Conway Area Chamber of Commerce
Labor, health care, retail change Conway economy
With more than 65,000 people now calling Conway home, the city’s regional influence has both grown, and changed, within central Arkansas.
“As our economy has grown, so have the number of people from outside of Conway who regularly do business here,” said Brad Lacy, president and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce. “Our regional nature is first a function of our workforce. Every weekday, 20,000 people from outside of Conway drive in for work. By default, you frequently become the location for other personal services like health care and shopping.”
But Conway’s regional nature has grown beyond those who commute here for work.
“I think the addition of a second hospital along with increased services from our existing health care providers are proof that we serve a broad region that doesn’t necessarily mirror the Little Rock metropolitan statistical area,” Lacy said. Last year, the chamber began referring to a trade area surrounding Conway encompassing Maumelle, Morrilton and other cities to the north and west as the North Metro.
“I think it is an effort to describe our economy in terms of who you frequently bump into at the store,” Lacy said. “Conway has continued to add services and amenities. We now offer those at a scale and convenience that regularly attracts people from Maumelle, Searcy and Russellville.”
Lacy said he expects Conway’s economy to continue to grow across county lines. “It takes time to change consumer habits. But I think as people ‘do the math’ and discover the convenience and time saved shopping in Conway, we’ll be bumping into friends from out of town more and more often.”
GOOD TO KNOW: The drive time from Maumelle’s city center to the new Lewis Crossing shopping center is only 17 minutes. More than 3,400 people commute into Conway daily from Pulaski County; 46 percent of Faulkner County residents are employed in Faulkner County and 31 percent commute to Pulaski County.