WeCashFlow Blog

On the newly released Forbes Top 10 list of fastest growing small metro areas in the nation, the Gulfport-Biloxi area is ranked ninth. The area includes three South Mississippi counties on the Gulf of Mexico: Hancock, Harrison and Stone.

The rankings are based on gross metropolitan product (gmp) growth projections for 2007 to 2012. The Gulfport-Biloxi area is expected to grow 23.12 percent in gmp during the next five years, with an increase in population of nearly 17 percent.

The Forbes article states that the Southeast is booming, and continued, “The costs of living and doing business are often cheaper there than in big coastal cities.”

Forbes acknowledges Gulfport-Biloxi’s “booming commodities markets,” which include manufacturing, shipbuilding, composite technology and pharmaceuticals.

Also recognized is Gulfport-Biloxi’s role as a “critical transportation hub.” The area is strategically situated along Interstate 10 and is home to the Port of Gulfport, the third busiest container port on the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, which recently completed a $50 million terminal expansion.

The Gulfport-Biloxi area is noted as being “a top producer and refiner of oil and natural gas.” Chevron Refinery, located in nearby Pascagoula, is the company’s largest refinery in the nation. It is investing $500 million in an expansion project to increase gasoline production 10 percent by 2010.

Mobile, Alabama, also located along I-10 less than 60 miles from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is ranked first on the small metro area list. Mobile and the Gulfport-Biloxi MSA are part of a growing aerospace corridor that stretches west to New Orleans.

Larry Barnett, executive director of the Harrison County Development Commission, said, “Forbes’ ranking solidifies our strong belief in the potential of our area.” He continued, “We are in good company with nearby Mobile, and we look forward to continually working with them to grow as a region.”