Forsyth Futures, with support from Forsyth County and the Winston-Salem Foundation, is conducting a community focused local food system assessment for Forsyth County.The assessment will provide an understanding of the current state of local food in Forsyth County in order to maximize the social and economic impact of the local food system. Learn More.

Input/Output prospectus now available!

Associated Artists of Winston-Salem and Forsyth Futures have received an Innovative Project Grant from the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County to present Input/Output: The Art of Visual Data Making. Forsyth County artists will be invited to submit artwork utilizing creative data visualization to illuminate significant issues facing Winston-Salem/Forsyth County residents. Forsyth Futures has selected three indicators for artists to chose from. Learn more about selected indicators. The resulting juried exhibition will be on view in the AAWS Gallery in June and July 2012, and will then travel to two other venues. View Prospectus

Forsyth County has made progress in the death rates for cancer as well as cerebrovascular and heart disease, but problems are emerging with obesity and suicide rates, according to county data released Tuesday. Read More.

Date: Jan. 25, 2012 

Source: Winston-Salem Journal

In Forsyth County, nearly one out of four children younger than 18 live below the poverty level, half the people 25 or older have only a high school degree, and about 40 percent of the jobs are in the blue-collar, service-oriented arena. Read More

Forsyth Futures held a community table conversation on local data and issues impacting the quality of life in Forsyth County, NC. The event included discussions of the 2011-2012 Making Progress Reports and launch of the new website/community knowledge portal. see event video

Local 10th-graders beat state and national test score averages across the board last year on PLAN, a standardized test given for the first time this school year to North Carolina's high school sophomores. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County students beat the averages — though usually not by much — in all of the test's four subjects: English, math, reading and science.   Read More.

Date: April 30, 2012 

Source: Winston-Salem Journal

The unemployment rate fell in 98 out of the 100 counties in North Carolina in March compared to February, including in all counties in the Triad. According to the N.C. Division of Employment Security, the statewide unemployment rate in March was 9.6 percent, down from 10.1 percent in February and 10.4 percent in March of 2011. In the Triad, Guilford County's unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent from 9.9 percent in February and 10.5 percent in March 2011. Forsyth County had an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent, down from 9.2 percent in February and 9.8 percent a year earlier.   Read More.

Date: April 27, 2012 

Source: The Business Journal

Sales of existing homes in the Forsyth County area rose 4.4 percent from February to March, the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The number of homes sold last month was 400, compared with 383 in February. Sales last month increased 2.8 from 389 in March 2011. Read More.

Date: April 25, 2012 

Source: Winston-Salem Journal

More U.S. homes are entering the foreclosure process, setting the stage for a surge in properties repossessed by lenders this year. That trend includes North Carolina where nearly 3,700 properties are now at some stage in the foreclosure process, a jump from 2,992 in February and 2,541 in January. The North Carolina number includes 822 in Wake County (up from 485 in February), the second highest total in the state behind Mecklenburg at 867. Guilford is third at 434 followed by Forsyth at 301.   Read More.

Date: April 12, 2012 

Source: WRAL.com

The state grew by 1.3 percent from 2010 to 2011, but new US Census Bureau estimates show that 44 of the state's 100 counties — including most in Northwest North Carolina — lost residents.

Forsyth County grew by 4,282 people from 2010 to 2011, according to the estimates, reaching a total population of 354,952. The growth rate of 1.2 percent was slightly lower than the state average.   Read More.

Date: April 5, 2012 

Source: Winston-Salem Journal