Burke to Change Development Tiers

Burke County has been notified that for the 2015 County Development Tier designations it will qualify as a Tier Two county. From 2007 to 2014 Burke County was a Tier One county. Rankings are based on four categories: adjusted property tax base per capita, population growth, median household income, and the average unemployment rate over the most recent 12 months. Based on those individual rankings, an overall ranking from 1 to 100 is determined with 1 being the most economically distressed and 100 being the least economically distressed. Burke County ranked number 21 in the 2014 development tiers calculations. Burke County now ranks 27 based largely on a much-improved 12-month average unemployment rate ranking (number 35 in the 2014 Tiers to number 51 in the 2015 Tiers). Click here for more information from the North Carolina Department of Commerce.