Manufacturing credited with helping Lehigh Valley hit a record GDP
Lehigh Valley’s economy hit a record $47 Billion in 2021, according to the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation.
The LVEDC says manufacturing was the largest economic sector, producing up to $8.4 billion of that record amount.
That means manufacturing has now overtaken finance, insurance, and real estate as the Lehigh Valley’s top contributor to the GDP.
“It seems that each year a new chapter is written on the economic renaissance of the Lehigh Valley,” said Don Cunningham, President & CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). “2021 was another record-setting year with the region’s GDP increasing by almost $5 billion and manufacturing taking the top spot as the Lehigh Valley’s largest economic sector.”
GDP measures total market value of the goods and services produced in a region over a year and the LVEDC tracks that across the Lehigh Valley’s metro region.
The metro region comprises Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, and Warren counties. Lehigh and Northampton County make up $40.6 billion of the metro region’s $47 billion private sector output.
Here’s an eyepopping state - the Lehigh Valley’s private sector output is the 65th largest in the nation and is bigger than the states of Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming.
If the Lehigh Valley were a country, its economy would be the 88th largest in the world!
Following manufacturing, the largest sectors in the Lehigh Valley’s GDP:
• Finance, insurance, and real estate ($8.1 billion)
• Educational services, health care and social assistance ($6.9 billion)
• Professional and business services ($5.9 billion)
• Wholesale trade ($3.7 billion)
• Information ($3 billion)
• Retail trade ($3 billion)
• Transportation and warehousing ($2.7 billion)
The LVEDC says the arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services industries are still recovering from the pandemic but even it still managed to produce $1.8 billion last year.