A small but diverse economic base describes the business sector of Crawford County, which
borders the Ohio River and sits astride Interstate 64, 30 miles west of Downtown Louisville.
According to statistics as of Q1 2022, the workforce in Crawford County has relatively even
numbers of employees in its leading economic sectors: Transportation and Material Moving (12.5%),
Production (12.1%), Management (9.7%), Office and Administrative Support (9.1%), and a wide variety
of occupations constituting the remainder of the workforce.
The largest industrial employment in is the Motor Vehicle Transmission and Power Train Parts
Manufacturing sector, a dominance established by the presence of a large Jasper Engines and
Transmission production facility in the industrial park at I-64 and St. Hwy. 66.
Other economic sectors with significant numbers of employees include Animal Production,
Crushed and Broken Limestone Quarrying, General Freight Trucking, and service sectors such as Nursing
Care Facilities, Golf Courses and County Clubs, and Elementary and Secondary Schools.
Employment is distributed more diversely among ownership types in Crawford County than in
many of counties in the southern Indiana region. Although Private employers make up 61% of the
employment mix, the County has 17.6% of employment through self-employment, 16.6% in local
government and 3.6% in State and Federal Government. The prime age labor force (ages 16-64) has a
participation rate of 71.6%.
Commuters make up 28.7% of the county’s labor force, going to Harrison and Dubois Counties
most heavily, and also commuting across the Ohio River to Kentucky.
Wages in Crawford County are significantly below the national average, $35,835 versus $66,637,
but have grown at a slighter higher pace over the past decade, 3.6% annually compared to 3.4%
nationally.
The County’s GDP in 2021 was approximately $200 million.