Salisbury has been ranked the country’s seventh-fastest growing job market, and the city also is the only place on the Delmarva Peninsula with a growing population, according to recently released reports.

Salisbury added 3,381 permanent residents between 2010 and 2016, while the rest of the Peninsula — including the remainder of Wicomico County and all of Worcester, Somerset, Talbot, Caroline, Kent, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s and southern Cecil counties — lost 463 permanent residents during the same period, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released this month.

“Population growth cannot occur without job growth, and the numbers reflect a significant, steady increase in our population,” said Mayor Jake Day. “Salisbury is the only place on the peninsula that people are moving into, and we’re the fastest growing municipality in the state, which is in direct relation to the growth of our job market.”

Another report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Council on Metro Economics & the New American City places Salisbury at seventh in the nation in job growth, with a 4.2 percent increase in employment in 2016.

While the reports are encouraging, former resident Sean Ryan questioned the job numbers considering Labinal Power Systems laid off roughly 500 workers in 2015.

“My wife and I have since left Salisbury and the Eastern Shore because of job losses and the lack of suitable replacement jobs and we both worked for manufacturing companies,” he said.

Most of the jobs in Salisbury are coming from four sectors: manufacturing, higher education, agriculture and health care, said Dave Ryan, director of Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development.

“They’re terrific sectors to be in today,” he said.

Additionally, Salisbury’s location at the crossroads of two main highways means it has a strong retail presence, Ryan said.

All of this news comes as the city rolls out its “Growing, Building, Working” campaign both in print and online. The ad push will spread the news of Salisbury’s exponentially expanding job market and resurgent economy through the eyes of real business owners and citizens.

The first ad in the series will feature local builder Jamie Gladden, owner of Gladden Construction, which recently broke ground on the first new single-family development inside city limits in a decade. The company cited the city’s impact fee moratorium as one of the primary factors which led to it choosing Aydelotte Farm as its building location.

“With the moratorium on impact fees we are able to keep our pricing and community appealing to potential homebuyers that otherwise would not look for housing within city limits. As long as there are buyers we will keep building,” said Gladden.



Ryan said Salisbury is still relatively undiscovered, but that is changing.

“It’s just a great area,” he said. “I think our best days are ahead.”

On Twitter @LizHolland5