Oxford Ranked in Top 3 Percent of Micropolitan Areas Nationally

 

The Policom Corporation has just released its 2014 rankings for the 576 Micropolitan Areas throughout the United States.
These are quasi-rural areas between 10,000-50,000 residents. Policom addresses the condition of an economy from the viewpoint of its impact upon upon the “standard of living” of the people who live and work in the area. Oxford received a No. 14 ranking which places the city in the top 3 percentile nationally!
Other Mississippi cities of interest came out the following: Columbus 11; Tupelo 32; Brookhaven 152; Meridian 175; Vicksburg 184; Starkville 195; and Corinth 257.
Here’s what Oxford’s Economic Development CEO, Jon Maynard, had to say in response:

“Oxford has been at the top of the Micropolitan rankings since Policom started ranking communities. We have continuously been first or second in the state. This shows that What Oxford is doing is the right thing. Oxford and Lafayette County have been successful in recruiting the “Whales” such as Winchester and Caterpillar. We have also shown that we are a great community in which to grow our own companies from the ground up.  Tech companies like FNC are finding a home here for the very same reasons that Policom ranks us so highly.
We are a community that is desirable to a wide array of lifestyles.  Industrial employees, technology specialists, white-collar professionals and retirees all find Oxford to be a quality place to live and work. At the end of the day, economic strength really comes down to how desirable your community is for people to make money and spend money. The companies that are located here are finding the workforce that they need and the connection to the global market that make them successful.
We must congratulate Columbus Mississippi for their meteoric rise in the Policom rankings.  They went from near the bottom to near the top in ten years.  That is a tremendous turnaround.  Their success has largely been based on the industrial recruitment into the area (what I call whales).  Oxford has, however been at the top of the rankings since the inception, and our economy is not based on major industry.  Our economy has developed around smaller technology type companies (that I call tropical fish).  This demonstrates that what defines economic strength is not a “one size fits all” proposition.
If a community will identify early what makes them great, develop a plan to enhance their intrinsic “greatness” and stick with that plan for a long time, then they can grow their economic strength.  The communities that find themselves in trouble are the communities that have either given up, failed to put effort into their own future or those that want to model themselves on something that they are not. Oxford started as a college community and has embraced and nurtured that culture for well over a century.  We will continue to look for higher paying jobs, more emphasis on the creative culture and a firm belief that we can grow Oxford without growing away from what we all know as ‘Oxford.'”
HottyToddy.com staff report.