Ohio has once again shown its dominance in economic development and business attraction, according to Site Selection’s newly released Governor’s Cup 2018 rankings. As a state, Ohio earned the No. 2 spot overall for total projects for the fifth consecutive year and was third in projects per capita, making Ohio the only state to place in the top three of both categories.
The Governor’s Cup 2018 rankings also indicate that many of Ohio’s metropolitans and smaller cities and villages throughout the state are also national leaders in attracting new businesses and investments.
Cincinnati and Columbus both placed in the top 10 list for Tier 1 Metros (population over 1 million), ranking fifth and seventh respectively. Toledo also earned the third ranking in the Tier 2 Metros category (population between 200,000 and 1 million).
Smaller markets also provide big opportunities for businesses. Ohio micropolitans, defined as cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people, earned 17 spots in the Top 100 Micropolitans. For the fifth straight year, editors named Findlay the No. 1 overall micropolitan, with Wooster, Ashland, Defiance and Tiffin all placing in the top 10 list of top-producing micropolitans. Other Ohio cities named to the Top 100 Micropolitans include, in order of rank: Wapakoneta, Fremont, Sidney, Ashtabula, Bellefontaine, Bucyrus, Celina, Zanesville, New Philadelphia-Dover, Norwalk, Salem and Wilmington.
“Businesses are consistently choosing Ohio communities of all sizes as a destination growth and investment,” said Dana Saucier, vice president and head of economic development at JobsOhio. “Through close collaboration with state, regional and local economic development partners Ohio offers companies across sector lines the solutions needed to thrive and succeed here.”
Site Selection has awarded the Governor’s Cup annually since 1988 to the state with the greatest number of new and expanded corporate facilties as tracked by Conway Data Inc.’s New Plant Database. To see a full list of the Site Selection honorees, visit SiteSelection.com.