Pulaski County, Virginia

• Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
• Elevated poverty: At 14.4%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 14.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
• Aging population: Median age of 47 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 3,935 workers (36.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $80,076.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $1.9B (2024).
• Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $91,485 while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation averages $17,432, a 5.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation concentrates at 4.47x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
• Cluster depth: 8 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
• Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.1x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 73.4% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 15.2% 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 (~$1,551/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.

• Succession risk is real: 25.7% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 55.4% 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 45,868 annual credentials.

Pulaski County shows meaningful potential for transit and ground passenger transportation attraction, with a 4.47x concentration and 223 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 25.7% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across transit and ground passenger transportation, truck transportation, and general merchandise retailers creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.