A major manufacturer is creating 150 new jobs and investing $120
million in its Buffalo facility. The Governor points out that these are “good paying jobs with health care benefits.”
Unfortunately, the plant in question — owned by Toyota, as it happens — is located in Buffalo, West Virginia. The expansion, announced today by corporate officials, is the fifth since since 1996. In that time, Toyota’s Buffalo workforce has quadrupled and total private investments have topped $920 million.
It’s tempting to view this as another case of jobs fleeing frigid upstate New York for the warmer south. However, average January temperatures in Buffalo, West Virginia, are only 4 degrees above those in Buffalo, New York. And unlike its Empire State counterpart, tiny Buffalo, West Virginia (pop: 1,171) has no professional sports teams and no nearby world famous tourist destinations.
The other Buffalo can boast of a better business climate, according to comparative state measures. For example, West Virginia ranked 32nd on the on theEconomic Freedom Index, but New York was at the very bottom of the list. In the latest ranking of state and local tax burdens, New York’s burden is second only to Maine’s, 20 percent above the national average, while West Virginia ranks 13th, only slightly above average.
One other big difference between the two Buffalos: Putnam County, West Virginia, where the smaller Buffalo is located, has been adding population at a nearly 2 percent-a-year clip for the past decade. Erie County, New York, has been steadily shrinking.
Chalk it up as another indication of how differences in competitiveness can matter.
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