Prosper’s Economic Dashboard: Birmingham’s economic vitality revealed

How does The Magic City compare economically to cities like ours? 

Prosper, a local nonprofit created to help Birmingham become the most inclusive and thriving economy in the Southeast has released an economic development dashboard to give us an idea of where we stand.

Four key categories on the dashboard

Introduced this week, Prosper’s collaborative dashboard presents economic progress in four key areas. They are:

• Median income
• Educational attainment
• Labor force participation
• Quality job growth in healthcare, technology and manufacturing

Each category compares 24 other cities to The Magic City.

“We’re drawing from data collected from the US Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics metro data. For each economic area, we will establish goals for Birmingham to achieve over the next five years. Additionally, the dashboard highlights disparities among various subpopulations.” 

Aryan Anerao, Prosper Data Specialist and dashboard designer

Economic Dashboard example – Educational attainment

What kind of data will you find on the dashboard?

For example, under the Educational Attainment category you will see this kind of breakdown on distribution:

Birmingham

• 88% — Earned a high school degree
• 30% — 4 years of college
• 20% — Some college
• 10% — 2 year degree

Raleigh, North Carolina, a similar-sized city showed these numbers

• 92% — Earned a high school degree
• 50% — 4 years of college
• 18% — Some college
•   7% — 2 year degree

Why Prosper’s Economic Dashboard matters

The creation of the dashboard is the culmination of two years of collective engagement among city, county, corporate and nonprofit entities.

“Having a comprehensive data tool that not only facilitates our growth but also empowers citizens by providing insights into trends and opportunities will accelerate the ongoing development of Birmingham. 

Cornell Wesley, Director, Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, City of Birmingham

The Economic Development Dashboard is housed on Prosper’s website at www.prosperbham.com.  
And while you compare Birmingham to Atlanta, Raleigh, Montgomery, Huntsville and New Orleans, check out Prosper’s numerous ongoing initiatives to move our community forward.