Union County

Union County checks many of the boxes companies and residents look for in a place to call home. It is business-friendly and has a balanced mix of amenities and space, while also sporting a highlyrated education system. No wonder it’s among the fastest-growing counties in the country.

Best of both worlds:

Wealth of o erings has Union County on a strong growth path

Union County is the best of both worlds, where big city amenities meet a country feel to create a standout region to raise a family and grow a business. A businessfriendly regulatory environment, bustling metro areas, a range of community events, premier parks, and a rich history have helped the county transform from its rural roots to one of North Carolina’s premier live, work and play destinations.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Union County experienced a healthy population growth parallel to Charlotte’s expansion, drawing families and young professionals alike. As it looks to the future, the county is charting a fresh path with the development of a new strategic growth plan that will see it through the next five to 10 years.

Key facts As one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States, Union County’s economy is rooted in three main pillars: agriculture, precision manufacturing and the aerospace industry; but its business community is also broadening beyond those pillars, demonstrating the depth of its skilled workforce. Given the county’s longstanding agricultural community, agribusiness remains the backbone of the economy, as demonstrated by the development strategy that targets businesses that can enhance opportunities and support the agricultural community. At the other end of the spectrum, the county is also home to the largest geographic concentration of aerospace companies in the state of North Carolina. In fact, every commercial aircraft flying across the globe today has components made in Union County. In between, Union County has a rich history of unique businesses that call the county home, such as musical instrument manufacturer Ludwig Drums.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 640 square miles, of which 632 square miles is land and 8 square miles is water. The characteristics of the county allow it to provide substantial open space for its residents, including Cane Creek Park, an impressive regional park with 1,200 acres of active and passive recreation space, including a trophy bass lake. The abundance of open space adjacent to the Charlotte metro area means residents have the choice of either living in a neighborhood or on a larger piece of land or farm. Many move to Union County for its residential elbow room, which only gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, a wide variety of activities in the county attracts new and current residents. The ( )

Back to business

Support for local small businesses was a key objective with CARES Act funds

Mark Watson

County Manager – Union County

How has the county supported businesses throughout the pandemic? Union County was awarded $8 million in CARES Act funding and there were a number of different ways that money could be used. We were able to use some of the funding for grants for those small businesses experiencing loss of revenue due to COVID. The county originally had $1.0 million allocated to the Back to Business program. In cooperation with our Chamber of Commerce, we worked to garner support among the municipalities for this program. At the conclusion of the program, 209 businesses were helped. We granted $2.5 million worth of requests to our small businesses in need.

How is the county focusing on attracting new development? Union County ended 2019 with a record year in commercial development related to the number of commercial buildings constructed in the county. It was the second-highest year ever in terms of dollars invested. Things have subsided a little but we are still seeing commercial investment, with a similar level of activity in the private sector as we have in the public sector.

For the first time, Union County entered a joint venture with the town of Indian Trail and a private development company to develop a mixed-use project in Downtown Indian Trail that will become a streetscape for the area. The city is redeveloping and updating the area and there was a lot of infrastructure on the water and sewage side that needed to be upgraded. That is where we participated. The mixed-use development will provide residential, retail and commercial spaces, which will drastically improve the area and generate revenues.

What are your main near-term priorities? We are assessing our capital needs for education. We have an ad hoc committee that is working right now to look at the public school system and our community college system. Union County is known for the quality of its education systems and we need to replace some ageing infrastructure and to build new infrastructure to meet tomorrow’s needs.

We are also in the process of completing our 2050 comprehensive plan, which is a long-term community planning project that sets out our short-term goals to meet these expectations. We’ve had tremendous engagement from the community on this project. We have just begun the process of updating our water and sewer system 10-year master planning process. This is a similar process in that we need to project where the bottlenecks and pockets of demand will be felt in the next 10 years and address these needs.

Michelle Lancaster

Deputy County Manager Union County

How would you summarize the state of Union County?

The outlook is stable and we have been moving in a good direction, which given the past year has been frankly positive. The Union County community as a whole has a really strong foundation with good working partnerships and relationships across the governmental, private sector and nonprofit sectors, as well as the hospital system and with the university. Given these foundations, when COVID-19 hit, we were able to pull the trigger on how those relationships function and be successful in the way we managed things.

Which industries or sectors do you see carrying the recovery?

