Demographics

Demographics & Data

Franklin Southampton Economic Development, Inc. (FSEDI) offers businesses immediate access to information that will assist with expansion and relocation decisions. Here you can obtain economic, planning, geographic, and demographic information, and we are committed to making "doing business" as easy as possible. We expect this collection of data to be an invaluable tool for you as you learn about the many opportunities and resources that are available in our region.

Business Climate

Besides providing outstanding business services, the Franklin Southampton region offers an excellent transportation network, low tax structure, highly educated and skilled workforce, competitive educational resources, excellent state and local job training resources, and financial and training assistance. Besides providing outstanding business services, the Franklin Southampton region offers an excellent transportation network, low tax structure, highly educated and skilled workforce, competitive educational resources, excellent state and local job training resources, and financial and training assistance. On the State level, Forbes magazine named Virginia “Best State for Business” for its high rankings in all categories evaluated. A brief summary of that article follows.

Virginia: The Best State for Business

The Commonwealth of Virginia was recently bestowed the honor of “Best State for Business” by Forbes.com. Virginia grabbed the top spot in Forbes’ first-ever Top States for Business, released in August 2006, by placing in the top ten in each of the six categories examined. The categories included business costs, economic climate, growth prospects, labor, quality of life and regulatory environment. No other state placed in the top ten in more than three categories.

The major companies that have recently relocated corporate headquarters to Virginia, bringing thousands of new jobs, are already aware of the Commonwealth’s business friendly atmosphere. The climate is attributed to Virginia’s high quality of life and low costs of living and business.

Overall, business costs in Virginia are nine percent below the national average. The corporate income tax has remained unchanged at six percent for more than 30 years, and worker compensation is the fourth lowest in the country at 47 percent below the national average.

Virginia’s ranking was also attributed to strong incentive programs, educational institutions and government infrastructure. For more information about the Forbes’ Top States for Business rankings, visit www.forbes.com.

Quality of Life

The Franklin and Southampton region is an excellent place to live, work and raise a family. You will find strong family-oriented communities offering a wide variety of safe, affordable places to live, state-of-the-art medical facilities and a high performing school system. Year-round sports, cultural and entertainment opportunities and a variety of events, unparalleled museums and other theatre events are easily accessible.

Community

The Franklin Southampton region is served by Southampton Memorial Hospital located in Franklin. This 225-bed facility provides a full range of medical services covering 18 medical specialties, including 24-hour emergency care coverage, obstetrics and maternity care, and out-patient services.

Air ambulance capability is available in connection with nearby Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

A private medical center operates in Ivor. Both the City of Franklin and Southampton County operate public health clinics.

The Walter Cecil Rawls Library and Museum, affiliated with the Virginia Museum, operates a seven-branch regional library system circulating over 156,547 volumes. The Ruth Camp Campbell Memorial Library, located in Franklin, houses a 40,000-volume collection. Additionally, the Paul D. Camp Community College Library in Franklin maintains a 24000-volume collection.

Over 60 churches are located in the community and include most Protestant denominations, Mormon, and the Roman Catholic faith. A Jewish synagogue is located in nearby Suffolk.

Most commercial trade in the community is concentrated in several contemporary shopping centers and the downtown business district. Local merchants provide a wide range of goods and services, and additional shopping opportunities can be found within a comfortable driving distance in the nearby communities of Hampton Roads.

Lifestyle

Area citizens can enjoy year-round recreational opportunities through participation in programs sponsored through the Franklin Department of Recreation, the Cypress Cove Country Club, as well as schools, churches and various clubs and civic organizations throughout Southampton County. Activities include swimming, tennis, golf, softball, an annual tennis tournament, and an annual fall festival complete with arts and crafts shows and athletic events. Other supervised activities are provided at eight community playgrounds and parks. A full-service, modern YMCA offers facilities for swimming, dancing, aerobics, gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, indoor tennis, baseball, soccer, and softball. The complex offers four athletic fields, a pavilion, a playground, a Nautilus center, and an outdoor pool. A 32-lane bowling center/movie complex, with three cinemas, has recently been completed.

Outdoor and water enthusiasts will find exceptional hunting, fishing, and boating in the area. The Nottoway, Blackwater, and Meherrin Rivers and a large number of creeks and ponds support a wide variety of native fish. Southampton County is home to a large number and variety of both game and non-game wildlife. Deer are especially prevalent in the area.

Virginia Beach and other beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay shorelines are within easy reach of the community. A number of state parks are located within a 50-mile radius of Franklin.

Concerts, lectures, museums and other cultural attractions are available in nearby Norfolk. Major historical and tourist attractions, such as Jamestown, Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Busch Gardens theme park, are within an hour's drive.

Franklin Southampton - A rapidly developing community of the "Hampton Roads Region" where you will experience exceptional transportation corridors to the Port of Virginia with fully developed business parks. A great location for warehousing and distribution, light assembly and manufacturing. Enjoy a community atmosphere where folks recognize you by your first name, where small town amenities abound; yet enjoy modern facilities, such as a community college, hospital, medical clinics, country club, YMCA and museums. All in a setting of 26,000 people.

