Charleston region’s economic growth among best in US, but there are drawbacks

The Charleston region’s economy has soared to 16th-best in the nation as cargo growth at the port and more than $1.6 billion in automotive industry investments have kept the area humming, a new report shows.

The latest ranking by the Milken Institute, a Santa Monica, Calif., think tank, is up from No. 22 last year.

“Gas prices are down, tax reform should help with take-home pay, job growth is continuing, new graduates are finding jobs — put all that together and the economy looks pretty good,” said Frank Hefner, an economist at the College of Charleston.

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Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA

Overall Rank: 16
Population: 776,000

The 2018 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include job, wage and salary, and technology growth. In most years, these give a good indication of the underlying structural performance of regional economics.

Read the full Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index report, here.