York County, South Carolina
April 2023 Summary
Kelly Reddecliff, Research Manager

Interest rate hikes, inflation, and labor shortages continue to make headlines at the start of 2023, these statements echoed in a recent business survey of local leaders. Despite challenges, the majority of local companies have met or exceeded revenue projections and these same executives have expressed a cautious optimism for the future.

Interest rate hikes muted demand in the for sale housing market in recent months, causing the median home price to fall slightly to $364,992. Rent growth has also slowed in recent months with apartment units now averaging $1,499 per month. However, just released census data shows that the Charlotte region’s population continues climb, with York County’s population reaching 294,248 citizens, which will continue to fuel housing demand.

Expansions at STIWA US and Element Designs announcing plans to move its headquarters and manufacturing operations here, helped York County’s commercial real estate markets end the year with strong demand for both industrial and office product. The industrial market absorbed more than 1.1M square feet in the fourth quarter alone, which was half of the total absorption in the Charlotte region.

York County’s office markets also saw demand dramatically improve towards the end of the year, absorbing more than 121k square feet and bringing the vacancy rate down to 5.6%. 2023 has started off strong with major announcements from PDM US and Pallidus boosting confidence in the year ahead.

New employment trends are emerging in York County, fueled by consumer spending and reshuffling industry dominance. Warehousing and Storage is growing at the fastest rate in post-pandemic era York County, gaining more than 900 workers since Q1 2021. In year-over-year terms, Food Service gained the most workers and has fully recovered from pandemic era restrictions in terms of employment. Manufacturing continued to lose workers and now ranks as the third largest industry in York County behind Retail Trade and Accommodation & Food Service. Wages climbed across the board but Retail Trade stands out as the industry leader with wages increasing a whopping 54% since 2020.

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York County Economic Indicators_April 2023

 *The York County Economic Indicators report is distributed on a semiannual basis by York County Economic Development