Economic Development

Discover opportunities that can help the local economy grow. Find support and information that promotes local events, business ventures and other entreprenuerial endeavors.

2010 Hillsdale County "Entrepreneurial Vision of the Year" Award Winner

eCities 2010 Four Star Community

2009 Blueprints for Michigan's Downtowns Community

Conveniently located in south central Michigan near the Indiana and Ohio borders, the City of Hillsdale and its business community are still strongly tied to its manufacturing and agricultural roots.  With a quiet, small town lifestyle, but a close commute to larger metropolitan areas including Lansing, Jackson, Battle Creek, and Ann Arbor, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.  I-69 and I-80 can both be reached in 30 minutes or less and I-94 is just 45 minutes away.    

The City owned Hillsdale Municipal Airport can handle commercial air traffic with a recently upgraded 5,000' x 100' runway.  Other nearby airports include: Lansing Capital City Airport, Detroit MetroWayne County Airport, and Ft. Wayne International Airport.

Electric, water, and wastewater services are available through the municipally owned Hillsdale Board of Public Utilities.  Twenty-four strands of high-speed, dark fiber (with future triple redundancy) are available for commercial traffic in the Hillsdale Business and Technology Park.

Everything you need to make your business venture successful is available here: buildable land and existing buildings; a skilled workforce; reliable and economical utilities; entrepreneurial, educational and workforce development resources.  Working in partnership with local and regional economic development and government agencies, our economic development support system is designed to be responsive to the needs of existing and new businesses and entrepreneurs.