We’ve been heavily tuned into the aerospace industry. That sector has obviously taken a hit due to COVID-19 but they are well poised for a return. Union County has its own airport with a fair amount of tra c here since unlike small regional airports, we receive international arrivals. Some growing industries like manufacturing and industrial have worked well through the pandemic. Regarding the agriculture and food industry, we’re thinking a little di erently about how to capture that side in Union County, and which industries may be attracted to that. COVID was probably a springboard to rethink how grocery stores and manufacturers get products closer to where they are and that requires di erent ideas around cold storage and many other issues.

What makes Union County different?

A nuance about Union County is that it is focused and targeted. I think in the thread of that is the idea of collaboration and cooperation in which everybody is not just doing their own thing but trying to have a unified approach. However, we also seek to attract people with di erent talents and experiences to help to ramp up the idea of collaboration and culture, while becoming more sophisticated and at the same time maintaining that small-town feel that people like to see.

Union County Human Services helped to empower and assist residents throughout the challenges of 2020.

( ) county seat, Monroe, is a quaint yet thriving hub for shopping and restaurants. There are several locallyowned boutiques, as well as breweries and restaurants, alongside the newly-renovated Dowd Theater that will become a hub of activity once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. In addition to the Dowd Theater, the new Monroe Science Center will be opening in late 2021 and is expected to breathe new life into downtown Monroe. A Heritage Festival is held annually at the Agricultural Center, led by the Union County Antique Tractor Club, with the next event scheduled for fall. The county has a new Special Events Center that is sandwiched between Jesse Helms Park and the Agricultural Center. Union County is the home of two renowned events that each draw tens of thousands from across the country every year: Queen’s Cup Steeplechase and the Warbirds Over Monroe Air Show.

The county has remained resilient through the COVID-19 pandemic. Union County Government never shut down during the pandemic, but it did innovate quickly and adjusted operations to enable it to deliver all services virtually to best serve residents while protecting employees. In an era when local governments are not necessarily known for being technically savvy, Union

County Government set up systems within weeks to enable employees to work from home and offered staggered schedules, with no layoffs in 2020. While some government organizations were not able to offer employees an annual cost of living or performancerelated pay increase due to reduced tax revenue, Union County Government was able to continue annual pay increases based on performance. Union County also provided $2.5 million in Back to Business grants to 209 small businesses during the peak of COVID restrictions to aid in their continuity when the crisis subsided.

History Located in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, Union County was formed in 1842 from portions of Mecklenburg and Anson Counties. After disagreement on its name by the Democratic Party and the Whigs, Union County was agreed upon. Early inhabitants of the area included the Waxhaw and Catawba Indians and settlers were German, Scottish, Irish, English and Welsh. The City of Monroe was a cultural and business hub that touted the presence of two Seaboard railroad stations, something not normally seen in a town outside of a large regional center.

This rich culture has continued, and the county has a variety of notable museums and cultural centers, including the Museum of the Waxhaws and the Andrew Jackson Memorial. Cultural institutions include the Union County Heritage Room, the Rainbow Theater and the Waxhaw Historical Festival and Drama Association. The Jesse Helms Center is an educational institution promoting free enterprise and other values championed by the Monroe native and longtime U.S. senator. Other events that regularly take place across the county include the Blooming Arts Festival, the Randy Travis Music Festival in Marshville and the Weddington Fall Festival.

General economy Current estimates have Union County’s population numbered at 240,000 with a median age of 38. As of February 2021, the unemployment rate in the county was 4.5%, the lowest in the region. It is also much lower than the U.S. average of 6.3% and a testament to the strength of its manufacturing industry. Even at the height of COVID-19 when unemployment soared across the country, Union County’s peak was 10.2% in April and May, far below the 14.7% and 13.3% U.S. averages for those months. The county has a median household income of just over $80,000 and a median property value of $293,000, with an 80.5% homeownership rate, far above the U.S. average of 65.8%. In 2018, the most common industry was retail trade, followed by manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance ( )

Maria Pharr

President – South Piedmont Community College

Our goal is to continuously strive to meet the needs of our employers. That requires us to visit our local companies and stay connected with the immediate needs and long-term trends of relevant business sectors. To meet these goals, we continuously evaluate our programs to ensure that they are leading to careers with living wages, have outcomes matched to employer’s needs, and embed coursework that leads to national certifications. A great example of our e orts to align programs to market needs is a partnership we developed with The Ironpeddlers in Monroe. We o er a heavy equipment operator certification in partnership with the company which uses curriculum from the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER). South Piedmont also o ers an apprenticeship program which currently provides 60 students with opportunities in nine companies to earn an associate degree, journeyman’s certificate, or a production technician certificate while they also earn a paycheck.

