Yes, Hanford is still the core of the Tri Cities economy but there is so much more happening here that generates revenue for the Tri City economy. In the last 2 decades, other businesses have developed and created the diversity this area needed badly.
In the past, the economy of the Tri Cities has been cyclic with extreme ups and downs depending on the funding provided to the Hanford employers. With the hard work of many individuals and organizations, the economy here has diversified to include major employers in the agricultural, food processing and health care industries, which have added the most significant growth and more stability to the Tri City area.
Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) have played a significant role in the job growth as well since they are the area’s largest single employer, with only 7 percent of their work being related to Hanford in 2009.
The Tri-Cities has established it’s own identify away from Hanford, and this has been supported by the increase of the population that has occurred over the last 10 years, without following the hiring trends at Hanford. We have become home to a diverse marketplace that will continue long past the cleanup at Hanford.