Capital Region – with Greene County’s Help – Has NY’s 2nd Fastest-Growing Gross Region Product
The Capital Region last year had the state’s second fastest growth gross regional product (GRP). Boosting the region’s growth in productivity was Greene County, which also saw its GRP increase at the fastest rate among New York’s 62 counties, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Regional Productivity
In 2022, the eight-county region’s GRP (in current dollars) totaled $93,582,808. In chained 2012 dollars, which take inflation into account, the region’s GRP grew at an annual rate of 2.729 percent. That was just behind Western New York’s rate of 2.733 – the fastest in the state.
Some Capital Region sectors that experienced robust GDP growth included arts, entertainment, and recreation (18.3 percent), agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (15.6 percent), finance and insurance (11.3 percent), and accommodation and food services (7.2 percent). Contracting sectors included mining and quarrying (-13.9 percent), construction (12.3 percent), and trail trade (-6.2 percent).
County Productivity
In 2022, Greene County’s GRP was $2,784,197 in current dollars. In chained 2012 dollars, that represented a 17.7 percent increase from the previous year – the fastest growth rate in the state. At 3.7 percent, Saratoga County was the Capital Region’s second fastest-growing county for GDP and the 12th fastest in the state.
“Greene County’s GRP growth is a testament to the business-friendly climate that countywide organizations benefit from, indiscriminate of size. Our marketing efforts and continued collaboration with development partners, such as the Greene County IDA, build a foundation on the importance of supporting existing businesses while also attracting new firms. When consumers buy in Greene and businesses continue to invest in Greene, the County ends up on top,” said James Hannahs, Greene County’s director of economic development.
Boosting Greene County’s productivity was the utilities sector, with a 143.8 percent increase in GRP to $555.2 million in chained 2012 dollars. That was the fastest rate in the state for this sector. Green County is served by two utilities: NYS Electric and Gas and Central Hudson Gas and Electric. Another major growth sector was finance and insurance, which increased by 43.3 percent to $278.5 million. Some of that growth may be attributed to the Bank of Greene County’s expansion efforts. Other fast-growing sectors in the county were agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (113.2 percent to $5.5 million), arts, entertainment and recreation (23.0 percent to $43 million) and accommodation and food services (6.0 percent to $88.8 million).
“We are the fastest growing bank in the Capital Region, and while we’ve had a significant presence in the Capital Region for years, we opened our second Capital Region Branch, and first branch in Rensselaer County, in 2023,” said Donald E. Gibson, the president and CEO of the Bank of Greene County. “We provided low-interest loan programs to help businesses and the local economy in several of our communities, including Cairo (Greene County) and East Greenbush (Rensselaer County). We care about the difference we make in the community by forming a mutually beneficial partnership with families, businesses, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and other key stakeholders in the community.”
Greene County’s agriculture sector grew at the second fastest rate in the state, though at $5.5 million it had New York’s 12th smallest GRP. Schenectady, Saratoga and Washington counties also ranked in New York’s top 10 for agriculture GRP growth. Within that sector, Schenectady County ranked first at 166.5 percent to $437,000, Saratoga County ranked fifth at 60.2 percent to $50.9 million and Washington County ranked eight at 35.4 percent to $77.8 million. Schenectady County’s agriculture GRP was the second smallest in the state.
CEG INITIATIVES
As a New York State Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) center, CEG helps Capital Region manufacturers increase their productivity by providing a menu of technical support services, such as Lean Enterprise Training, ISO Certification Assistance, Technology-Driven Market Intelligence, and CoreValue benchmarking assessments.
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