:. Forsyth Futures .:

Residents can care for themselves and their families; are not depended on government assistance, are employed if employable, can pay for housing, groceries, daycare and other life necessities.

2. Indicators / Measures

2008 Indicator	2008 Measure	2009 Indicator	2009 Measure
Affordable Homes	Housing Opportunity Index	Affordable Housing	Local tax rates for residents of Forsyth County.
			Median prices of home sales in dollars for the local communities and benchmark areas for Forsyth County in the past year.
			Housing costs.
Below Poverty level	Percent of residents at the poverty level.	Income Levels	Poverty Level.
			Median income.
			Average income.
Below 200 Percent Poverty level	Percent of residents below 200 poverty level.		Income per capita.
			Number of persons receiving Food and Nutritional support.
			Basic working family budget.
			Household Incomes.
Net Job Growth [County Profile: Employment]	Number of Jobs in two consecutive years divided by the number from the first year.	Labor Force	Average commute time.
			Number of paid employees/ Percent change of paid employees.
	Employers by Industry.		Unemployment rate
		Employers	Forsyth County occupational structure.
			Number of paid employees for Forsyth County and other benchmark areas.
			Average weekly wages among different agencies.

3. Key Current Realities Together

Income Levels

The average income for all household types (families, singles, and non-relatives residing together combined) in Forsyth County increased by 0.4% from 2007 ($64,147) to 2008 ($64,422) which is less than the 4.9% increase from 2006 to 2007.
The average income for Forsyth County families, increased by 3.6% from 2007 ($75,274) to 2008 ($77,991) which is consistent with the 3.1% increased from 2006 to 2007.
The median income or midpoint of all income levels from 2006-2008 was $46, 912 with a range of median incomes noted by household types from $30,518 (single and non-relatives households) to $75,003 (married couples).
While 8% of all households had a median income of $10,000 or less, 3.5% had a median income of $200,000 or greater.

In 2008, approximately 38.9% of the households in Forsyth County lived below the needed Economic Policy Institute calculated basic family budget (living wage) of $44,225 per year needed for a Forsyth County family (2 adults/2 children); for Wake County the figure is $48,635 and for Mecklenburg the figure is $46,820.
In August 2009, 40,642 Forsyth County residents were receiving Food and Nutritional services support, as compared to January 2009 when 34,779 residents were receiving this support. This represents a 16.9% increase. North Carolina experienced a 13.05% increase for the same time period.

Labor Force

As of September 2009, the Forsyth County labor force was 174,187 with an employed workforce of 157,598 and unemployed of 16,589. The total labor force in North Carolina is 4,527,091, of which 472,429 are unemployed.
Forsyth County unemployment decreased from 9.8% (August 2009) to 9.5% (September, 2009).
Forsyth County was fourth among the top five counties in North Carolina receiving the highest amount of unemployment insurance benefits. In September, the leaders were: Mecklenburg ($24.1 million), Wake ($18.6 million), Guilford ($11.5 million), Forsyth ($7 million) and Gaston ($6.4 million). A total of $233.8 million in benefits was paid to 204,303 individuals statewide in September 2009, compared with $217.8 million to 218,257 individuals in August.
As of September 2009, Forsyth County had an unemployment rate of 9.5% compared to Currituck County, the state’s lowest unemployment rate (5%) and Scotland County the highest unemployment rate (16.5%). The Winston-Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area had a rate of 9.8 percent, down from 10 percent.
The average commute time for Forsyth County residents in 2008 was 19.6 minutes which is one minute less than the 2007 estimate.
Of the 164,404 members of the labor force in Forsyth County in 2008, 82.5% of the labor force drove to work alone while 8.8% drove in car pools. 2.7% worked at home, 2.3% walked to work, 2% took public transportation while 1.7% got to work by other means. .
Comparing July 2008 to July 2009, Forsyth County lost 7,810 jobs, representing 4.7% of all paid employees which is slightly lower than the North Carolina rate of 4.9% for the all paid positions lost.
In the first quarter of 2009, Forsyth County ranked 3^rd or 4^th (out of 5) for average weekly wages in 11 out of 16 industry categories compared to benchmark counties (Durham, Guildford, Mecklenburg, and Wake). The exceptions for this trend were ranking as the highest for average weekly wage in the Educational sector and as the lowest for the real estate/rental leasing, information (e.g., publishing, broadcasting, telecommunication, library/archiving, data processing), public administration, and arts/entertainment industries.

Housing Affordability

Median home sale prices were up in 4 out of the 8 incorporated areas in Forsyth County when comparing home sale prices for the same month (August) in 2008 and 2009. For the same time period, the Winston-Salem median home sale price was down by $10,000, while for Clemmons it was up by $22,000.
The median mortgage stayed approximately the same for Forsyth County homeowners in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
In 2008, 29% of owners with mortgages and 45% of renters in Forsyth County spent 30% or more of household income on housing costs (excludes utilities). This cost burden was also experienced by 9% percent of owners without mortgages due to costs such as taxes and home owner’s association fees.
For the time period of 2006 to 2008, for housing to not be a cost burden required a yearly household income of approximately $50,000 if housing costs were based on the average mortgage for Forsyth County.

For the time period of 2006 to 2008, for housing to not be a cost burden required a yearly household income of approximately $26,000 if the housing costs were based on average rental payment for Forsyth County.
The 2009 county tax rate is 2^nd lowest amongst the 5 most populous counties in North Carolina
The county tax rate decreased from 2008 to 2009. It was 0.696 per $100 valuation for 2008 versus .0674 per $100 valuation for 2009.
City/Municipality total tax rates [county tax rate + fire district tax rate (if applicable) + city/town tax rate (if applicable)] ranged from .0674 (King) to 1.1715 (Kernersville) per $100 valuation.

Employers

The top six employers have not changed for the past two years (first quarter comparison).
For the past 18 months, the top employers in Forsyth County are in the Health Services and Education sectors accounting for 26% of the county’s labor force in 2008.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools have been the largest employer in Forsyth County for the past two years (first quarter comparison).
The largest manufacturing employer in Forsyth County for the past two years has been RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Manufacturing (first quarter comparison).
As of June 2009, 902 more job losses, closing and layoffs were evidenced than the total for 2008.
The July 2009 the number of business closings is approximately the same number for all of 2008.
In 2008, the total retail businesses (With Food/Drink) was 2,852, the total private establishments was 9,067, and the total manufacturing establishments was 364.
As of September 2009, 555 non-profit [501 3(c)] organizations and 592 churches (denomination-specific/non-denominational churches) with at least one employee (with varying employment status, hours of work, and compensable hours) were registered with the Internal Revenue Service.
Management, Professional and Related Occupations composed the largest (37%) sector of the employment types in Forsyth County in 2008.