North Carolina takes the top spot this year in the Tier-2 metro category, with Greensboro-High Point moving up three spots from its fourth-place finish in 2013. Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., was the biggest mover, climbing up six spots from No. 9 in 2013.
But North Carolina’s dominance extends throughout the top performers. Durham-Chapel Hill moves up too, from 11th place in 2013 to sixth in 2014. And if you toss in a strong showing from nearby Winston-Salem (12 projects, good for a tie for 30th in Tier 2), then one thing is evident: The Piedmont region’s profile is growing more prominent with each passing month. Taken as a unit, the Greensboro-High Point and Winston-Salem metros would comprise the 37th largest US metro area, with a population exceeding 1.6 million.
Image: Thomas Built Buses in October 2014 announced the investment of $11.8 million to add additional capacity and up to 236 new jobs to the company’s operations in High Point, N.C., to make the Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner® C2 (pictured). Photo courtesy Thomas Built/Daimler
