The economic ripple created 25,000 jobs in the state, contributed $2.6 billion to the state’s disposable income and generated $2.9 billion each year to the state’s gross national product. Blake Wilson, the CEO of Mississippi Economic Council, stated Thursday that “we often run into people asking if economic development was worth our time.” Can we compete internationally and nationally? Is there any chance that we will even get an annual benefit from the businesses that we do receive? “I think what we’ve seen is that bringing in industry with good jobs is the best way to raise quality of life,” he said at a press conference held at the Capitol by Move Mississippi Forward, an economic development advocacy group. According to the study, Madison, Leake, and Rankin counties’ populations have grown significantly since the opening of the vehicle assembly plant. Madison County, home to the Nissan plant, saw a 37% increase in population between 2000-2015. Between 2000 and 2015, the combined population of Holmes and Hinds counties decreased by 11,000 people. Professor Domenico “Mimmo”, Parisi’s executive director, said that this is typical. “When a major industry such as Nissan moves into an area of the state, it is not uncommon to see people moving in to look for jobs and shorter travel times. The study used Regional Economic Models Inc. to examine the conditions before Nissan moved in. This was used as a baseline to assess the impact of Nissan’s arrival. The company does not disclose its employment figures so the study used publicly available information from Nissan’s State Auditor’s office. It was then compared with historical and current employment records from Mississippi Department of Employment Security. These numbers are estimated and therefore cannot be broken down into the types of jobs offered by the plant. It is impossible to know how many of these positions are filled by contractors, or whether they are permanent positions held by Nissan employees. The Mississippi State researchers used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Community Survey in order to determine how Madison and Rankin counties have median family incomes that are higher than the $65,443 national average. Madison’s family income average is $75,673. Average income in Rankin is $68,265. Rankin’s average income is $68,265.