Discover Your Global Community with Mapping the Nation

While most Americans view cities such as New York, Los Angeles, or Miami as truly global cities with a wide variety of different cultures, foreign businesses, and spoken languages, a recently released resource titled "Mapping the Nation" reveals that often over-looked cities and counties throughout the United States actually contain more global connections than one would expect. Presented by the Asia Society, Longview Foundation, and SAS Institution, this resources contains data from over 3,000 counties in all 50 states regarding how globally connected Americans are to the greater international system with regards to economic, demographic, and educational factors.

From an international business perspective, the data from this resource reveals that the job growth for American international trade exceeds 100% on a 20-year average, one in five jobs in the U.S. are connected to international markets, and foreign businesses that reside in American communities throughout the country employ more than 4 million American workers. In the state of Michigan, for example, there are 437 foreign owned companies, which is at about the national average between Montana, which has a mere 5 foreign businesses, and California, which contains the largest amount at 1,283. Continuing with Michigan, the resource's indicators also reveal which counties in the state gain the most from the sales value of imports and exports of goods, which unsurprisingly is Wayne County and the surrounding area of southeast Michigan due to the automotive industry. Other indicators include information by county regarding companies importing and exporting goods, jobs related to services exports, and international student economic value.

Aside from international business, Mapping the Nation's key indicators serve a purpose beyond simply providing statistics related to a state's demographics and economy. The site's mission is utilize its nearly one million indicators to help Americans recognize and locate global connections within their local communities. Due to the economic, political, and social forces of globalization, the internationalization of U.S. communities has already made a significant impact on several aspects of American life. This resource therefore provides the average American with ample information for using their communities international connections not only for business, policy, or educational reasons, but also to build globally competent citizenry for a better understood and interconnected world.