Location

The independent city of Franklin is located in southeastern Virginia immediately adjacent to the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and approximately nine miles from the North Carolina state line. It is surrounded by Southampton County. The community has historically been the center of trade and transportation for the surrounding countryside owing largely to its location on the Blackwater, Nottoway, and Meherrin Rivers, the presence of the railroad, proximity to the Port of Virginia, and two major U.S. highways (U.S. 58 and U.S. 460).

The Port of Hampton Roads is 45 miles east; Richmond, the state capital, is 75 miles to the northwest; Washington, D.C. is 195 miles north.

Workforce

Franklin Southampton Economic Development, Inc. (FSEDI) is uniquely positioned to connect employers to workforce development services including the Paul D. Camp Community College and Workforce Development Center, and Opportunity Inc., which is a workforce development organization formed to address the regions needs with employer demands on both quantity of labor force and skill levels to support a growing economy.

Incentives

The City of Franklin and Southampton County both aggressively recruit companies seeking to make a significant investment in both capital and jobs in the Southampton region. To this end, we work with the Commonwealth of Virginia to customize incentive packages that positively impact the bottom line of companies seeking to relocate or expand. FSEDI would welcome an opportunity to discuss potential incentive packages for your company’s next project. The Franklin Southampton Region offers local incentives for potential new companies making an investment decision. The local incentives are project specific in nature that vary depending on the overall economic impact to the region. Consideration is given to the amount of capital investment made by the company, total job creation, average wage and benefit package per employee and potential tax revenue base to the local government entity.

The commonwealth of Virginia has a comprehensive suite of incentives to offer new or relocating businesses. View the many incentives available at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership web site.

LABOR MARKET DATA

Population

Gender Distribution (2007)

Race/Ethnicity (2007)

Civilian Labor Force (2007)

Labor Force Participation (2000 Census)

Unemployment

Unemployment Rate (July 2008)

Unemployed (2007)

Underemployed (2nd Quarter 2008)

Commuting Patterns (2000 Census)

Additional Labor Resources

Educational Attainment

Employment by Sector* (1st Qtr. 2008)

*By Business Establishment

Employment by Occupation* (1st Qtr. 2008)

*By Business Establishment

Major Employers

Manufacturing

Nonmanufacturing

Union Activity (1/2004 - 5/2008)

No Union Activity

Estimated Earnings (May 2007)

Per Capita Personal Income (2006)                   $27,294

Median Family Income (FY 2007)                       $51,000

EDUCATION

Public School Enrollment

Student Teacher Ratio (2006-07)

Per Pupil Expenditure (FY 2007)            $10,605.23

Workforce Development Facilities

Higher Education Facilities

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation

Interstates

Note: Measured from border of locality/region.

Highways

Highway 186 Highway 189 Highway 258 Highway 35 Highway 460 Highway 58

Note: 4-Lane US Highways located within locality/region.

Commercial Air Service

Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport, Newport News 21.8 miles (35.1 km.)

AirTran Airways Delta Air Lines Delta Connection US Airways Express

Norfolk International Airport, Norfolk 34.0 miles (54.8 km.)

American Airlines American Eagle Continental Airlines Continental Express

Delta Air Lines Northwest Airlines Southwest Airlines US Airways

US Airways Express

Richmond International Airport, Richmond 43.5 miles (70.1 km.)

Air Canada AirTran Airways American Airlines American Eagle

Comair/ Delta Connection Continental Airlines Delta Air Lines Northwest Airlines

United Airlines US Airways JetBlue Airways

Pitt-Greenville Airport, Greenville, NC 74.8 miles (120.4 km.)

US Airways

Note: Within 75 miles of nearest locality/region boundary.

General Aviation Service

Freight Rail Service

CSX Transportation

Norfolk Southern Railway Company

North Carolina & Virginia RR

Ports

Note: Measured from center of locality/region

Utilities & Communications

The Franklin Southampton region is prepared and poised for business expansion. The area provides all the appropriate utilities and communications infrastructure to meet the needs of any sized business, with a master plan incorporating commensurate growth and to accommodate new and future development ventures.

UTILITIES

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Government

Southampton County has a County Administrator and a seven-member Board of Supervisors.

Franklin City has a City Manager with six members of the City Council elected within ward districts and the Mayor elected at large.

Both localities have a comprehensive plan and zoning and subdivision ordinances.

Courtland is the county seat of Southampton County. Boykins, Branchville, Capron, Ivor, and Newsoms are other incorporated towns within the county.

Taxes

Localities in Virginia collect a 1% sales tax. They do not tax other items taxed at the State level.

Counties and cities in Virginia are separate taxing entities. Therefore, a company pays taxes to either a county or to a city.

If a company is located in a town, it pays town and county taxes except for utility taxes which are paid only to the town and the license tax which is paid only to the town unless town law permits the additional collection of a county tax.

Manufacturers pay real estate, machinery and tools, truck and automobile, utility, and sales taxes.

Nonmanufacturers pay real estate, tangible personal property, truck and automobile, utility, and sales taxes. They also may pay either a merchants' capital or a license tax.