Measuring the Region
In 2018, the Allegheny Conference developed a set of metrics to answer a call to reliably track and regularly communicate about our region and our progress in creating a next generation economy for all. We will benchmark the region according to five measures: growth, opportunity, equity, innovation and sustainability. We launched three of the five measures in 2018 (growth, opportunity and equity) and aim to release the remaining two (innovation and sustainability) in early 2019.
Our baseline analysis suggests a mixed regional performance.
Growth
Opportunity
Equity
Growth
How are our economic development efforts translating into economic progress?
Focuses on the change in the size of the Pittsburgh region’s economy.
Rated
Over the last five years, jobs have grown less than 2%. GDP has grown by only 11%. We place 13th out of 17 benchmarks. Our overall growth index is more than 3 times lower than that of Austin or Nashville, but similar to Philadelphia and Cleveland.
Opportunity
How is the standard of living changing in our region?
Focuses on the change in the average wealth and the income produced by the region’s economy.
Rated
Our region ranks 4th of 17 benchmarks. Over the last 5 years, our per capita GDP grew 12.3%. Average wages grew 9.4%. Our opportunity index is 54%, which is above the national average but also only 63% of the opportunity index of Austin. While we remain a fairly low wage region, the five-year-wage growth translated into a higher opportunity ranking. Overall, the little gains we experience in our economy are distributed fairly evenly across different populations.
Equity
How is the economic situation in our region changing for racial minority residents in our region?
Focuses on equity of distribution of the benefits of growth and opportunity among the region’s residents.
Rated
The region ranks 8th of 17 benchmarks. We saw an 8% minority wage growth; a 14% minority labor participation growth; and a 12% decline in minority poverty. We are just slightly above the national average and similar to Indianapolis. The region’s equity ranking is 54% below the equity index of Seattle and 37% below the equity index of Denver.
We will announce the completion of the additional measures in the coming months.
The Allegheny Conference’s 2018-19 Agenda: Creating a Next Generation Economy for All focuses on Growing the Economy, Improving the Region’s Competitiveness, and Measuring the Region. View our progress on Growing the Economy here and Improving the Region's Competitiveness here.