Guilford County and the surrounding area have moved up in the world – specifically, moved from sixth place to fourth place. 

That’s according to a new report from Site Selection magazine, which found that the Greensboro-High Point “MSA” – Metropolitan Statistical Area – was one of the leaders in landing new business among areas with a population of 200,000 to 1 million.  The magazine counted 27 qualifying projects that led to the positive ranking.

Sandy Dunbeck, the interim director of the High Point Economic Development Corp. and director of the Guilford County Economic Development Alliance, said she was pleased to see the ranking, especially given the unusual nature of the past year,

“In a year that has truly been like no other,” Dunbeck said, “we are happy to see the Greensboro-High Point metro rise in the Site Selection rankings.”

The magazine uses a service to maintain an independent database of projects going on all over the country, that acts as a sort of heatmap for where new economic activity is happening.

In the 200,000 to 1 million category, the areas that finished above Greensboro-High Point were Savanah, Georgia with 30 projects, Toledo, Ohio with 30 projects and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with 28 projects.

  “Having projects to move the Greensboro-High Point metropolitan statistical area up to position number four during a pandemic shows that companies recognize the strengths of our talent, infrastructure and their ability to make it here,” Dunbeck said.

Greensboro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brent Christensen said that all three of the counties in the Greensboro-High Point MSA had good a year in 2020 when it came to bringing in projects.  He said, in addition to projects that came to Guilford County, those in Rockingham and Randolph counties also beefed up the ranking.

Like Dunbeck, Christensen said that he was glad to see the rise in rankings despite the unique challenges of the past year.

He added that this kind of positive press can help make more companies take a serious look at the Greensboro-High Point area in the future.

“It’s really good to have the recognition,” Christensen said,  “We’ve finished in the top ten in 13 of the last 16 rankings, and in nine straight,” he said.