Economic Trends for Northeast Kansas: Atchison County, Brown County, Doniphan County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Nemaha County

Abstract

The use of data in economic development is important because it helps a community to evaluate its current situation across several different areas of economic and demographic performance. However, data by itself does not lead to a well-founded understanding of the community. Data must be analyzed and interpreted, considering the intuition of those within the community about what the overall trends really mean. In other words, data serves as the foundation for an analysis which concludes: 1) what is happening in the community compared with other regions over time, and 2) what potential impacts or consequences are suggested from the data.

This report will discuss key demographic and economic variables for a coalition of counties in Northeast Kansas called NEKCRED. The report will include the following areas: population, employment and earnings, business and manufacturing, agriculture and oil production, income, and education.