Top Clusters
Health and Wellness
Since its earliest days attracting visitors to its thermal waters, Greater Hot Springs has been a regional hub for health and wellness. Today, healthcare is the single largest economic sector of the region, employing 17.4 percent of the workforce. Hot Springs is home to two JCAH-accredited acute-care hospitals, CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs and National Park Medical Center, with satellite centers that offer numerous specialty practices. Levi Hospital offers both outpatient physical rehabilitation services and inpatient psychiatric services. Hot Springs is also a great fit for sports training, diagnostic labs and life sciences, as well as related business activities.
Advanced Manufacturing
Almost 10 percent of the region’s 73,000-member private labor force is employed in manufacturing operations. Major manufacturing clusters include forest products, aviation/aerospace, metal fabrications and plastics. The region’s Interstate 30 access is a plus, connecting the nation’s busiest cargo airport (Memphis) to one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing urban areas (Dallas-Fort Worth).
Hospitality and Tourism
Tourism is the engine that drives the economy of the areas surrounding Hot Springs National Park, and the engine is running strong. With a varied menu of entertainment and sporting opportunities, the Hot Springs area offers enough choices to keep 3 million visitors coming to the city and its surroundings every year.
Hot Springs recently expanded and renovated its Civic and Convention Center, making it one of the best facilities of its kind in the United States. Tourism-related businesses locating to the area may be eligible for some new impressive tax incentives offered by the state. The National Park Service also offers an attractive lease program for several historic Bathhouses in downtown Hot Springs with excellent tax incentives.
Professional and Business Services
Greater Hot Springs is ideally suited as a regional hub for professional services and is a great location for branch offices of expanding Little Rock firms that seek a wider state presence. The area already has a strong back office/business services presence with companies that include Weyerhaeuser.
Information Technology & Software Development
Whether it’s big data or software firms, Greater Hot Springs is a great match for IT businesses. For data services firms, you’ll find affordable rates in buildings offering ample specialized amenities (such as large floor plates and under-floor wiring). For software firms, Greater Hot Springs has an eclectic offering of business space—from historic renovations to live/work spaces to dedicated technology office parks.