Advantage Spokane

Spokane Region, a thriving urban metropolitan hub that offers an available workforce, business-friendly climate and collaborative spirit to fuel your business’s success.

THE SPOKANE ADVANTAGE

TALENT PIPELINE

STEM Education through K-12 and Post-Secondary Education

77,000 Students 3 Colleges 8 Regional Universities

256,490

Spokane’s three colleges and eight universities boast 24 Associates/Certificates programs, 31 Baccalaureate and 42 Post Secondary degrees in engineering creating a robust talent pipeline.

DOING BUSINESS

The Spokane region combines a business-friendly community, small-town quality of life and big-city resources to create a welcoming environment for manufacturing.

Cost of doing business is 18% lower than the US average

Industry Associations (INWAC, Ignite NW, GSI, etc.)

Business Environment

Average commute time and time to permit new construction permit are lower than US average. Low-cost and reliable power and water

Nonstop airline service to 20 destinations in the US

WORKFORCE

The Spokane region o ers programs to benefit all stages of training and ensure the continued development of a highly engaged, motivated workforce equipped with ready-to-work skills.

BUSINESS AFTERSCHOOL AND TEACHING THE TEACHERS

Career connected learning experiences that expose students and educators to local careers and real-world skills through di erent methods and levels of engagement.

CAREER CONNECT WASHINGTON REGIONAL NETWORK

We serve as the convener and collaborator for the seven eastern Washington counties in Educational Services District (ESD) 101 to develop and align a career connected learning system for youth and young adults.

GREATER MINDS

An initiative of GSI that supports working adults returning to school to finish or begin their degrees or certificates and helps students distinguish the education pathways and programs that best meet their needs and lifestyles.

SPOKANE STEM NETWORK

An initiative of GSI and one of the 10 regional networks across the state that works closely with statewide partner, Washington STEM.

EDUCATION GROWS ECONOMIES

GSI organizes and leads the regional Education Grows Economies campaign to support the passage of 13 local K-12 public school districts bonds and levies. 60% by 2025 Education Attainment Goal For Spokane County 40% in 2015

52.9% for 2021*

SUCCESS

The manufacturing community in our area is deep and broad. Here, you will find a welcoming and supportive network of businesses, with a passion for cutting-edge technology. 1581 manucatiuring enterprises have made our region their home.

“One of the best things about our manufacturing community in the Spokane area is the level of collaboration with our local supply chain. By partnering together on significant opportunities, we are able to bring in projects that would be di cult to secure as stand-alone businesses”

“Spokane has been a great environment to enable Servatron to grow from a start-up to what is now part of a multinational integrated manufacturing corporation. Over the course of 21 years, Spokane has provided a great source of labor, manufacturing space, and a local network of highly capable supply chain partners.”

“As a manufacturer serving numerous industries, Altek has been able to grow over the decades because of the win/win approach of Spokane’s business community. Spokane’s local government and industry leadership are consistent and purposeful, leading to a strong local economy and beneficial economic impacts for businesses of all sizes.”

“The PNW is a fantastic place for our manufacturing because of the proximity to easy transportation; we have a port close, rail lines, I-90 for trucking and airports all around us. The quality lifestyle of our four seasons – mountains, lakes, rivers – is what has drawn the massive influx of workers to the area for the past several

“Being a manufacturer that services industries worldwide, Spokane has been the best choice for our relocation. The INW has been very welcoming and has displayed that it is constantly investing in its community and its businesses, which makes the people want to reinvest into the Spokane community. The people and local agencies here are so relational and always willing to help to make sure you’re set up for success. For us Spokane has been a one stop shop in terms of having all our suppliers in one community. This has allowed us to decrease our lead times to our customers by an incredible amount of time. The diversity of Spokane and all that it has to o er from all four seasons to the extensive number of outdoor activities has really helped our families and employees to fully enjoy where they live, which in return makes them better employees and enjoy coming to work.”

CONNECTED SPOKANE

SPOKANE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

A commercial service airport served by Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United and air cargo carriers including Amazon, USPS, FedEx, and UPS.

FELTS FIELD

A general aviation municipal airport located in the City of Spokane with over 250 based aircraft, 68 tenants, and more than 60,000 annual aircraft operations.

SPOKANE CROSSROADS

Spokane serves as a hub for a host of trucking companies. The city sits at the crossroads of Interstate 90, a major east-west freeway that stretches all the way from Seattle to New York, U.S. 2, and north-south corridors U.S. 195 and 395.

RAILROADS

Spokane County is served by Union Pacific and BNSF railroads. Both railroads ship nationally out of the Spokane Valley switching yard. On the direct Seattle to Chicago line for both railroads, Spokane is the gateway to and from the interior U.S. and the Pacific rim, with e cient east-west access and reciprocal switching capabilities.

INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

The greater Spokane region is known for it’s “all boats rise” approach to business development.

INNOVIA FOUNDATION

From providing job skills, training for refugees, or developing a commercial kitchen for local entrepreneurs, groups like the Innovia Foundation show the “neighbors helping neighbors” spirit that extends across both business and public sectors in our region.

INWAC

The Inland Northwest Aerospace Alliance, headquartered in Spokane, pulls together aerospace manufacturing companies along the I90 corridor from Yakima, WA to Bozeman, MT. In addition to a major regional aerospace conference held in our area every year, they help GSI and other local entities with business recruiting e orts and lobby for manufacturing interests on the East side of our state. Their members with complementary capabilities frequently work together to pursue major aerospace projects in the Boeing ecosystem.

The greater Spokane region is leading in today’s and tomorrow’s industries.