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Mapping a nation of regional clusters

Harvard Business School U.S. Economic Development Administration
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    Are you trying to determine a strategy for your organization, region, or industry? Then follow our Economic Developer path.

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  • I am a Policymaker

    Are you hoping to effect change in the economic landscape through federal, state, or local government policy choices? Then follow our Policymaker path.

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  • I am an Academic or Researcher

    Are you interested in learning more about clusters and conducting action-oriented research? Then follow our Academic or Researcher path.

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  • I am in the Private Sector

    Are you looking into the economic competitiveness of a region through the lens of the private sector? Then follow our Private Sector path.

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  • Data by Cluster

    A cluster is a regional concentration of related industries that arise out of the various types of linkages or externalities that span across industries in a particular location. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions are designed to enable systemic comparison across regions. View and compare clusters across the U.S.

    View Data by Cluster
  • Frequently Asked Questions

    How do I compare different clusters on a national level?

    How do I find my region’s strongest cluster(s)?

    How do I identify which cluster my industry belongs in?

    How do I compare local vs traded clusters?

    Are there overlaps between the clusters?

  • Data by Region

    A region is broadly defined as a county, economic area (EA), metro/micropolitan statistical area (MSA), or state. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions use the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis defined economic areas. View and compare regions across the U.S.

    View Data by Region
  • Frequently Asked Questions

    How do I compare different regions?

    How do I build a region to meet my needs?

    How is my region doing, especially in comparison to its peer regions?

    How do I find subregions related to my region?

    How do I use the map view to visualize economic data across the country?

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  • Resources

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  • Community

    The Community of Practice enables practitioners to share Resources, post Blogs, and find partner Organizations. View and contribute content of interest to the cluster based economic development community.

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Home
  • I am an Economic Developer

    Are you trying to determine a strategy for your organization, region, or industry? Then follow our Economic Developer path.

    Follow Economic Developer Path
  • I am a Policymaker

    Are you hoping to effect change in the economic landscape through federal, state, or local government policy choices? Then follow our Policymaker path.

    Follow Policymaker Path
  • I am an Academic or Researcher

    Are you interested in learning more about clusters and conducting action-oriented research? Then follow our Academic or Researcher path.

    Follow Academic or Researcher Path
  • I am in the Private Sector

    Are you looking into the economic competitiveness of a region through the lens of the private sector? Then follow our Private Sector path.

    Follow Private Sector Path
  • Data by Cluster

    A cluster is a regional concentration of related industries that arise out of the various types of linkages or externalities that span across industries in a particular location. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions are designed to enable systemic comparison across regions. View and compare clusters across the U.S.

    View Data by Cluster
  • Frequently Asked Questions

    How do I compare different clusters on a national level?

    How do I find my region’s strongest cluster(s)?

    How do I identify which cluster my industry belongs in?

    How do I compare local vs traded clusters?

    Are there overlaps between the clusters?

  • Data by Region

    A region is broadly defined as a county, economic area (EA), metro/micropolitan statistical area (MSA), or state. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions use the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis defined economic areas. View and compare regions across the U.S.

    View Data by Region
  • Frequently Asked Questions

    How do I compare different regions?

    How do I build a region to meet my needs?

    How is my region doing, especially in comparison to its peer regions?

    How do I find subregions related to my region?

    How do I use the map view to visualize economic data across the country?

  • Organizations

    View Organizations
  • Blog

    View Blog
  • Resources

    View Resources
  • Community

    The Community of Practice enables practitioners to share Resources, post Blogs, and find partner Organizations. View and contribute content of interest to the cluster based economic development community.

    View Community Page
EXPLORE

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Harvard Business School U.S. Economic Development Administration

Clusters

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Cluster: a regional concentration of related industries Cluster

A cluster is a regional concentration of related industries that arise out of the various types of linkages or externalities that span across industries in a particular location.
traded clusters
THE ENGINES OF REGIONAL ECONOMIES
  • Serve markets in other regions or nations
  • Concentrated in regions that afford specific competitive advantages
  • Example industries: aircraft manufacturing, management consulting, iron ore mining

LEARN MORE →

local clusters
THE FOUNDATION OF LOCAL ECONOMIES
  • Sell products and services primarily for the local market
  • Located in every region
  • Example industries: drug stores, physician offices, elementary schools, radio networks

LEARN MORE →

Traded vs. Local Share of the U.S. Economy

Traded vs. Local Share of the U.S. Economy

These clusters have been defined based on data covering the entire U.S. economy. They will not necessarily align with the cluster names used in certain regions (e.g. clean tech, high tech, advanced manufacturing). The value this project brings is to provide a set of standardized clusters that enable comparisons between any region. By drawing from these clusters, regions can then better understand their own region-specific clusters. Learn more

Dive into U.S. clusters
What Industries are in each Cluster?

View national level data for clusters across the economy
based on core indicators such as employment and wages.

Learn about the types of clusters
in the U.S. by browsing the default display. Click on any bubble to go to a specific cluster dashboard.

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    Copyright © 2020 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
    All rights reserved.

    The U.S. Cluster Mapping Project is led by Professor Michael E. Porter at the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School.

    This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration.