Business Location Advantages of
the Greater Morgantown, WV Area

The Greater Morgantown Area is particularly well suited for office, research, and light manufacturing businesses. We like to say that "Greater Morgantown Has More" in terms of what it offers new and expanding businesses. Some of the area's major advantages for business and industry are as follows:

West Virginia University
Morgantown is the home of West Virginia University (WVU), the center for graduate and professional education within the state, and one of the top 100 research universities in the country. Enrollment at WVU is over 27,000 students, and the University awards over 5000 degrees each year.

Top-Rated Metro Area in the Country
The Greater Morgantown Area offers a small town atmosphere and lifestyle, with big city advantages. The people are friendly, the scenery is beautiful, the cost of living is affordable, and the public and private facilities and services are top notch. Most communities claim a good lifestyle, but in the Morgantown Area we can document it! The Morgantown Area always ranks very high in business climate and quality of life rating guides. For example, the Morgantown MSA recently made the best small metro lists of three national business publications- Inc., Forbes, and Kiplinger magazines. As an employer, this means you are better able to attract and retain top talent.

Labor Force
The area wide labor market of the Morgantown MSA (including Monongalia and Preston Counties) numbers 63,000 workers, of whom 2,100 or 3.3 percent are unemployed. Furthermore, West Virginia University and local high schools graduate over 5,500 young men and women each year.

The larger regional labor market encompassed by Monongalia and Preston counties, and five adjavent counties numbers over 170,000 workers.

This area offers a young, educated, motivated and skilled labor force that receives very positive reviews from local employers. The excellent work ethic and high level of employee loyalty is particularly impressive to new employers locating in the area. As an additional incentive, the state of West Virginia offers one of the best employee recruitment and training incentive programs in the country.

Knowledge and Technology-based Economy
Morgantown is the anchor of the "I-79 High Tech Corridor." This area has become a center for higher education, health care, advanced technology, and research and development. Recent developments in our region include the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division, NASA's National Independent Validation and Verification Center, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Concurrent Engineering Research Center, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/Center for Disease Control, National Biometric Security Center, National Research Center for Coal and Energy, and the Software Engineering Research Center.

Safety
This area and the State of West Virginia offer one of the lowest crime rates in the nation. The WVU campus is rated as one of the safest major university campuses in the country.

Location
A strategic location with easy access to Midwest, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast markets.

Transportation
Good highway, air, rail and water transportation facilities. Morgantown is positioned at the intersection of I-79 and I-68. Pittsburgh is an 80-minute drive north on I-79. Washington, D.C. and Baltimore are both four-hour drives east on I-68.

The Pittsburgh International Airport is an 80-minute drive north of Morgantown. The Morgantown Municipal Airport offers daily air commuter service to Northern Virginia's Dulles International Airport.

Public Education
Both Offspring and Expansion Management magazines have ranked the Monongalia County School System as one of the top public school systems in the nation.

Health Care
Health and medical facilities, anchored by the WVU Hospitals and Monongalia Health System, are among the best in the nation for a community of this size.

Business Assistance
Business incentive programs including financing, employee training, and tax incentives are available for eligible businesses.

We hope you agree that the Morgantown Area has "More" to offer your business. This office provides a one-stop shop to assist existing and prospective businesses. Don Reinke, President of the Morgantown Area Economic Partnership, and Director of the Monongalia County Development Authority, can answer your questions about doing business here, help you locate suitable buildings or sites, and help you use available business assistance programs. Don would welcome the opportunity to show you this area in person. His phone number is 304.296.6684 and his e-mail address is info@morgantown.org. This area is going to continue to grow and prosper. Locate here and develop with us!