Economy/Cost of Living
Industry
Snapshot | Education
Recreation &
Entertainment | Transportation | Geography
& Climate
History | Suggested Reading
List
With a population of over 12 million people (a 3.4 percent increase since the 1990 census), Pennsylvania ranks as the sixth most populous state in the U.S. Harrisburg is the Commonwealth’s capital and its largest cities are Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Boasting a high quality of life with affordable housing, a home ownership rate of 11th in the nation at 74 percent, a low crime rate ranked 42nd in the nation, quality health care, high quality schools (ranked 9th in the nation for expenditures per pupil), a highly-trained workforce, extensive research capabilities, a multifaceted transportation infrastructure, business incentives and an attractive tax climate, Pennsylvania offers the ideal location for new businesses.
With an economy of $378 billion, Pennsylvania has the 15th largest economy in the world. The state’s major industries include food processing, chemical products, machinery, electric equipment and tourism. The life sciences industry is also an important driver of the state’s economy, creating over $5.5 billion in wages in 2002. From 1998 to 2002, the number of biotech companies and research organizations in the state grew by 85 percent.
Pennsylvania’s per capita personal income, above the national average in 2002 at $31,727, showed a 3.2 percent increase from the previous year, and ranked 15th in the nation. The state had a 5.6 percent unemployment rate at the end of 2004, just over the national rate of 5.4 percent.
Hoping to grow businesses and jumpstart the Commonwealth’s economy in the new century, the state’s innovative Economic Stimulus Package, overseen by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), offers creative incentives for business and communities through programs aimed at balanced, sensible and dynamic growth. The Package funds community development projects, promotes job growth, provides tax credits to businesses and generates new capital.
Intent on providing its communities with incentives to attract new business and jobs, the Commonwealth's highly successful Keystone Opportunity Zones (KOZ) initiative offers businesses a powerful no tax incentive for developing in specific underdeveloped and underutilized areas. The KOZ program covers over 49,000 acres (19,830 hectares) of developable land, with more on the way due to the program’s success since it began in 1999. Additional zones were added in 2001, 2003, and 2004. The program has realized over $5 billion in real estate investments and has created more than 23,000 new jobs.
Other business incentives include the Employment Incentive Payment (EIP) program (which offers tax credits to employers who hire qualified cash welfare recipient or vocationally rehabilitated workers), the Welfare to Work (WTW) tax credit (offered to employers who hire long-term welfare recipients) and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) (providing tax savings to employers who hire job seekers with barriers to employment).
Related Resources:
Back to Destination Pennsylvania
|
