Economic Development Strategy
In April 2025, Vancouver City Council adopted the City’s first-ever, Five-Year Economic Development Strategy. In alignment with the City’s core values of sustainability and resiliency, and livability, the Strategy is designed to help support economic growth and address growing disparities within the community. The Strategy is organized around four primary goals:
- Establish pathways to accessible quality jobs and reduce barriers to economic opportunity.
- Create opportunities for generational wealth, especially for underserved communities, by strengthening support for small businesses.
- Position Vancouver as an inclusive center of innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Invest in neighborhood commercial districts that result in safe, vibrant and accessible communities.
Download the strategy as a PDF document
Strategy alignment
At a regional level, Vancouver’s Strategy is aligned with the Clark County Comprehensive Economic Development Plan, led by the Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC), which provides a roadmap for economic growth and competitiveness through business recruitment, retention and expansion activities in southwest Washington. CREDC’s marketing, branding and business development efforts also help position the area’s key industry clusters—computers and electronics, software and technology, clean tech, metals and machinery manufacturing, and life sciences—to remain nationally and globally competitive.
Similarly, this Strategy seeks to complement Workforce Southwest Washington’s 2025–2029 Strategic Plan, the region’s blueprint for defining and promoting livable-wage jobs, creating pathways for workers to access quality employment opportunities, and helping employers identify and attract talent.
Our partners