Road 2 Wingate

Collaboration provides transfer benefits for students while encouraging diversity

Rhett Brown

President – Wingate University

What is the vision behind the Road 2 Wingate initiative with South Piedmont Community College? We have a great, long-standing partnership with South Piedmont. One of the things that makes college transfers hard is the business and bureaucracy side of things. We work specifically on smoothing the curricular pathway, adding things such as counseling to allow them to move seamlessly from institution to institution.

We have also made it so the student pays a maximum out of pocket each year of $2,500. We can do that with a great state fee-based program, a federal-based program and a very generous foundation. This is an independent college and a public junior institution. We can give the student a much more personalized experience than the larger four-year institutions. We do not often see this kind of collaboration so we are very proud of that.

How have e orts to expand your public health program progressed? We are still exploring both the bachelor’s and master’s in public health and we hope to start both those programs in the fall of 2021. We should get feedback from some of our accrediting bodies. We have done the legwork to get to this stage and we’re ready, pending the approvals. We think we’ve made a good proposal and we are aggressively pursuing these programs.

How is the university bolstering its diversity and inclusion e orts? We have been thinking about this for a long time. We understand we do not need another elite institution in this country. We need to serve a much broader population that is perhaps not so socio-economically robust. This often includes first-generation U.S. citizens or underrepresented communities. We have seen our level of diversity increase over the last five years in a significant way. We have created programs like Road 2 Wingate and our partnership with Golden Doors Scholars to enroll these students. Now the question is on diversity and inclusion efforts and we have some work to do in diversifying our faculty and staff. We have a diversity, equity and inclusion council. We are trying to link efforts to ensure we are getting resources to where they are needed.

How has your strategic planning evolved? Outstanding student outcomes, a thriving enrollment and a financially sound model will continue to be an important part of what we do. COVID has accelerated two things: the enhancement of technology in our educational delivery and the value of interpersonal interactions in education.

Dennis Moser

Founder & President – The Moser Group, Inc.

(The Atrium Health Union West) is one of the biggest projects ever undertaken in Union County, requiring the future hiring of 850 employees. Atrium Health is on track to open, there is a huge investment of $125 million in the first phase and $125 million in the second phase. We have also purchased 124 acres near Atrium Health Union on Highway 74 where we are developing an Opportunity Zone project. This will include a ground lease for a convenient store and an 80,000-square-foot cold storage facility.

( ) and educational services. Finance and insurance rounds out the Top 5. Five organizations in the county employ more than 1,000 people: Union County Public Schools, Tyson Foods, ATI Specialty Materials, Union County Government and Harris Teeter.

For fiscal year 2021, the county adopted a budget of $169.3 million, a 1% increase over the fiscal year 2020 budget and the fifth year of no countywide property taxes increases. The majority of the 2021 budget comes from ad valorem and local option sales taxes, while 10.3% comes from federal grants. In 2020, the county maintained its AAA bond rating by all three rating agencies, an accomplishment earned by only a few counties in the state.

COVID support initiatives When COVID-19 hit and the North Carolina Governor issued a Stay at Home Order, residents of Union County, like many others all over the world, looked to local government for support, and Union County responded. The county was in a good position as it already had a long-established organization to facilitate the distribution of emergency assistance through the Union County Crisis Assistance Ministry program. The program was developed in 1982 to provide administrative funding in partnership with local churches to be used for families in need.

Within one month of the pandemic hitting Union County, the economic impact to residents was quickly evident. In April, Union County Government collaborated with numerous community partners to pool resources into one portal that would be easy for residents needing a wide variety of support during a challenging economic crisis. The UC CARES (Union County Community Assistance & Resources Emergency Support) webpage was launched and promoted by all community partners and on a variety of platforms. The resources on UC CARES vary from existing, ongoing programs, to programs specific to COVID-19 impacts.

In September, upon receipt of federal CARES Act funding, the county implemented the Back to Business program, for which it initially set aside $1 million to help COVID-impacted small and micro-businesses with access to capital. The program provided one-time grants of up to $25,000 to qualified businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Once Union County leadership recognized the need from applications, they expanded the budget and at the conclusion of the program, the county allocated $2.5 million to 209 small businesses under the program.

