Making Oakland County the Economic Engine of Michigan L. Brooks Patterson has been working hard to develop the right strategy with the right people to implement. His progressive approach to running County government has yielded success for greater than his peers in similar large metropolitan centers.
- Oakland County is the 2nd wealthiest county in per capita income ($42,378) for counties over one million population in the U.S.
- Employment in Oakland County comprises over 32 percent of the total employment in southeast Michigan.
- Among the 216 large suburban counties, Oakland County rates as the top performing overall economy of the 1990s.
- In 2000, Oakland County became the first County in Michigan with property wealth exceeding $100 billion.
- Oakland County's $9 billion increase in real property value in 2000 was 33 percent larger than the total tax base of the average Michigan County.
- Since the early 1980s, Oakland County property values have grown from $23.3 billion to $104.8 billion.
- Oakland County's more than 53,000 business produce a combined annual payroll of $26.6 billion, which is a GDP greater than 19 states.
- Oakland County led Michigan in 2000 in new plants and expansions with 491 to help the state win the Governor's Cup Award presented by Site Selection Magazine for the fourth consecutive year.
- Between 1997-2000 nearly 100 new development projects went on the books, including six North American headquarters and four world headquarters.