Federal government employs 57% of workers in Martin County
A local economy that defies all expectations would be one apt description of Martin County, Indiana. A rural Southern Indiana county with a population of less than 10,000, Martin County employment features average wages of $71,661, nearly 6% higher than the national average wages of $67,777, and the employment in this county is 8,542.
One of the top industries in Martin County has averaged 2.4% annual growth over the past 10 years, a sterling record of strength. That growing employment level comes from the National Security and International Affairs sector, centered in Martin County because of the presence of the 64,000-acre NSA Crane military base.
Crane hosts CAAA Crane and NSWC Crane, two large employers with work forces comprised of federal government employees as well as private sector contractors.
National Security and International Affairs employment in Martin County reaches an astounding 138.4 Location Quotient (LQ) level, with annual growth of 380 new employees forecast to be needed. Average wages for the sector are the highest in Martin County, at $90,446.
Closely related is the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services sector of the Martin County economy, with 1,135 jobs and average wages of $72,376. NSWC Crane’s role as a federal research laboratory provides the reason for this concentration of technical talent.
The construction industry also saw a significant growth rate over the past 10 years in Martin County, with employment climbing by 18.3%, producing 337 jobs and a location quotient of 2.83, meaning the sector is nearly three times as concentrated in Martin County as it is in the rest of the nation.
Helping to diversify the Martin County economy is the presence of a strong gypsum production cluster.
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing has an LQ of 13.26, with nearly 300 jobs that have an average wage of $69,970.
The number of business establishments in Martin County has grown for the past eight years, climbing from 217 firms in 2013 to 271 firms in 2021.
Over 50% of Martin County’s jobs are identified in five top occupation groups: Business and Finance operations (14.4%), Office and Administrative Support (10.6%), Management (9.3%), Architecture and Engineering (8.4%), and Healthcare Practitioners and Technical (7.6%). The Federal Government employees 57% of the workers in the county, while the Private Sector employees 33.3%.
In addition to NSA Crane, Martin County also boasts the Martin State Forest and swaths of the Hoosier National Forest.
With incorporated towns of Shoals and Crane, as well as the city of Loogootee, Martin County provides municipal hubs as well as the wide expanses of unincorporated territory that is spread among the hills and valleys of the county.