New York-based LISC also allocated more than $62 million in nationwide small business relief grants for COVID-impacted small businesses. To help residents retrain and reenter the job market, South Piedmont College’s Small Business Center hosted seminars and

The county’s budget for FY21 is $169.3 million, a 1% year-on-year increase

special events, and offered a low-cost entrepreneurship program, confidential counseling and referrals.

With news of a vaccine to fight the virus arriving in December 2020, attention turned to the vaccination campaign and getting back to some sense of normality. As expected, demand exceeded supply and Union County followed the prioritization guidelines set by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Union County Public Health has been recognized by residents and peer organizations as a model for their COVID-19 vaccination program. Working with community partners, Union County held multiple large-scale vaccination events early in the vaccination process, including successfully accomplishing a 5,000 dose, two-day event that vaccinated all education and childcare workers in Union County who desired a shot within two days of eligibility.

Infrastructure and Public Works Union County’s innovative approach to infrastructure in several areas has yielded multiple landmark projects that serve the area businesses and residents as well as the region. One such major accomplishment of the last 30 years was the completion of the Monroe Expressway, which provides fast and efficient transport of workforce and goods through the county. It also allows for the better utilization of U.S. 74 as the primary internal roadway and retail corridor for the county.

On the water infrastructure front, the county is located between two major rivers, Catawba River to the south and Yadkin River to the north. With no major body of water or river within the county limits, leaders leaned into regional partnerships to ensure that businesses and residents will have sustainable, highquality water supplies for decades to come. Since 1993, Union County and Lancaster County Water and Sewer District have been in an innovative, interstate joint venture to supply water to both of their customers from a water treatment plant located in Lancaster, South Carolina.

In similar fashion, Union County collaborated with Stanly County and the Town of Norwood in the early 2000s to work on a plan to bring a second sustainable, safe water supply to Union County businesses and residents. After decades of planning, the first segment of the Yadkin Regional Water Project pipeline was laid in the ground in April 2021. Once complete, this landmark engineering project will supply the county with a sustainable water supply for the next 50 years at the very least. ( ) Melissa Merrell

Chairperson Union County Public Schools

How would you sum up where the public school system stands today?

We’ve had to become a lot more flexible with our employees and students. Traditionally, students would come into the classroom and be taught face to face. Depending on their parents’ flexibility or each individual parent’s desire, we had to ensure we could teach our students face to face or virtually during the pandemic. We needed to be able to honor our taxpayers’ wishes to either bring them into the schools safely and socially distanced while accommodating the wishes of those parents who did not want their children with their peers or in a public setting, preferring a virtual teaching option.

We’re getting back test results from the fall for all of our students, virtual and in person. Our data shows children really do need to be in person five days a week and with their teacher to receive the best education possible for college and career readiness or even grade promotion.

What is your near-term focus and outlook?

Now that we have some data from our students during COVID-19, we anticipate we’ll be hearing more about learning loss. Union County Public Schools is already talking about tutoring, summer programs and software programs to help our families and our students recapture those important building blocks that they need for promotion to the next grade and to work toward graduation. Pre-COVID, we were all about college and career-readiness. Post-COVID, we are going to be laser-focused on addressing learning loss because the reality is that our students lost half a year in 2020. 2021 has been rocky, with either two days in class, four days in class or all virtual. We are the sixthlargest school district in North Carolina and ranked No. 3 out of 115 districts for academics. Union County Public Schools will work tirelessly toward getting our students back where we expect them to be when they earn our diploma.

Michael Alvarez

Mayor Town of Indian Trail

Distribution and manufacturing are big industries in Indian Trail. Being located next to U.S. 74 provides businesses with easy access to Charlotte, the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, Wilmington, and the I-485 Beltway toward Charleston. Because of Indian Trail’s growth, the town is starting to see growth in a variety of industries, including hospitality, insurance, and retail. According to Monroe-Union County Economic Development, since 2017, Indian Trail has welcomed eight major projects totaling $49.1 million of investment and creating 215 jobs. This equals 26% of all projects, 12.2% of all investment and 37% of all jobs countywide.

