LVEDC named top economic development agency for second year

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. has once again been named one of the best in the country.

For the second year in a row, the economic development organization serving Lehigh and Northampton counties was named one of the Top 20 economic development agencies in the U.S. by Site Selection Magazine.

It was the only economic development agency in the Northeast region to be recognized and joins much larger metropolitan areas on the list, according to the LVEDC. Other winners include Dallas, Houston, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Savannah, Ga., Charlotte, N.C., and Austin, Texas.

“This award really recognizes the tremendous economic success of the Lehigh Valley and all the employers, governments and organizations that have helped to make it happen,” said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of the agency.

Adam Jones-Kelley, president of Conway, Inc. and publisher of Site Selection, said the Top 20 distinction not only reflects economic and job creation successes from the past year, but may also indicate which economies will lead the global recovery following the coronavirus pandemic.

This wasn’t the Lehigh Valley’s only recognition from Site Selection this year. The magazine also ranked Lehigh Valley the third-best region in the Northeast as part of its Governor’s Cup Awards. Lehigh Valley outranked such regions as Boston and Pittsburgh. The Lehigh Valley ranked among the Top 5 regions nationwide with a population between 200,000 and 1 million.