The St. Joseph County Economic Development Corporation in partnership with the Michigan State University Extension Office contracted with the W.E. UpJohn Institute, Kalamazoo, Michigan in March of 2001 to compare the economic climate of the County with fourteen other counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. The selected counties possess similar attributes as those of St. Joseph County. The purpose of the study is to provide benchmarks to gauge the economic well-being of the County and to identify the County's economic strengths and weaknesses. Four types of indicators were used in the study: Baseline Indicators, Economic Conditions Indicators, Economic Performance Indicators and capacity Indicators. The results of the fifty-seven page study indicate that St. Joseph County is well positioned to meet the current and future needs of the residents and businesses in the region . Benchmark Study Documents Available in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may download it for free below: