18 Ohio counties post economic growth in 2020 despite COVID
Two small eastern Ohio counties in the heart of Ohio’s natural gas country posted the biggest economic gains among the state’s counties in 2020.
The big gains in Harrison and Monroe counties came even as COVID-19 plunged most of Ohio’s 88 counties and its biggest metro areas into a brief, but steep, recession. Only 18 counties had growth last year.
Harrison and Monroe counties each posted a 20.5% increase in their economy in 2020, according to federal data released this month.
Both counties are small so even a minimal increase in the economy can produce big change.
Monroe County’s economic activity was measured at $1.9 billion in 2020, while Harrison’s was measured at $1.6 billion.
Both counties have benefited from the surge in natural gas and oil drilling in Appalachia over the past decade that has helped offset the decline in coal use.
Total investment in the region has hit $93 billion from 2011 through 2020, according to Cleveland State University researchers who track oil and gas spending in the region.
Monroe County also has benefited from the redevelopment of the old Ormet aluminum smelter site in recent years that includes the new natural gas power plant at the Long Ridge Energy Terminal, which one day could run on hydrogen as well as gas.
Harrison County also is developing a power plant.
Monroe County’s gain follows a 23.7% increase in 2019 and 7.7% in 2018.
“There’s been a lot of capital investment,” said Jason Hamman, an economic development consultant for Monroe County, citing the drilling, pipelines, the power plant and other activity taking place.
“We’re going to create job opportunities,” he said. “It starts the whole ripple effect of increasing activity, job opportunities, families moving in.”
Other counties in Appalachia also were among the 2020 winners.
The county in between Monroe and Harrison, Belmont, had the fifth-highest growth rate in 2020, 5.4%. That county also has benefited from the natural gas boom.
The economy of Jefferson County, north of Belmont County and also a benefactor of the energy investments, grew by 5.6% in 2020.
In the northwest part of the state, Paulding County posted a 7.7% growth rate, the third highest in Ohio.
Tim Copsey, the county’s economic development director, credited COVID-19 for the gain along with increased communication among the county’s 420 businesses during the coronavirus.
“The buy local mantra was huge, and (so was) the support they gave each other,” he said. “The business was incredible.”
The economy of Vinton County in southern Ohio fell 12.8% in 2020, the biggest loss of Ohio’s 88 counties. Erie County posted the next biggest loss, a drop of 10%.
Large Ohio metro areas post GDP losses in 2020
Franklin County continues to have the largest economy of any county in the state at $86.2 billion, even though its economy shrank by 2.7% in 2020.
Cuyahoga County has the second largest and Hamilton County the third.
Among the bigger metro areas in Ohio, Columbus posted the smallest loss in 2020, falling by 2.3%.
Greater Columbus has the 32nd largest economy in the U.S. and the second largest in Ohio, with economic activity of $137.3 billion. The Cincinnati region, with $152.7 billion in economic activity in 2020, has the largest metro economy in the state.
The COVID-19 pandemic hammered economic growth among America’s 50 largest metro regions with 47 of them seeing a drop in economic activity.
The three that grew were San Jose, California, Austin and Seattle.
The Cincinnati Enquirer contributed to this report. mawilliams@dispatch.com @Bizmarkwilliams