News & Press
Ohio First in Site Selection Governor’s Cup 2019 Rankings
Ohio hits No. 1 in projects per capita and No. 2 for total projects
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2, 2020 Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Site Selection, a leading corporate real estate economic development magazine, today announced that Ohio ranked No. 1 in its Governor’s Cup 2019 state economic and business attraction rankings for bringing more new corporate facility projects per capita than any other state in the nation. Ohio also earned the No. 2 spot for total projects overall, making it the only state to place in the top three in both categories.
“The ranking by Site Selection magazine shows what we’ve known all along. Ohio is a great place to do business,” said Gov. Mike DeWine. “Our central location, strong business climate and talented workforce are some of the driving factors in attracting new business and expansion projects in Ohio. From our metropolitan areas to the city of Dayton as the No. 1 Tier 2 and Findlay as the No. 1 micropolitan area, you can find it here in Ohio.”
The state jumped to the top spot per capita from No. 3 in 2018 based on Site Selection criteria, which measures new business projects with significant impact, including headquarters, manufacturing plants, R&D operations, logistics sites and others. Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, and JobsOhio as well as state and local economic development and community partners across the state, were responsible for bringing many of those projects to Ohio. JobsOhio announced last week in its 2019 Annual Report that the state of Ohio had secured more than 300 new projects, resulting in 22,770 new jobs and $7 billion in capital investment.
“There is no doubt Ohio is the go-to state in the Midwest to grow a business – we have talent, tech and tenacity,” said Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. “Over the years, Ohio has built itself into the place to do business with focused efforts on tax reform, tort reform, education reforms and a privatized economic development effort in JobsOhio, which we have bolstered with innovations in workforce development and a great, sustainable infrastructure strategy. Ohio has the most diverse economy in the Midwest and we are working every day to show the world we are customer-service friendly and open for business.”
The Governor’s Cup 2019 rankings also place many of Ohio’s metropolitans and smaller cities and villages at the top of the nation in attracting new business and investments. For instance, Cincinnati and Columbus both placed in the Top 10 list for Tier 1 Metros with populations over 1 million for the second year in a row, ranking fifth and eighth respectively. Dayton, meanwhile, took the top spot in Tier 2 Metros (population between 200,000 and 1 million) and Toledo ranked eighth. Lima also cracked the Top 10 for Tier 3 Metros (fewer than 200,000 residents) with its No. 6 ranking.
“This ranking demonstrates that Ohio is the best state in the nation for economic development projects,” said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and chief investment officer. “We’re proud that communities of all sizes around Ohio are stepping up and putting themselves forward as an ideal location for these businesses to locate and grow.”
The state’s smaller markets are also drawing big business opportunities, as Ohio’s micropolitans — defined as one or more adjacent counties that contain an urban core with 10,000 to 50,000 people — earned 15 spots in the Top 60 Micropolitans. Site Selection named Findlay the No. 1 overall micropolitan for the sixth straight year, with Tiffin and Zanesville placing in the Top 10 list of top project-producing micropolitans.
Other Ohio cities recognized in the Top 60 included, in order of rank: Greenville, Sidney, New Philadelphia-Dover, Fremont, Wooster, Ashtabula, Athens, Salem, Van Wert, Defiance and Mount Vernon.
Site Selection has awarded the Governor’s Cup annually since 1988, based on new and expanded corporate facilities as tracked by the proprietary Conway Projects Database. Site Selection's yearly analyses are regarded by corporate real estate analysts as "the industry scoreboard."
To see a full list of the Site Selection honorees, visit SiteSelection.com.
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About JobsOhio
JobsOhio is a private nonprofit corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion efforts. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, One Columbus, Dayton Development Coalition, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.JobsOhio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
For more information, contact:
JobsOhio Matt Englehart
Gov. Mike DeWine’s Office Dan Tierney