DETROIT, Mich. (March 20, 2025) – The Detroit Regional Partnership (DRP), an economic development organization (EDO) focused on marketing and growing the 11-county Detroit Region, released its 2024 annual report today, as it celebrated its five-year anniversary. The report, released during the DRP’s annual meeting at the Shinola Hotel in Detroit, includes updates on the organization’s work to build stronger communities in the Detroit Region by attracting jobs and investment.
Since 2020, the DRP has helped attract 121 projects that created an estimated $9.4 billion in investment and more than 36,500 jobs with an average wage of $68,819 per year. In its first five years of operations, the organization is already nearing its 2030 goals of attracting 50,000 new jobs and $10 billion in new investment.
“After five full years, the Detroit Regional Partnership’s accomplishments speak volumes. With corporate, civic, and philanthropic support, we have created a nationally recognized economic development organization and a more vibrant Detroit Region,” said DRP Chair Gerry Anderson. “The DRP has brought jobs and opportunity, helped retain and attract talent, and ultimately led to stronger communities. We are working to build a region where our children and grandchildren can stay and thrive.”
Among the jobs created through DRP-supported projects include nearly 8,000 pathway jobs. These are jobs that do not require a college degree but provide an avenue to enter and advance through the workforce to pursue higher-paying jobs and careers, while strengthening the region’s talent pool.
“Economic development is about bringing jobs and investment to our communities, and we are proud to be promoting the Detroit Region to companies around the world,” said Maureen Donohue Krauss, president and CEO of the DRP. “The global market is as competitive as ever. We are committed to working with our partners across all 11 counties to maintain our global automotive and mobility leadership while nurturing new emerging technologies and industries to attract innovative companies and talent to our home region.”
Also highlighted in the annual report are examples of large-scale investments the DRP has supported in the region. These include: EV startup Lucid Motor’s $10-million R&D facility in Southfield, Niagara Bottling’s $103 million investment in Shelby Township and a $232 million investment creating 600 jobs from Fortescue, the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer.
In 2024, the DRP also won the 2024 Economic Development Organization of the Year award from the International Economic Development Council. The complete 2024 annual report is available for download here.
About the Detroit Regional Partnership
Launched in 2019, the Detroit Regional Partnership (DRP) is a public-private, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit economic development partnership focused on marketing and business attraction for the 11-county Detroit Region. The DRP works to attract investment in the region from out-of-state and international companies, serves as a convenient single point of contact for all regional resources and works with companies and site selectors to help manage their projects and support their transition into the region. It specializes in helping companies understand and access the competitive advantages of our region – from workforce data to state and local incentives.
