Periodically, we get asked how does Morgan Hill differ from Gilroy and why do some businesses locate in Morgan Hill as opposed to Gilroy and visa versa.
In previous columns, I discussed the factors a company may consider in locating its business to a community. I thought it might be interesting to compare Morgan Hill to Gilroy from a demographic perspective. This comparison isn’t meant to imply that one community is better than another, but there are clearly defined differences between the communities. A company will take these factors into consideration if they are choosing between the two communities.
Before I begin, data was obtained from the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance (SVEDA) Web site
(“http://www.siliconvalleyprospector.com” www.siliconvalleyprospector.com). The cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy are both members of SVEDA. This Web site contains information on properties available for sale or lease in both Morgan Hill and Gilroy. You can also generate demographic information for each site listed in one-mile radius increments. The data for my column was obtained by selecting a business in the centermost section of each city and using a radius of five miles to generate the data (please note that a five-mile radius may include areas outside of a city).
Age/Ethnicity
The data shows that overall, Morgan Hill has an older population than Gilroy.
About 46 percent of Morgan Hill residents are 40 years and older. In comparison, about 39 percent of Gilroy’s residents are 40 years or older.
In terms of race, the distribution of Caucasians in Morgan Hill is higher than Gilroy’s, with Morgan Hill’s at about 57 percent and Gilroy’s at about 42 percent. About 35 percent of Gilroy’s population is Latino. Morgan Hill’s is about 23 percent.
Income
It appears that Morgan Hill residents have a significantly higher income than Gilroy residents. In Morgan Hill, about 48 percent of the households earn more than a $100,000 in annual income. In Gilroy that percentage is about 32 percent.
Labor Force
The labor force for Morgan Hill is slightly higher than that of Gilroy’s, with Morgan Hill employing a total of 24,284 and Gilroy a total of 22,660. Unemployment for Morgan Hill and Gilroy was 8.3 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively.
Education
Morgan Hill residents have attained higher educations with about 39 percent of its residents obtaining bachelor and master degrees compared to Gilroy’s 30 percent.
Business/Workforce
Both cities have comparable numbers when comparing business size. In both Morgan Hill and Gilroy, more than 60 percent of the businesses employ between one and four employees. However, there is a significant difference in two particular industries between Morgan Hill and Gilroy in terms of the numbers employed. Morgan Hill employs 22 percent in manufacturing, while Gilroy only employs 9 percent. Gilroy’s strength is in retail trade, employing 34 percent. Morgan Hill only employs 19 percent in the same industry.
Consumer Expenditures
Consumer expenditures are defined as how much a household spends per year for specific goods and services. Considering that overall median-incomes were higher in Morgan Hill, it is not surprising that consumer expenditures were higher in Morgan Hill than in Gilroy in all categories measured. I selected two interesting categories for comparison.
In the food and beverage category, which includes food at home, food away from home, and alcoholic beverages, Morgan Hill residents spent about $12,000 per household in 2006. All households spent a combined total of $177 million in 2006. In comparison, Gilroy households spent $9,500 per household for a total of $123 million in 2006. It appears an average Morgan Hill household spent about 25 percent more for food and beverage than the average Gilroy household in 2006.
The most intriguing category is “gifts” which has nine sub-categories including gifts of food and beverages, apparel, recreation, and education. It should be noted that there are separate categories for apparel and food/beverages so I have no idea what gifts mean (gift cards? maybe a topic for a future column?). Under this category, Gilroy households spent $1,700 per household in 2006 and a total of $22.2 million for the year. In comparison, Morgan Hill residents spent $2,500 per household in 2006 and $36.6 million for the year. It appears that Morgan Hill households spent over 45 percent more than Gilroy households. So what does this mean? I don’t know other than my Morgan Hill friends should note that I’m waiting for my gifts of food and beverage.
What does all this data mean? Other than an interesting comparison, nothing, unless you’re looking for a specific trait in a community before moving your business or residence here.
Garrett Toy is the director of business assistance and housing services (BAHS) for the City of Morgan Hill. BAHS is responsible for the city’s economic development, redevelopment and affordable housing activities. Should you have any questions, comments or suggestions for this column, feel free to e-mail Garrett at garrett.toy @morganhill, ca gov.