The housing market is pretty much the way it is everywhere else. Houses are selling as fast as you can put them on the market. Some of them are getting bids higher than the asking price. Real estate is booming here. We’ve got housing developments coming into the city for approval at rates we have not seen in decades, with several subdivisions approved. We are a full-service city, so it is important that we maintain our services, and that infrastructure is doing well. We have plenty of water, electricity. All of our systems are up and running. Bobby Kilgore

Mayor City of Monroe

Marcus McIntyre

Mayor Pro Tem Town of Indian Trail

Many residents have given input into the (2041 Comprehensive Plan) and the issue we hear most is regarding tra c and the quality of roads. Some residents also voiced concerns regarding other infrastructure items like schools and water/ sewer capacity. Indian Trail has been actively working with the DOT since 2010 in an e ort to widen Old Monroe Road. Indian Trail has committed $5 million through bonds that were approved by residents in 2011 for the widening and improving of the Old Monroe Road corridor, expanding it from two to four lanes. That project was expected to launch in 2020, but due to the pandemic, the loss of revenue within the DOT and other related issues, the project has been delayed. The town has already paid $1 million to the DOT to get that project started.

As we map out the town’s future, there are some key infrastructure initiatives in the pipeline. We are addressing the needs of tra c circulation around and through Downtown Waxhaw. The lion’s share of our tra c goes through that area, especially during any rush hour and for many of these people, Waxhaw is not their final destination. They come through, then travel beyond our Town in every direction. That’s why one of our plans is to focus on the completion of our by-pass parkway projects, which will allow tra c to flow around and not through us. Thus, reducing congestion. Ron Pappas

Mayor Town of Waxhaw

( ) The county is also home to the Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport. It is the only executive airport between Atlanta and Washington D.C. that has U.S. customs, which makes it an attractive alternative to Charlotte Douglas International Airport and is the home of several corporate aircraft.

But transportation and pedestrian traffic issues still arise within Union County due to its growing population. The rural nature of the county means that until now, public transportation development has been limited, yet major infrastructure problems remain less prevalent. In 2014, Union County determined it needed a list of high priority intersections to focus efforts with its municipalities and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) when responding to project solicitations for funding, which resulted in the Critical Intersection Program. The program was updated in 2019 and since then, Union County has received two grants to develop designs and cost estimates for 11 of the 15 intersections. Work on the second group of intersections is expected to be completed by mid-2021. In the same year, the county developed the Multimodal Transportation Plan in a bid to incorporate walking, bicycling and public transit into the community, improving all aspects for residents in terms of quality of life.

The county will address these challenges and others in its comprehensive plan. It promotes highdensity residential, retail and employment options in designated areas, convenient accessibility between retail, residential, and employment land uses and complementary development patterns along corridors.

The plan also advocates for the preserved rural

Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport is the only executive airport between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. with U.S. customs

Chris Plate

Executive Director & Economic Development Director Monroe-Union County EDC

What sectors are driving new investment?

Initially, with the e ects of COVID-19, we saw an increase in medical-based manufacturing projects, ranging from PPE to pharma. As 2020 continued, the investment types became broader with the growth coming into the Charlotte Region from states with stricter lockdowns. Union’s superior school system and the quality of life here is a magnet for both manufacturing and residential growth. Now into 2021, many sectors are providing capital investments. Construction materials, distribution and foods-based agri-business are leading the way. Construction materials are solely a result of the population migration and new home construction in the Southeast, but the distribution and food markets are related to the significant increase in online shopping and more focus at home. The rapid growth of e-commerce has led to the creation of more distribution centers and more trucking services. The developers are transforming as well. Business developers are moving more into industrial development due to the decreased demand for traditional o ce development.

How would you gauge the agriculture sector?

There are two big sectors for Union County’s economy: aerospace manufacturing and agri-business. The EDC looks to work with the producer side of our agricultural community. Afterall, the Union County agriculture community is one of the Top 3 in the state, they know what they are doing and have tremendous resources with the NC Agriculture Extension o ce here. We provide value to the agriculture community by recruiting and nurturing the value-add processing their crops or products need close to home. Right now, you have to drive hundreds of miles to process many of the products grown here. There are many inputs to the costs of getting a product to market. These expenses reduce the overall profit to the farm community and put stress on the base of the agri-business we want to support. We want to be able to process as much of the crops here. character outside of water and wastewater coverage areas, recognition and support of agriculture as a key industry, and enhanced community connections for arts, agritourism, and parks and recreation. Through this comprehensive plan, the county envisions regulatory changes surrounding stormwater regulations, well testing and minimum site standards around new schools. It also lays out new programs and initiatives, including a litter task force, and a quarter cent sales tax to fund transportation projects subject to voter approval. The comprehensive plan, Union County 2050, was unanimously adopted by the 10-member Coordinating Committee in February 2021 and is pending approval by the Board of Commissioners.

