta than many other communities,” she said.

In an interview with The Valdosta Daily Times, Betty Morgan, chamber vice president for business development, provided additional insight into the MSA’s, noting that despite the higher populations of Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Atlanta, the unemployment and high school/some college education levels are in similar ranges.

The bigger discrepancy can be seen in the poverty rates as well as the types of employment. Cities with higher rates of blue collar and service workers tend to see more poverty.

According to the latest U.S. census, the South Georgia cities tout a poverty rate higher than their North Georgia/North Florida counterparts:

Valdosta: 30.5%

Brunswick: 32.8%

Jacksonville: 14.9%

Tallahassee: 24.3%

Atlanta: 18.5%

Additionally, the Valdosta workforce consists of 59.4% of white collar workers, 20.6% blue collar workers and 20.1% service workers, meaning that about one in every five Valdosta residents pull in an average of $22,019 annually through service jobs.

Compare that with Tallahassee, which is on the higher end of unemployment and poverty to its North Georgia/North Florida counterparts, but still has a significantly lower poverty rate than the South Georgia MSA.

Tallahassee’s workforce is much more white collar, and lower-level income jobs see a lesser impact with 72.7% white collar workers, 9.9% blue collar workers and 17.4% service workers.

Industry Snapshot, Clusters

While Valdosta still has a lot of growing and industry expansion to do to catch up with the surrounding big metro players, Schruijer’s report indicates a positive direction for the city.

The largest sector in Valdosta is health care and social assistance, employing 7,351 workers. The next-largest sectors in the region are retail trade (5,534 workers) and accommodation and food services (4,895).

High location quotients indicate sectors where a region has high concentrations of employment compared to the national average. The sectors with the largest LQs in the region are accommodation and food services (LQ = 1.51), retail trade (1.42) and transportation and warehousing (1.39). Sectors in Valdosta with the highest average wages per worker are utilities ($96,569), management of companies and enterprises ($69,068), and finance and insurance ($67,071). Regional sectors with the best job growth (or most moderate job losses) during the last five years are manufacturing (+409 jobs), transportation and warehousing (+258) and wholesale trade (+188).

According to Schruijer’s overview, during the next year, employment in Valdosta is projected to expand by 89 jobs. The fastest growing sector in the region is expected to be accommodation and food services with a +1.1% year-over-year rate of growth.

The strongest forecast by number of jobs during this period is expected for accommodation and food services (+55 jobs), health care and social assistance (+45), and educational services (+14).

A cluster is a geographic concentration of interrelated industries or occupations. The industry cluster in the city with the highest relative concentration is chemical with a location quotient of 3.01.

This cluster employs 1,069 workers in the region with an average wage of $54,222. Employment in the chemical cluster is projected to expand in the region about 0.0% per year during the next 10 years.

Occupational Growth

The largest major occupation group in Valdosta is transportation and material moving occupations, employing 4,430 workers. The next largest occupation groups in the region are sales and related occupations workers, food preparation and serving related occupations (4,337).

High location quotients LOs indicate occupation groups in which a region has high concentrations of employment compared to the national average. The major industries in the region are food preparation and serving related occupations 4Q — 1 43), transportation and material moving occupations (1.33), and health care practitioners and technical occupations (1.33).

Occupation groups in Valdosta with the highest average wages per worker are management occupations (591,200), computer and mathematical occupations ($83,400), and architecture and engineering occupations ($80,400).

The unemployment rate in the region varied among the major groups from 1.0% among health care practitioners and technical occupations to 5.7% among food preparation and serving related occupations.

During the next year, the fastest growing occupation group for the city is expected to be community and social service occupations with a +1.3% year-over-year rate of growth. The strongest forecast by number of jobs over this period is expected for food preparation and serving related occupations (+43 jobs) and health care support occupations (+16).

During the same period, the highest separation demand (occupation demand due to retirements and workers moving from one occupation to another) is expected in food preparation and serving related occupations (842 jobs) and transportation and material moving occupations (611 jobs).