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 While much of Cass County remains a bedroom community for Jackson County, Missouri, and Johnson County, Kansas, the region is beginning to see significant increases in retail and light industrial development. The dynamic retail corridor along Highway 58 in Belton and Raymore, new development in Belton and Harrisonville, and the dramatic potential of the former Richards-Gebaur air base are steadily leading Cass County toward significant economic expansion. Cass County’s increasing market is visible in its share of Missouri’s overall economy. Though not one of the state’s six powerhouse or fastest growing areas, Cass County has joined eight Missouri counties that display solid growth in their share of the state over the past decade, and especially the past three years—a significant accomplishment for an area that still has a population of fewer than 100,000. Two factors are driving much of Cass County’s economic expansion: strategic location and local population growth. Between 1990 and 2000, Cass County’s population grew a staggering 28.7 percent, and then increased another 14.8 percent to 2005’s estimate of 94,232. Economic growth was equally dramatic, with Cass County seeing the region’s highest increase in employment at 22.5 percent, between 1997 and 2004. Just between 2000 and 2003, non-farm employment grew at an estimated 14 percent. Although Cass County lists a few large employers, including a Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Harrisonville, more than 71 percent of the businesses employ less than 25 people. The number of these non-farm proprietors increased by 10 percent between 2000 and 2004. However, 65 percent of the county workforce continues to commute to the Kansas City metro area for employment. Cass County’s largest communities of Belton, Raymore, Harrisonville and Pleasant Hill have attracted most of this growth. Belton and Raymore are developing a major residential and retail nexus around the highways 71 and 58 area. Belton’s commercial development in the triangle between 71, 58 and Route Y reflects a significant new area, which also borders the former Richards-Gebaur base slated to become a regional intermodal trade center. |
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