Community Competitive Initiative

Success is not guaranteed.

Key Statistics & Opportunities for Improvement

387

MSAs Competing for Investment & Talent

1,140

Disconnected Youth Ages 16 – 19

(2010 – 2022)

6,650

Income-Aligned Housing Units Needed

44th

Ranking, KY Venture Capital Dispersed

Identifying Critical Needs for a More Competitive NKY

Future economic success for any community is not guaranteed, so BE NKY launched our Community Competitive Initiative in July 2023 with the goal of identifying risks and challenges to the region’s prosperity, aligning stakeholders on desired outcomes, and identifying actions to achieve those outcomes.

As part of this initiative, BE NKY commissioned “Population and Labor Force Trends and Future Projections,” a study by Janet Harrah and student fellows at the Center for Economic Analysis and Development (CEAD) at the Haile College of Business at Northern Kentucky University.

BE NKY leaders and board members met with more than 100 business executives at over 40 “strategic base” companies, those with significant numbers of employees in important industry sectors, to ascertain their perspective on the region’s competitiveness and the outlook for their business.

BE NKY conducted post-event surveys at our 2024 Annual Forum and in April 2024, in partnership with Economic Leadership, released “Navigating Change & Charting a Course to a More Competitive Northern Kentucky,” a five-year strategic analysis that identified five critical needs for our region’s continued economic success and recommended strategies for improvement.

Five Critical Needs for Continued Prosperity in Northern Kentucky

Talent Growth

Attract, retain, and increase skill alignment in Northern Kentucky.

Planned Housing & Infrastructure Growth

Develop coordinated plans for additional housing and infrastructure to support it.

Regional Brand

Create and promote a recognized regional brand for Northern Kentucky.

Entrepreneurship Growth

Leverage entrepreneurship as an economic development driver to diversify the economy and build regional wealth.

Private, Public Collaboration

Improve collaboration among the public and private sectors to achieve results.

Progress is Being Made

BE NKY, EducateNKY and The Spirit of Construction Foundation invested $860,000 in local education organizations to address Talent Growth.
BE NKY works with the NKY Area Development District, which commissioned a study to understand the state of housing inventory in NKY and cost as related to the region’s job market, household demographics, and commuting patterns to address the need for new housing.
meetNKY and BE NKY are working together to launch a regional Northern Kentucky brand and narrative to promote the region and attract new talent.
SparkHaus, owned by the NKY Port Authority and the home of entrepreneurship, opens in September 2025 and unites startups and venture capital company eGateway Capital under one roof.
Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties and several cities in Northern Kentucky launched Transportation Improvement Districts (TIDs) to address infrastructure improvements. Each TID has a board made up of private and public sector leaders.

The goal of the Community Competitive Initiative is to educate, collaborate and take action with our community’s civic and business executives to ensure the region is competitive and prosperity continues for future generations.

Community Competitive Initiative

Success is not guaranteed.

Key Statistics & Opportunities for Improvement

Identifying Critical Needs for a More Competitive NKY