Comprehensive development plan

Carroll County’s wage rate remained well below the state average and only slightly lower than the average for the Mount Rogers Planning District. By 2003, the average weekly wage had climbed to 56.5 percent of the state average, compared to 66.9 percent for the planning district. Carroll County has had a consistently lower weekly wage than the planning district for the entire period.

Table IV-H shows the average weekly wages per worker by industry sector and locality during the third quarter of 2004. Carroll County’s average wage for all industries was the lowest in the planning district. Furthermore, the City of Galax and Carroll County have the lowest average weekly wages in the manufacturing sector in the entire planning district.

Table IV-H
Average Weekly Wage
Mount Rogers Planning District Localities
Third Quarter 2004
By Industry and Percent of State
Locality	All Industries	Percent	Manufacturing	Percent	Retail	Percent
Bland	$589	77.8%	$799	101.1%	$272	60.4%
Carroll	$405	53.5%	$498	63.0%	$342	76.0%
Grayson	$420	55.5%	$639	80.9%	$285	63.3%
Smyth	$500	66.1%	$640	81.0%	$335	74.4%
Washington	$519	68.6%	$595	75.3%	$360	80.0%
Wythe	$455	60.1%	$614	77.7%	$386	85.8%
Bristol	$510	67.4%	$681	86.2%	$349	77.6%
Galax	$457	60.4%	$463	58.6%	$363	80.7%
Source: Virginia Employment Commission

C. Tax Base

Real estate and personal property in Carroll County represent the two major sources of income available to the county. These two indicators provide a good measure of the overall economic base and relative wealth of the county’s citizens. The following tables compare real estate fair market values and personal property values between 1998 and 2003. As can be seen in the table IV-I, real estate fair market values and fair market values per capita in the county have grown at a much slower rate than in the Commonwealth. However, personal property values, shown in Table IV-J, grew at a much faster rate than personal property values in the state.

Table IV-I
Fair Market Value of Real Estate
Carroll County
1998 and 2003
	Carroll County			Virginia
	1998	2003	Percent Change	Percent Change
Fair Market Value	$955,806,400	$1,082,787,000	13.3%	52.1%
Fair Market Value Per Capita	$32,846	$36,705	11.7%	42.8%
Source: Virginia Department of Taxation