LANSING — A new study compares the Greater Lansing area to 11 similar communities and found Lansing has strong venture capital investments and a lot of Gen Z people but also some of the lowest incomes, population growth and housing availability.
The study was commissioned by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Lansing Economic Area Partnership and conducted by the Anderson Economic Group, based in East Lansing and Chicago. The group’s findings will be released publicly as part of the Lansing Economic Club luncheon on May 20.
Tim Daman is president and CEO of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“The data confirms that we are gaining ground in key areas like innovation and high-tech job growth,” said Tim Daman, president and CEO of the chamber. “At the same time, it’s a call to action: Addressing our shared challenges will require bold, collaborative leadership and strategic investment to ensure Lansing remains competitive in a rapidly evolving economy.”
The benchmarking report aims to compare the three-county Lansing region to peer regions: Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids in Michigan; Nashville, Tennessee; Des Moines, Iowa; Greenville, South Carolina; Hartford, Connecticut; Columbus, Ohio; Madison, Wisconsin; Indianapolis, Indiana; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; and Durham-Chapel Hill in North Carolina.
The Lansing area came out on top in an increase of venture capital category and was in the top three for having a large Gen Z population and strong STEM graduation rates. The Lansing area was near the bottom for population growth, housing availability and development, household income and private sector employment with nearly a quarter of jobs being in the traditionally underpaying public sector.
The Lansing area has slid from a similar 2021 evaluation on educational attainment, moving from eighth best to 11 place among the 12 regions.
It has improved on economic growth, from eighth best to fifth, indicating a recovery from a 2020 dip. And the Lansing region moved from last place in business community creation to seventh and from eleventh place in high-tech job creation to fourth place.
“It affirms that our regional economic plan is on the right track – making real progress in entrepreneurship, innovation and talent development,” said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of LEAP. “At the same time, it challenges us to triple down on that momentum and focus our energy on solving persistent issues like population loss and housing shortages.”
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Study outlines how Lansing matches up against Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids