Jump to content

User:636Buster/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Economy

[edit]
Main article: Economy of West Virginia
See also: List of West Virginia counties by socioeconomic factors
See also: West Virginia locations by per capita income

According to the World Bank, West Virginia's economy would nominally be the world's 69th-largest, behind Luxembourg and ahead of Bulgaria.[1] The state has a projected nominal GDP of $85.434 billion in 2009 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis report as of 2021, and a real GDP of $71.343 billion. The state's real GDP growth of 1.3% in 2021 was the 8th-best in the country.[2]

West Virginia's unemployment rate in August 2019 was 4.6%, the lowest since the start of the Great Recession.[3] As a result of the COVID pandemic, West Virginia's unemployment rate had risen to 6.1% in December 2020,[4] which, by November 2022, had improved from pre-pandemic levels, reported at 4.1%.[5]

The net corporate income tax rate is 6.5% while business costs are 13% below the national average.[6][7] The largest employers in West Virginia are WVU Medicine; Walmart; CAMC Health; Mountain Health Network; Kroger; Lowe's; Contura Energy; Mon Health; American Consolidated Natural Resources and Mylan Pharmaceuticals.[8]

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that in 2014 West Virginia's economy grew twice as fast as the next fastest-growing state east of the Mississippi River, ranking third alongside Wyoming and just behind North Dakota and Texas among the fastest-growing states.[9] While per capita income fell 2.6% nationally in 2009, West Virginia's grew at 1.8%.[10] Through the first half of 2010, exports from West Virginia topped $3 billion, growing 39.5% over the same period from the previous year and ahead of the national average by 15.7%.[10]

Tourism

[edit]
Seneca Rocks, Pendleton County

Tourism contributed $4.27 billion to the state's economy and employed 44,400 people in 2010, making it one of the state's largest industries.[11] Many tourists, especially in the eastern mountains, are drawn to the region's notable opportunities for outdoor recreation. Canaan Valley is popular for winter sports, Seneca Rocks is one of the premier rock climbing destinations in the eastern U.S., the New River Gorge/Fayetteville area draws rock climbers as well as whitewater rafting enthusiasts, and the Monongahela National Forest is popular with hikers, backpackers, hunters, and anglers.

Also drawing tourism to the state is the West Virginia State Park and State Forest system, which comprises 45 units covering 164,000 acres. In 2021, over 9 million people visited a West Virginia State Park, the highest number on record. This is partly due to a recent $151 million improvement project that has seen improvements at every park and forest.[12]

In addition to such outdoor recreation opportunities, the state offers a number of historic and cultural attractions. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is a historic town situated at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. Harpers Ferry was the site of John Brown's 1859 raid on the U.S. Armory and Arsenal. Located at the approximate midpoint of the Appalachian Trail, Harpers Ferry is the base of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

The Greenbrier hotel and resort, originally built in 1778, has long been considered a premier hotel, frequented by numerous world leaders and U.S. presidents over the years.

West Virginia is the site of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which features the Green Bank Telescope. For the 1963 Centennial of the State, it hosted two high school graduate delegates from each of the 50 States at the National Youth Science Camp near Bartow, and has continued this tradition ever since. The main building of Weston State Hospital is the largest hand-cut sandstone building in the Western Hemisphere, second worldwide only to the Kremlin in Moscow. Tours of the building, which is a National Historic Landmark and part of the National Civil War Trail, are offered seasonally and by appointment year-round. West Virginia has numerous popular festivals throughout the year.

Energy

[edit]
Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia

One of the major resources in West Virginia's economy is coal. According to the Energy Information Administration, West Virginia is a top coal producer in the United States, second only to Wyoming. West Virginia is located in the heart of the Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Bed, which stretches from Tennessee north to New York in the middle of Appalachia.

As of 2017, the coal industry accounted for 2% of state employment.[13]

Nearly all the electricity generated in West Virginia is from coal-fired power plants. West Virginia produces a surplus of electricity and leads the nation in net interstate electricity exports.[14] Farming is also practiced in West Virginia, but on a limited basis because of the mountainous terrain over much of the state.

An assessment from 2012 estimated that West Virginia had the potential to generate 8,627 GWh/year from 2,772 MW of 100-meter wind turbines, and 60,000 GWh from 40,000 MW of photovoltaics, including 3,810 MW of rooftop photovoltaics.[15]

West Virginia Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh)
Year Capacity
(MW) 		Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2009 330 742 86 86 69 71 31 49 49 32 46 71 68 86
2010 431 939 92 79 85 86 66 69 49 33 66 114 89 112
2011 564 1099 102 113 112 114 49 62 45 68 60 122 124 132
2012 583 1286 201 147 136 130 59 90 85 41 65 98 100 133
2013 583 1387 175 154 174 140 134 78 55 58 52 58 159 152[16]
2014 583 1451 166 146 167 143 100 62 76 64 67 154 157 149
2015 583 1376 158 137 181 137 75 103 65 44 71 122 147 136
2016 686 1432 166 164 134 120 74 92 69 57 67 130 135 222
2017 686 1682 124 123 171 174 152 140 112 52 70 116 167 211
2018 686 1779 191 181 183 180 138 132 97 108 106 144 160 160
2019 160 131 144 185 152 162

Source:[17][18][19][20]

Manufacturing

[edit]

West Virginia's largest manufacturing employer is Viatris, followed by Toyota, Northrop Grumman, and several other Fortune 500 companies.[21] In Charleston and Huntington, chemical manufacturers predominate, attracted by a readily available labor force and access by barge carriers. Metallurgy, especially steel, has been predominant in the northern panhandle due to a spill-over effect from the traditional center of the U.S. steel industry in Pittsburgh.

