Counties and towns on the Middle Peninsula must collaborate better to attract businesses and bring more jobs to this region, several state officials said.

During a dinner meeting of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission at Sandpiper Reef Restaurant in Hallieford on Oct. 22, officials said that the Middle Peninsula has the lowest average wages in the state—surprisingly even lower than the coal mines of the southwestern parts of the state. And Mathews County, they said, has the lowest average wages in the state.

Del. Keith Hodges (R-Middlesex) said that it is especially important for localities to work together more closely to try to attract more businesses and jobs here since such a large number of local workers—72 percent—leaves the region each day for their employment. MPPDC localities include the counties of Gloucester, Mathews, Middlesex, King and Queen, King William and Essex, and the towns of West Point, Urbanna and Tappahannock.

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