Macoupin County, Illinois

• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 15.4 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
• Aging population: Median age of 44 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 1,310 workers (24% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $33,791.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $1.5B (2024).
• Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $71,598 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $19,315, a 3.7x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers concentrates at 4.57x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
• Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
• Attraction whitespace: 5 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.0x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
• High home ownership: 78.5% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 16.9% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
• Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,770/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.

• Succession risk is real: 26% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 59% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
• Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 37,237 annual credentials.

Macoupin County shows meaningful potential for gasoline stations and fuel dealers attraction, with a 4.57x concentration and 305 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 26% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across gasoline stations and fuel dealers, animal production and aquaculture, and waste management and remediation services creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.