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wbjournal.com | Fact Book 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 23 R E G I O N S C e n t r a l M a s s . S o u t h Community Minutes Average commute Southbridge 23.6 Webster 25.1 Dudley 27.9 Oxford 28 Sturbridge 28.3 West Brookfield 29.1 Spencer 31.1 North Brookfield 31.2 Charlton 31.4 Brookfield 35.9 East Brookfield 36.3 Sources: U.S. Census Bureau 2011-2015 American Community Survey Community Avg. net worth Residents average net worth Sturbridge $1,207,053 Charlton $970,226 East Brookfield $836,026 Brookfield $760,305 West Brookfield $713,889 Oxford $673,985 Dudley $653,537 Spencer $561,141 North Brookfield $549,353 Webster $498,334 Southbridge $319,137 Sources: Esri's Updated Demographics, 2017 estimates, Esri Tapestry Segmentation, www.esri.com Commercial & Community residential tax rate % Central Mass. South property tax rates Dudley 11.94% Spencer 13.98 Charlton 14.10 West Brookfield 16.06 East Brookfield 16.28 North Brookfield 16.53 Oxford 16.85 Webster* 18.56 Sturbridge 19.40 Brookfield 19.62 Southbridge 20.57 *Residential property tax rate is 15.13 Sources: Mass. Department of Revenue Central Mass. South: At a glance Largest employer MAPFRE U.S.A., Webster 2,103 local employees Largest chamber of commerce Chamber of Central Mass South 277 members Biggest bank Cornerstone Bank $574M in deposits Biggest college Nichols College, Dudley 1,212 full-time students, fall 2017 Largest meeting venue Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center Accommodates up to 900 banquet-style guests Average median age 42.45 Sources: Worcester Business Journal surveys of area businesses, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) as of June 30, 2017, Esri's Updated Demographics, 2017 estimates, Esri Tapestry Segmentation, www.esri.com Central Mass. South, a region where a healthy tourism industry intersects with a cluster of high-tech manufactur- ing companies, particularly clustered in the optics sector. Alexandra McNitt, executive director of the Chamber of Central Mass South MTD Micro Molding grew its revenue by 20 percent over its previous fiscal year because some long-term projects are starting to come into fruition. Continued on Page 25 Patrick Burns, a worker at SJC Custom Drums in Southbridge, where the company is expanding its punk rock business from a 13,000-square-foot facility to one with 60,000 square feet.