Oxford and Lafayette County’s economic development successes have been on the rise for more than two decades. While Madison County may tout a Nissan plant or a new Amazon facility or while the Golden Triangle touts a new steel plant, Oxford’s biggest employer is and likely will always be the University of Mississippi.
And the sharp rise in enrollment over the past 20 years has spurred growth both residentially and from an economic development standpoint at stunning rates.
That success doesn’t come from just industrial recruitment or industrial growth like most traditional economic development plans.
When the organization was founded in the early 1990s, the Oxford Economic Development Foundation went after retirees. That was the beginning of what the EDF calls People Based Economic Development.
“Things are blowing and going here in Oxford associated a lot with the ebb and flow of the university,” said Ryan Miller who has been the director of the EDF since March. “The city over time has carved out its own personality.”
Also, by making the improvements based on retirees, Oxford and Lafayette County began to attract more than just retirees to walk around The Square. The tax base put more money in the schools, leading to more people wanting to move to and raise kids in Oxford. Then, there was more of a tax base for planning and development and infrastructure and parks and quality of life.
“What is going to guide us moving forward, I refer to as a season or recalibration,” Miller said. “We have this exponential growth of people wanting to go to school here, live here. We have lots of people want to invest more in real estate. The growth is good, but we want to see it focused through a singular lens. So, how do we better engage and leverage the assets that the University of Mississippi with the resources that Lafayette County has?”
Ryan Miller
He said by having a university that continues to grow means more people want to live in Oxford, leading to more people wanting to bring business to Oxford. The key is the continual growth of Ole Miss.
“This next year is going to be significant in how we align our vision for what we want to see grow industrial wise based upon that single lens,” Miller said.
Major expansion: Space, defense company expands footprint in MS. It will add nearly 100 jobs. See where
Religiosity in MS: Is there less Christ in Christmas these days? See what our pastors say
One of the things that has been set in motion was the completion of a project in which the EDF partnered with the Mississippi Development Authority and TVA to fund a site development grant targeted to improved development of the Oxford-Lafayette County, Max D. Hipp Industrial Park. These funds were used to create development around the new West Oxford Loop corridor which will be built through the existing industrial park.
“That gives us about 45 acres to work with to help recruit development that we generally haven’t recruited in years past,” Miller said. “It’s really an opportunity to do some significant things in the future. We are hopeful that all comes to fruition with projects in 2025.”
Oxford Economic Development By The Numbers:
-
Population growth: 2011-2022 (census) — 17.46% highest growth rate in Mississippi; 2020-2022, a 2.9% growth, which was the eighth highest in Mississippi.
-
Total employment growth: 2011-2022 — 32.07% third highest in Mississippi; 2020-2022, a 4.72% growth, which was the eighth highest in Mississippi.
-
Businesses: Total number of reporting establishments (businesses) in Lafayette County is up by 388 in the most recent 10 years. That growth rate is 32.44%. The state average for the same period is 12.02%.
-
Per capita income growth: 2011-2021 — 45.81%, $47,842 is eighth highest in Mississippi; 2020-2021 growth is 5.17%.
-
Assessed Value Growth: 2010-2022 — 62.35%, fifth highest in Mississippi; 2020-2021 growth is 2.92%.
-
Civilian Labor Force Growth: 2011-2022 — 20.17% is the highest in Mississippi; 2020-2021 — 3.91% is the highest in Mississippi.
-
Median Household Income growth: 2010-2022 — 44.06%, which is the eighth highest rate of growth in Mississippi; 2019-2020 was 3.24% or $55,786, which is the fifth highest in the state. Total retail sales tax diversions were up for the city of Oxford.
Ross Reily is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Oxford, MS has big development plans for 2025. See what they are