Iowa City Companies doing Better than State and National Counterparts

Yes it's true, Iowa City companies are doing better than their state and national counterparts. Not a huge surprise to me and something I needed to share, since good news doesn't get shared nearly as often as bad! We know the housing numbers for quarter were pretty encouraging, as we saw in my real estate market reports for Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty at the beginning of the month. It's nice to have another indicator that we're doing okay in our neck of the woods.

The Iowa City Area Development Group has a new survey out that shows some positive trends when it comes to companies in the Iowa City area. That's not to say they're doing great, but they faring pretty well in what we all know is a difficult economic climate.

The ICAD Group collected data from 60 companies in the in the area, including Pearson, Procter & Gamble, Oral B, Heartland Express, Compleware Corporation, Roberts Dairy and Rockwell Collins. I thought it worth mentioning a few. First of all to show the diversity of employers in the private sector around here. And secondly to do something towards dispelling the myth that Iowa City is a "rural area," by pointing out that we have some pretty major companies here.

The first positive about the six page report is that Iowa City remains optimistic about continued growth when compared to national and state figures.

Still staying positive, local companies are healthier than the rest of Iowa. Local companies continue to grow with 75% launching new and innovative products, compared to 31% statewide.

On the down side, revenues have been down in the last 12 months and there has been a 9% reduction in the workforce. The flip side of that is that 57% of Iowa City companies still plan to increase their workforce in the next 3 years.

What does Iowa City have that sets it apart from so many other places when it comes to starting a company here?

On the financial planning side, there are great tax incentives for starting a business in the Iowa City area. On the hiring side, probably the first thing to spring to mind is the educated workforce. Companies in the private sector definitely benefit from the University of Iowa being right on their doorstep and are happy to acknowledge the quality of their employees. Having said that, there are some issues employers run into when it comes to hiring. That applies to certain occupations and the area we live in. Going back to my comment about Iowa City being perceived as a rural area, that does indeed have an impact on prospective employees moving to our area.


Staying on that topic I think now is a good time to make my pitch for Iowa City. If you're thinking of relocating to the Iowa City area, you'll be surprised just how much the area has to offer. I have this conversation with just about everyone who relocates here - almost no exceptions. We're all surprised! Just recently I was talking to someone who relocated from Washington DC. Iowa City is not DC, but it's a whole lot more than she expected... She loves it and although her friends are in no rush to visit her, mainly due to the "rural image," she's quick to point out that Iowa City is not at all what you expect it to be - in a good way!

Anway, I digress somewhat, back to the original topic: Based on the data the Iowa City Area Development Group gives us it seems that although Iowa City is not exactly recession proof, it is certainly showing signs of resilience under the pressure of the recession. As a born optomist, I'm happy to see us trending in the right direction and will be sure to keep you informed as we continue down the road to recovery.