During the latter part of the 20th century and early 21st century,
Florence's economy was transformed from based largely on rail and farming into
a diversified economy as the major commerce, finance, rail and trucking
services, health care, and industrial center of the Eastern Carolinas. There
are over 9 foreign affiliated companies and fourteen Fortune 500 companies in
the region. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the Florence metropolitan
statistical area as of 2009 was $6.8 billion, one of the highest among
MSAs in the state.
Milken Institute 2008 Best Performing Cities Index showed the Florence MSA
