Lancaster, York counties show high investment rates

According to one recent report, residents should feel pretty good about the direction their communities are heading.

New York financial tech company SmartAsset looked to see which counties in South Carolina have the most local investment. The two-year study measured business growth, business revenue generated, new building permits and amount paid in municipal bonds. Lancaster County came in well ahead of every other county, followed by Jasper and York.

“People in York and Lancaster Counties should definitely be encouraged by these results,” said A.J. Smith, managing editor of SmartAsset. “Not only did Lancaster top the list in South Carolina, you ranked No. 13 in the country. York was 107th in the country out of the nearly 2,000 counties included in the study.”

The four areas were picked to get a picture of how counties are doing, with building permits looking at outside interest, gross domestic product and business revenue at the commercial health and municipal bonds at commitment to infrastructure.

“Both counties performed well across all four of the categories that we analyzed,” Smith said.

Community investment is a hot topic in Fort Mill and Indian Land, two of the communities pacing new growth in York and Lancaster counties. Lancaster County recently passed a zoning moratorium and is looking at a special law enforcement tax district to keep up with growth in Indian Land. Both Fort Mill and Lancaster County are looking at impact fees, though public officials in both places are concerned the fees might scare off new business.

SmartAsset began the study looking for areas poised to grow. Based on the data, the company wouldn’t expect growth to slow soon in the area.

“Local investment and economic expansion are encouraging signs to citizens everywhere, because of the inherent quality of life improvements they signal,” said Steve Sabato, SmartAsset spokesman.

Smith said the simplest takeaway from the study is that people are interested enough in the faster-growing areas of York and Lancaster counties to put their money into them.

“These figures are a sign to residents that people are making a financial commitment to their community,” she said.

For a full breakdown, go to smartasset.com.

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Lancaster, York counties show high investment rates."