On one hand, Cadiz and Trigg County offers its citizens a wide spectrum of career opportunities in key fields like the military, law enforcement, agriculture, automotive, light industry, health care, education and outdoor recreation.
On the other hand, the small Pennyrile community often finds its residents seeking lucrative jobs elsewhere in Hopkinsville, Oak Grove, Clarksville, Guthrie and perhaps further — chasing any number of factors like higher pay, improved personal satisfaction or just a simple desire for new beginnings and experiences.
It is the power of choice, however, that typically keeps a populace pleased, and South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council Executive Director Carter Hendricks tried to bring both hands together during Monday night’s discussion with the Trigg County Fiscal Court.
Trigg County, he said, continues to be a “less taxing, more relaxing” location for people to live, work, play and eventually retire.
However, new companies coming to Christian and Todd counties will employ roughly 8-to-15% of their respective work forces from places like Rockcastle, Cerulean, Wallonia and Cadiz — and don’t mind doing so.
Australia’s Kitchen Food Company is headed to the Commerce Park II spec building — and with it come 900-plus jobs and $69 million in capital investment.
Also in Commerce Park II, Cinis Fertilizer remains adjacent and symbiotic to Ascend Elements, and with it comes 125 jobs and $150 million in capital investment. Hendricks confirmed the latter has slowed construction and trimmed down to 20 employees, but has already invested more than $600 million in current efforts and is still expected to ramp up to $1 billion in regional expenditures and 400 jobs by 2027.
Buc-ee’s, America’s favorite gasoline and merchandising metroplex, is coming to Oak Grove — and with it comes 300 jobs and $75 million in capital investment.
Toyota Boshoku, located near the Walmart Distribution Center, already has 50 jobs rolling and another 80-plus promised by Q4 this year, as construction is 95% complete and a December 9 grand opening approaches.
Taking this rough estimate of 1,750 new jobs already announced, it means anywhere between 140 and 265 Trigg Countians better sharpen their resumes.
This doesn’t mean, however, that good jobs and businesses aren’t coming to Trigg County in the future, or don’t already exist.
In fact, Hendricks noted that Trigg County’s Real Property Tax Rate continues to dip along the compensating rate — consistently at 8% from 2016 to 2022 before falling in three consecutive fiscal years.
This — he said, along with improving property values — is a positive trend for companies interested in relocating here.
These new job estimates don’t even include Novelis or the dozens of industries already located in Christian and Todd counties, nor does it include Montgomery County and the greater Clarksville/Fort Campbell area, nor the upcoming developments in Calloway, Marshall, Hopkins, Crittenden, Caldwell or Crittenden counties.
According to the 2023 US Census estimate, the average career commute for people who live in Trigg County is 25.4 minutes one-way, a minute higher than the state average.
For reference, it’s 18 minutes in Christian County, and it’s 27 minutes in Todd County.
These employer relationships are relative to distance, Hendricks added, and can be reciprocal.
Hendricks also reminded magistrates and Judge-Executive Stan Humphries that from 2020-2023, and also according to 2023 US Census estimates, Elkton is the third fastest-growing city in Kentucky — up 8.3% in population — while Cadiz is the sixth fastest at a 6.9%.