The state is a global chemical hub, cited by the Council of American States in Europe as one of [North America's premier destinations,[22] with the presence of DuPont, Germany-based Bayer and Stockmeier Kunststoffe GmbH; a subsidiary of Japan-based Kureha, Ashland Specialty Chemical, Flexsys, and Brazil-based Braskem S.A. West Virginia has 80% community acceptance from the chemical industry nationwide, one of the highest in the nation.[22] The chemicals industry accounts for one-fifth of manufacturing sector jobs and nearly 40% of the manufacturing sector's economic output in West Virginia.[23] It is home to one of the highest concentration of resin producers in the world.[24]

West Virginia is home to steel and metal companies such as Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal in Weirton, Steel of West Virginia Inc. in Huntington, Russia-based Severstal in Wheeling, Japan-based Nisshin Inc. in Wheeling, Follansbee Steel in Follansbee, Special Metals Corporation in Huntington, and Swanson Industries in Morgantown.[25] In December 2010, Russia-based Mechel announced plans to construct a new $12 million coal processing plant in McDowell County.[26]

Taxes

[edit]

West Virginia personal income tax is based on federal adjusted gross income (not taxable income), as modified by specific items in West Virginia law. Citizens are taxed within five income brackets, which range from 3.0% to 6.5%. The state's consumer sales tax is levied at 6% on most products except for non-prepared foods.[27]

West Virginia counties administer and collect property taxes, although property tax rates reflect levies for state government, county governments, county boards of education and municipalities. Counties may also impose a hotel occupancy tax on lodging places not located within the city limits of any municipality that levies such a tax. Municipalities may levy license and gross receipts taxes on businesses located within the city limits and a hotel occupancy tax on lodging places in the city. Although the Department of Tax and Revenue plays a major role in the administration of this tax, less than half of one percent of the property tax collected goes to state government.

The primary beneficiaries of the property tax are county boards of education. Property taxes are paid to the sheriff of each of the state's 55 counties. Each county and municipality can impose its own rates of property taxation within the limits set by the West Virginia Constitution. The West Virginia legislature sets the rate of tax of county boards of education. The total tax rate is a combination of the tax levies from four state taxing authorities: state, county, schools and municipal. This total tax rate varies for each of the four classes of property, which consists of personal, real and intangible properties. Property is assessed according to its use, location and value as of July 1. All property is reappraised every three years; annual adjustments are made to assessments for property with a change of value. West Virginia does not impose an inheritance tax. Because of the phase-out of the federal estate tax credit, West Virginia's estate tax is not imposed on estates of persons who died on or after January 1, 2005.[28]

  1. ^ "GDP (current US$) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Woodruff, Clifford (October 23, 2022). "Gross Domestic product by state and personal income by state 3rd quarter 2022" (PDF). Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  3. ^ COUGHLIN, DARBY; MYERS, MACKENZIE (October 4, 2019). "Has West Virginia's Economy Boomed Since Trump, Justice Took Office?". PolitiFact.
  4. ^ "Unemploymenty Rates by County October 2022" Workforce, West Virginia Dept. of Commerce.
  5. ^ "County Data Release 12/21/22" Workforce, West Virginia Dept. of Commerce.
  6. ^ "West Virginia Net Corporate Income Tax" (PDF). Tax.wv.gov. 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on Feb 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "West Virginia Industries" Archived December 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, West Virginia Department of Commerce. Accessed December 11, 2010
  8. ^ "West Virginia's 100 largest Private Employers in March 2022" Workforce, West Virginia Dept. of Commerce.
  9. ^ "Broad Growth Across States in 2014". U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "West Virginia improves per capita ranking" Archived November 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Catherine Zacchi. West Virginia Department of Commerce. 2010. Accessed December 11, 2010
  11. ^ West Virginia Ten Year Tourism Plan (PDF) (Report). AECOM. September 2012.
  12. ^ Staff Reports (May 4, 2022). "West Virginia officials mark completion $8 million in upgrades at Pipestem Resort State Park". wvnews. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  13. ^ Popovich, Nadja (April 25, 2017). "Today's Energy Jobs Are in Solar, Not Coal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  14. ^ "EIA State Energy Profiles: West Virginia". June 12, 2008. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  15. ^ "NREL: Dynamic Maps, GIS Data, and Analysis Tools—Renewable Energy Technical Potential". nrel.gov. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012.
  16. ^ "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2014" (PDF). Eia.gov. February 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  17. ^ "U.S. Installed Wind Capacity". windpoweringamerica.gov. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014.
  18. ^ EIA (July 27, 2012). "Electric Power Monthly Table 1.17.A". United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  19. ^ EIA (July 27, 2012). "Electric Power Monthly Table 1.17.B". United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  20. ^ Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. "WINDExchange: U.S. Installed Wind Capacity". United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  21. ^ "Top 10 Manufacturing Companies in West Virginia" IndustrySelect, June 28, 2022.
  22. ^ a b "West Virginia-Chemicals, Plastics, and Rubbers", Council of American States in Europe. 2010. Accessed December 11, 2010
  23. ^ "WV Economic Outlook 2016" (PDF). West Virginia University.
  24. ^ "Chemical/Polymer". West Virginia Department of Commerce.
  25. ^ "Meals". West Virginia Department of Commerce.
  26. ^ "$12 million coal processing plant planned for McDowell", Charles Owens. Bluefield Daily Telegraph. December 14, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  27. ^ "Food Tax". State of West Virginia. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  28. ^ "West Virginia Estate Tax (for decedents dying after June 30,1985) And Intestate Succession Law (for decedents dying after July 9, 1993)" (PDF). West Virginia State Tax Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:636Buster/sandbox&oldid=1243816766"