Georgia #1 state for business

9 years running

- Area Development Magazine

Diversified economic factors and high growth continue to fuel robust job opportunities in the CSRA. The region has consistently received top honors in national rankings of housing markets, healthcare, tourism, workforce skills and business environments.

As a whole, Georgia has been voted the Best State for Business, nine years running, by Area Development Magazine Contributing to Augusta’s steady economic expansion, stable prosperity and quality of life is the area’s foundation in varied manufacturers, expanding nuclear technology sites, burgeoning powerhouses of academia, world-class medical facilites, a strategic military base and healthy small businesses.

This volume of development, which continues to balloon, keeps the greater Augusta’s pace ahead of the national average.

Attracting New Businesses

In July 2022, Nippon Denkai, a Japanese company, announced it would be opening a $150 million facility in Augusta to make copper foil for electric vehicles. Construction on the 115-acre site began in September and is expected to be operational by summer of 2024.

Eight months earlier, Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp announced that Aurubis, one of the leading recyclers of copper, precious metals, and non-ferrous materials worldwide, will invest $340 million (€300 million) in a stateof-the-art recycling and secondary smelting facility for multi-metal recycling in Augusta. This new facility will be the very first of its kind in the U.S. and will create 125 jobs in the Augusta area and is expected to begin operations in 2024.

In October 2021, Amazon opened their new five-story, 450,000-square-foot robotic fulfillment facility at White Oak Business Park between Appling and Harlem in Columbia County. The center will employ more than 3,000 workers when fully staffed. Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $3.2 billion in the Peach State, including local operations infrastructure and employee compensation.

“Amazon’s benefit to this area has been profound already – from job and wage growth, to growth of people, support of hospitality industry, small business, and retail. The ripple effect is real, it is broad and we anticipate seeing long-term effects from here on out,”

–Development Authority of Columbia County on the opening of the new Amazon facility

Fort Gordon

Fort Gordon enjoys a strong, mutually supportive relationship with its surrounding communities. It presents a positive environment in which all soldiers and families can thrive, no matter which command they serve. The installation provides a quality of life for service members and their families commensurate with their contributions to our nation; it supports unit readiness in an era of persistent conflict; and it is a foundation for building the future.

A major employer in east Georgia, the installation’s on-post population includes approximately 35,232 services members, family members, federal civilians and directly-employed contractors, while the supported off-post population includes nearly 134,107 service members, their family members and military retirees. Much of Fort Gordon’s annual economic impact of nearly $2.7 billion goes directly into the local economy and business.

In December 2013, the Army announced Army Cyber Command would move to Fort Gordon, and in March 2014, the base transitioned to the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCoE). This new CCoEm which oversees the Signal School and the new Cyber School, opened its doors in August 2014.

Besides providing training for both the Signal and Cyber Corps, Fort Gordon serves as a cyber power projection base for several Army Signal, Cyber and Intelligence units. Fort Gordon is also home to joint partners from all the Armed Services who provide intelligence, cyber, communications, and cryptologic support for operations spanning the globe.