Economic development data indicates Hamilton County getting stronger

A large amount of the work I do in economic development is helping businesses and creating community growth, but I also spent a fair amount of time checking data. Analyzing data helps us see local trends and understand how the work we are doing is impacting the area.  
There are several different ways we collect data.  The most obvious form of data collection is through the U.S. Census, which primarily looks at population, demographics, migration and household income. We can also access community and industry specific data through economists with Nebraska Public Power District to learn about workforce commuting patterns, wages by industry and the numbers of workers in an area by industry.  Additionally, Aurora Development Corporation collects local data each month for our economic indicators report that focuses on sales tax revenue, building permits, job openings, unemployment rates, median house prices and the number of homes for sale.  
While it is great to know what is happening nationally or even on a state level, data collected on the local level is important to what we do.  Since we started collecting data for the economic indicators report in March of 2022, we can easily see some trends locally that I want to share. 
From a county, city and motor vehicle sales tax perspective, taxable sales have increased more frequently than they have decreased. While sales change seasonally it is apparent that we have experienced more growth in this area with an average increase of 5.97 percent for the county, city and motor vehicles sales during this period. This tells us that our business retention, expansion and attraction efforts are growing local spending.    
Over the last few years, the lack of workers has been a hot topic. We measure this area in a few ways. From a job listing standpoint, we have seen a significant decrease in the number of jobs open in Hamilton County, with 269 jobs open in March 2022 compared to 105 jobs open in October 2024.  
Additionally, our total employed amount has increased by almost 50 individuals and our unemployment rate has increased slightly. This shows that workforce challenges we have been facing are loosening a little and it isn’t as easy for employees to job hop anymore.  
The final area that we can see lasting changes in is housing. Active home listings have increased from 13 homes in March 2022 to 21 homes in October 2024, with a peak of over 30 homes on the market at points in 2023. While this is a positive, we have seen the median listing price grow by more than $100,000 during this time. This information tells us that the new housing development spurred by the Rural Workforce Housing Funds is making an impact, but we still have more work to do to increase the number and variety of housing units available across the county.   
As a whole Hamilton County is stronger than it was two years ago, and it is encouraging to see this growth in several different data points. Our work in economic development is never complete, but it is always reassuring to be reminded of the progress we are making.      
 KELSEY BERGEN serves as executive director of the Aurora Development Corporation. She can be reached at kelsey@growaurora.com