Key sectors

Agriculture Despite increased urbanization, agriculture remains an integral part of Union County, which still has an abundance of agricultural space, including more than 186,000 acres of farmland according to the latest estimates. The Catawba Land Conservancy protects more than 15,000 acres of land within the six-county local area, with the goal of protecting 50,000 acres by 2030. The total market value of products sold in the county was almost $482,000, representing 4% of the state’s agricultural sales. The majority of Union County’s agricultural sales comes from livestock, poultry and animal byproducts, and the county is the number two producer in the state for grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas. Ninety-seven percent are family-owned farms.

Aerospace There are 24 aerospace firms in Union County, of which 19 are within a 7-mile radius. Figures show this cluster represents almost $1 billion in announced investment and nearly 4,500 employees. Union County’s aerospace cluster is recognized as a national leader in aerospace recruitment. So far, it has been recognized in the nation’s Top 5 in aerospace recruitment, the Top 10 of aerospace clusters in the Southeast and the premier Aerospace cluster in North Carolina. The cornerstones of the cluster is ATI Specialty Materials and Collins Aerospace, and continues to expand within the county.

Manufacturing Manufacturing in Union County employs 15,000 people at a weekly average wage of $1,038. There are 192 manufacturing facilities in the county, including major employers Tyson Foods, ATI Specialty Materials,

Allan Baucom

Owner – A.L. Baucom Family Farms

Agriculture is the No. 1 economic focus in Union County by far. It is also No. 1 in the state. It drives the economy. Tourism is No. 2. So, is agriculture important? Absolutely. Union County is No. 1 in wheat production, we’re No. 2 in corn production, and second or third in poultry and beef production. Agriculture is very important and critical. I can go anywhere in the country, if not the world, and Union County is in the very top tier in the use of technology. We are progressive, adaptive, adoptive, forward-thinking. We have a really good agricultural business climate here. It’s easy for people to think of the agricultural center of North Carolina as being east of I-95, where it’s more level and less populated. When they find out the impact and influence that Union County has, they’re very surprised.

Pilgrims Pride, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, Windsor Window, 3M/Scott Safety, and Consolidated Metco.

Healthcare The healthcare industry employs 3,868 in Union County, paying a weekly average salary of $850. As of 2019, there were 221 physicians in the county, equating to 9.3 physicians per 10,000 of the population. There are 47.3 registered nurses, 3.7 dentists and 7.9 pharmacists per 10,000 of the population.

Education The percentage of Union County that has graduated from high school or higher is 89.6%. The sector provides about 7,000 jobs at a weekly average wage of $844. The county is also home to prestigious higher education institutions, including South Piedmont Community College, one of the top community colleges in the state, and Wingate University. The K-12 graduation rate in the county is 93% and Union County is home to some of the best schools in the state, with three elementary schools – Weddington, Marvin and Rea View – making the Top 10 in North Carolina, according to a SchoolDigger ranking. For the 2021 school year, there are 15 top private schools in Union County, serving 2,194 students. Minority enrollment is 38% of the student body, and the student:teacher ratio is 10:1. The county also boasts one of the Top 20 North Carolina charter schools, Union Academy.

Retail Retail in Union County employed 7,621 people as of the second quarter of 2020, with a weekly wage of $595 on average. Total local retail sales in the county, including food and drink, account for $2.98 billion across 1,213 businesses, making the average sales per business around $2.5 million.

Looking ahead Given the strength of its manufacturing sector, Union County was less impacted than most by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, authorities are maintaining support with continued initiatives to help those industries most affected, including its sizable retail sector. A 1% budget increase along with no countywide property tax increases in five years is a testament to the conservative budgeting of the county government, which has been recognized in several consecutive years with prestigious national awards for government finance. Union County is where ideas take flight. From small businesses, to large industries and educational institutions, the county cultivates knowledge and ideas into innovative, practical applications. And it’s no wonder Union County is attracting new residents and businesses – people are discovering an environment of independent thought bolstered by a community of support and enthusiasm.

Capital Analytics would like to thank Union County for its contributions in compiling this chapter. To learn more, visit their website at: www.unioncountync.gov