Governor Cooper announced $1.5 million in grant funding to connect employees to good-paying jobs in North Carolina. Six local partnerships across NC, including Wilkes County, are the recipients of grant funding. The $98,013 grant in Wilkes includes several community partners and will support the development of an action plan for rural workforce transportation in the area. For more information click here.
The 2019 Average Annual Wage for Wilkes County is now $35,331, up from $34,599 in 2018. This wage number is used as a benchmark when applying for State funding. Click here for a complete listing of average annual wages for all counties in NC.
North Carolina’s personal income tax rate of 5.5% dropped to 5.25% in 2019. The state’s 3% corpo-rate tax dropped to 2.5%. Families filing jointly and earning up to $20,000 will owe nothing to the state. The zero tax bracket has been $17,500. Individuals will pay no state income tax for 2019 if they earn up to $10,000, compared to $8,750 in 2018. See the article in the Winston-Salem Journal.
Twenty-eight counties had their Tier designation adjusted for 2019, Wilkes County remains a Tier 2. The ranking is compiled annually for the state’s 100 counties. The 40 most distressed counties are designated as Tier 1, the next 40 as Tier 2 and the 20 least distressed as Tier 3. This system is used when communities apply for state grant funding to encourage growth in economically distressed areas.
WCC and Tyson Launch Upward Academy for Tyson Employees Upward Academy, a collaborative effort between Tyson Foods Inc. and Wilkes Community College (WCC), recently launched adult education classes for Tyson team members at the company’s facilities in Wilkesboro. Nearly 180 team members are now attending classes in high school equivalency (GED) and English language communication skills.