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Area among top stressed counties

But economic index doesn’t say all bad things about Unifour

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By Ragan Robinson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: November 8, 2009

HICKORY - Catawba, Alexander, Burke and Caldwell rank in the top tier of economically stressed counties.

The stress index is a project by The Associated Press, which takes into account unemployment rates and foreclosure and bankruptcy data. The higher the number, the worse shape a county is in.

North Carolina's median stress rating is 11.6. Catawba, Burke and Alexander come in several points higher. Caldwell's assigned stress number is about a point higher.

High unemployment rates, regardless of recent improvement, help earn those high scores.

Median is the middle ground, meaning about half of the counties are above the number and about half are below.

The stress index doesn't say all bad things about the Unifour.

Highest scores were mainly in states that endured housing booms and busts. Nevada earned the highest stress rating of 21.95.

That's not been a problem in the Catawba County area, where we never had a housing bubble with skyrocketing home prices, said Michael Dugan, a business professor at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

"I facetiously say to my friends the value of my house didn't go down that much," Dugan said. "But it didn't go up in 20 years, either."

Relatively low foreclosure and bankruptcy rates also help North Carolina keep its head above water, said Taylor Dellinger, who works with the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.

Lower housing prices mean fewer people in the area got into bad loans, Dellinger said.

Dugan sees other reasons foreclosure numbers are on the low side when compared to national rates.
He points to good judgment from area banks and lending institutions.

Dugan also thinks a tendency toward self-sufficiency is evident in the local business community and in Catawba County residents.

"I have lived in eight or nine different areas and I've never seen any more self-reliant than the business community in Hickory," he said. "They seem to hunker down and bear it."