The Greater Cincinnati region is dealing with various economic and demographic challenges, such as a declining prime-working-age population and a struggling office market.
Despite these challenges, the overall region continues to grow in population and economic development, according to the Cincinnati Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the Region report.
“What stands out in this report for me is the huge opportunity to inclusively grow our region if we attract and retain talent, create a policy environment that prioritizes job growth and development, and build on our many cultural and industrial strengths,” Cincinnati Chamber President Brendan Cull wrote in the report.
Northern Kentucky was mentioned frequently throughout the report, contributing both to the Greater Cincinnati region’s economic and demographic growth.
Population Growth
Boone County is the region’s second highest population change, only behind Warren County, Ohio, from 2010 to 2022. During that time span, Boone County’s population grew from 118,811 to 139,039 people — a 17.1% increase. Boone County comprises 6.1% of the Greater Cincinnati region’s population.
Kenton County, Northern Kentucky’s most populous, grew by 12.4% going from 159,720 people in 2010 to 170,313 in 2022. Kenton County is the Greater Cincinnati’s fifth largest in terms of population. It makes up 7.5% of the region’s total population.
Campbell County also experienced growth during that period, albeit at a slower pace. Campbell County grew from 93,300 people in 2010 to 170,313 in 2022. It makes up 4.1% of the region’s total population.
Northern Kentucky Private Companies
Northern Kentucky has two of the Greater Cincinnati region’s largest private companies in terms of revenue.
Hebron-based digital solutions company Bluestar Inc. came in third on the list, earning $2.35 billion in revenue last year, while Fort Mitchell-based homebuilder Drees Homes was ninth, earning $1.42 in revenue.
Three Northern Kentucky firms on the list of the region’s fastest-growing private companies.
Fort Mitchell-based Hit Seekers Sports Cards, a brick-and-mortar retailer for sports trading cards, experienced a massive 4,228% growth in revenue from 2020 to 2022. Earning less than $200,000 annually in 2020, Hit Seekers now earns $5.3 million in 2022.
Covington-based taqueria and tequila chain Agave & Rye increased their annual revenue by 354% over the same period, going from $10.6 million in 2020 to $48.2 million in 2022.
Finally, Crestview Hills-based logistics brokerage Whitehorse Freight increased its annual revenue by 311%. The firm went from $32.3 million in 2020 to $140.9 million in 2022. In January, LINK nky reported that Whitehorse Freight moved into a 51,000-square-foot office building in the Thomas More Office Park.
Covington-based real estate development firm The Salyers Group was listed as the region’s ninth largest woman-owned business by revenue, earning $29.5 million in 2021 — the most recent year the report had for revenue data in the category.
Wilder-based logistics brokerage DDX Transport was listed as the region’s ninth-largest minority-owned business by revenue, clocking in at $24.8 million in 2022.
The report listed Edgewood-based healthcare provider St. Elizabeth as the Greater Cincinnati region’s fifth largest employer in terms of total employees at 10,353.
St. Elizabeth was listed as Northern Kentucky’s largest employer by employee count, followed by Amazon, Fidelity, Kroger and the Boone County School District.
Manufacturing Jobs
Manufacturing is one of Northern Kentucky’s strongest economic sectors. Due to the industry’s growth, thousands of manufacturing job postings are across the Greater Cincinnati region.
Boone County has the fourth-highest number of manufacturing job openings, with 2,709. Hamilton, Butler and Warren County in Ohio all have more. Kenton County is sixth on the list with 1,348 openings, slightly behind Clermont County in Ohio. Campbell County is seventh on the list with 597 openings. The data for the list was collected between July 2022 and June 2023.
In July, a labor market analysis published by the Cincinnati Chamber found that Hebron, Erlanger and Florence were three of the fastest-growing employment centers in the Greater Cincinnati region. This report listed similar numbers for both cities.
From 2017-22, Florence, which reports lists as the second largest regional employment center behind downtown Cincinnati, grew its total number of employees by 12.6%, going from 52,655 to 59,284.
Over the same period, Hebron experienced significant growth from 18,144 to 27,594 total employees, a 52.1% increase.
Florence, specifically, has the highest concentration of manufacturing production jobs in the region with 7,284.
Office Vacancy Rates
While office vacancy rates in the Greater Cincinnati region have yet to fully recover from the pandemic, the Northern Kentucky office submarket has fared well compared to others in the area.
There were 18 submarkets listed in the report. Of those 18, Northern Kentucky had a 20.3% office vacancy rate — the third lowest. As a whole, the Greater Cincinnati region has an office vacancy rate of 24.4%
In comparison, the Mason/Montgomery submarket had the highest office vacancy rate at 41.8%.
Public Transportation
Regarding public transpiration, the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, or TANK, bus service returned to 80% of pre-pandemic ridership levels. 195,365 people utilized the service in August of this year.
Additionally, the Southbank Shuttle was reintroduced last August after a two-year hiatus.
