Business Resources - New Castle County, DE

Business_Resources Section 1 A Quick Look At New Castle County   Delaware, located on the eastern seaboard of the United States, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay, as well as by the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. With a land area of 1,982 square miles, Delaware ranks 49th in area among the 50 states.   New Castle, the northern most county, affords easy access to the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast, with both New York City and Washington, DC just an hour and a half away.   NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR DELAWARE:   1st for Economic Freedom, The Fraser Institute and   National Center for Policy Analysis 8th best state for business, Forbes 2006 1st for Work Environment based on job quality, job   opportunity and workplace fairness, Political Economy   Research at the University of Massachusetts at   Amherst 1st for legal systems for the fifth consecutive year,   U.S. Chamber of Commerce 1st in (least amount of) mass layoffs, CFED 1st in initial public offerings, CFED 1st in income distribution change, CFED 2nd in Government & Fiscal Policy - Beacon Hill   Institute of Public Policy Research - State   Competitiveness Report 2005 3rd in employer provided health insurance, CFED 3rd in private research and development, CFED 5th (Wilmington) in Foreign Direct Investment   Magazine's North American Cities of the Future 9th for The Tax Foundation's 2007 State Business Tax   Climate Index   Rank Score Overall Rank/Score 7 79.6 IT Professionals 8 1.56% Managerial, Prof., & Tech Jobs Workforce Education 10 20 22.3% 40.4 Immigration of Knowledge Wrks Manufacturing Value-Added 22 21 13.7 25.7% High-Wage Traded Services Export Focus of Manufacturing 1 7 24.3% $29,864 Foreign Direct Investment Package Exports 2 10 5.0% 0.18 "Gazelle Jobs" Job Churning 2 19 13.5% 25.9% Fastest Growing Firms IPO's 14 28 0.023% 4.27 Entrepreneurial Activity Inventor Patents 50 13 0.13% 0.099 Online Population Internet Domain Names 27 13 59.1% 2.92 Technology in Schools EGovernment 38 31 4.36 4.81 Online Agriculture Broadband Telecommunications 31 35 4.87 3.72 High-Tech Jobs Scientists and Engineers 15 4 3.9% 0.69% Patents Industry Investment in R&D 5 1 1.22 7.13% Venture Capital 28 0.06% Source: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation The 2007 State New Economy Index LABOR & EMPLOYMENT (2008) Labor Force - 271,638 Unemployment Rate: 9%   Overview of New Castle County Firms: (4th Qtr. 2008) Industry Description No. of Firms Employees % of Workforce Agriculture, forestry, fishing & hunting 28 * * Mining 1 * * Utilities 14 1,622 0.58% Construction 1,798 16,041 5.75% Manufacturing 412 14,910 5.34% Wholesale Trade 1,286 10,069 3.61% Retail Trade 1,967 31,444 11.27% Transportation & Warehousing 386 6,250 2.24% Information 201 5,608 2.01% Finance & Insurance 1,150 34,522 12.37% Real Estate & Rental & Leasing 589 3,740 1.34% Professional & Technical Services 2,620 21,642 7.76% Management of Companies & Enterprises 2,419 10,124 3.63% Administrative & Waste Services 1,226 16,333 5.85% Educational Services 216 3,951 1.42% Healthcare & Social Assistance 1,263 35,438 12.70% Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 224 4,838 1.73% Accommodation & Food Services 1,029 19,080 6.84% Other Services, Except Public Administration 1,342 9,102 3.26% Federal Government 66 3,508 1.26% State Government 52 15,424 5.53% Local Government 144 15,138 5.43%       Total Government  262 34,069 12.21% Total Industries 18,433 279,025 100.00% Source: Delaware Department of Labor * Indicates non-releasable data   POPULATION 2000 - 505,271 2005 - 522,094 2010 Projected - 542,818   INCOME Median Household - $52,419 Per capita personal income - $29,785   NCC Demographic Data Table Table is in Adobe Acrobat PDF file format.       CLIMATE Mean annual temperature: 56 F. Mean daily temperature ranges from 38 F. in the winter to 76 F. in the summer. Median annual precipitation: 49 inches. AIRPORTS Delaware's network of public and private airports can readily accommodate commercial and corporate aircraft. Worldwide passenger service is 1/2 hour from downtown Wilmington at the Philadelphia International Airport.   Other Major Airports and Services: New Castle County Airport Summit Aviation   RAIL SERVICE Norfolk Southern (Industrial Service) CSX Corporation (Industrial Service) Amtrak - more than 80 trains per weekday that   provides frequent service to Washington, DC,   Richmond, New York and Boston. DelDOT/SEPTA Wilmington-Philadelphia   commuter rail service - direct access to city,   county, and statewide bus services.   DART FIRST STATE PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICE Operated by Delaware Transit Corporation, a Division of DelDOT Provides a full range of fixed bus routes, paratransit, commuter rail and related services. All DART buses are wheelchair accessible and bike rack equipped.   PORT OF WILMINGTON The first inbound port along the Delaware River, the Port of Wilmington is located at the mouth of the Christina River, approximately 65 miles from Atlantic shipping lanes. The Port offers 4,000 marginal berthing with a 38-foot project depth. The Port is located within one-quarter mile of Interstate 495 for immediate access to East Coast markets, and is 25 miles from I-76, one of the regions major east/west arteries. Rail access to the Port is available via Norfolk Southern and the CSX, with railcar loading docks located next to terminal warehouses. The Port is the nation's largest banana port, and the USA's number one port for fruit, produce, and juice concentrate imports.   HIGHWAYS Delaware's network of highways include Interstates 95, 295, 495; U.S. Highways 13, 113, 301, 202, and 9 as well as well-maintained primary and secondary roads. State Route 1, the largest project in the history of the Delaware Department of Transportation, has brought much needed relief to Route 13, the state?s major north-south artery.