Business, Industry and Economic Development

With a balanced blend of industrial, retail and tourism businesses, Bartow County features a strong and diverse economy. Along with a large and diverse workforce and an environment that welcomes new businesses while helping existing businesses grow, a strong economic outlook is predicted for Bartow County in the coming decades. The county boasts a labor force of more than 41,000 workers, and an eight-county labor draw of 569,000. 

Manufacturing historically has driven the county’s economy, and that trend continues today, accounting for 30 percent of the labor force.⁽¹⁾  Many of the top employers in Bartow are in the manufacturing sector: Shaw Industries (carpet), Trinity Rail Operations, Georgia Power Plant Bowen and Gerdau Ameristeel. Toyo Tire and Rubber Co. recently began operating a tire manufacturing plant in White, perhaps the highest impact industrial recruitment to Cartersville and Bartow County since Anheuser Busch located a plant here in the early 1990s.

Bartow County and Cartersville continue to offset industrial losses with recruiting new businesses and industries; jointly through the Cartersville-Bartow County Dept. of Economic Development and the Bartow-Cartersville Joint Development Authority (JDA). The Bartow County Development Authority also works to recruit business and industry to the county.

Included in these efforts is securing available properties for industrial development. The Joint Development Authority purchased the site, with help from the State of Georgia, which now is home to the Toyo Tire plant. The JDA now owns an 846-acre site on Cass-White Road in Bartow County to develop for future industries and new jobs.

Bartow County has a positive environment for new businesses. Along with a large local workforce, the county’s location on Interstate 75 provides quick access to Atlanta and Chattanooga for transportation needs. Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta is 50 miles away, but the Cartersville-Bartow County Airport is convenient for corporate use. CSX Rail and the local trucking industry (6 freight carriers, 26 trucking firms) are convenient for shipping needs.

The overall cost of business, including labor costs, is roughly nine percent lower than the national average ⁽²⁾, making Bartow a profitable location for business and industry.

While manufacturers provide a great many of the county’s jobs, Bartow County realizes retailers and small businesses are also needed for a balanced economy and needed sales tax revenues. Many new retail businesses and professional services (doctors, dentists, attorneys, etc.) have located to Bartow County, adding to an already substantial business community. The Cartersville Medical Center is also growing, making Bartow County and Cartersville a potential hub for the healthcare industry in Northwest Georgia.

     *Source: Cartersville-Bartow County Dept. of Economic Development