WARREN, Ohio – Ohio’s ranking by CNBC as the top state for business can only enhance efforts to lure and retain business, Lake to River Economic Development’s CEO said.
Thursday’s announcement represented the first time that Ohio took the top spot in CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business rankings since the cable business news channel launched the listing in 2007, according to a news release from JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development corporation. It also is the first time that a Midwestern state has led the ranking since Minnesota in 2015.
“This number one ranking proves that Ohio is the best place in America for business and all that comes along with it, including jobs, quality of life and opportunities for everyone to live up to their God-given potential,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in the news release. “Ohio’s long-term workforce and economic development strategy is working. We are outpacing every other state in the nation because we have worked together to create a strong economy, pro-business environment and a workforce that is ready to innovate.”
Ohio climbed from No. 5 in 2025 to No. 1 in 2026, capping a run of five straight years of improvement and a rise of 33 spots since 2010, when Ohio ranked No. 34. CNBC’s study evaluated all 50 states across 138 metrics in 10 categories of competitiveness, the most metrics the study has ever used.
“This Top State recognition belongs to Team Ohio,” JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef said. “Ohio succeeds because the state government, JobsOhio, the Ohio Department of Development, the JobsOhio Network Partners, regional economic development organizations, higher education, employers, workforce partners, Ohio business advocates and local communities all work toward the same goal. That alignment is one of Ohio’s greatest competitive advantages.”
Ohio ranked No. 1 for key metrics such as infrastructure and cost of doing business, and the state placed in the top 10 in categories including economy, access to capital and cost of living.
There is a difference between what people feel and see locally and what information supports and sustains what they believe, said Dani Robbins, CEO of Lake to River Economic Development, the JobsOhio partner that covers Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties.
“So it’s one thing to feel like this is a great place. You can walk around our region and feel the momentum and feel the excitement and feel the change in how people view their opportunities here,” she remarked. “But when a national news source reaffirms what you feel, it’s even more evidence that you’re making the right choices to come to Ohio, to stay in Ohio, to grow in Ohio – and if you’re in the Lake to River region, to do all of those things here and with us.”
Ohio did not earn the designation overnight, said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development.
“We earned it by investing in our people, strengthening our communities and creating an environment where companies can build for the long term,” she said. “Ohio offers low cost of doing business, low cost of living and an exceptional quality of life – giving companies every advantage to grow while creating opportunity for the people who call Ohio home. That’s what it means to Have It All in the Heart of It All.”
A separate news release from DeWine’s office cited several business-friendly initiatives taken by the DeWine administration, including investing approximately $1 billion to remediate contaminated properties and demolish dilapidated buildings to prepare them for redevelopment, creation of the All Ohio Future Fund to increase the state’s inventory of project-ready sites and protecting and preserving the state’s water resources through H2Ohio. Since 2023, Ohio also has maintained Triple-A bond ratings from the nation’s three major credit agencies.
“Ohio’s long-term strategy to make Ohio the go-to place for business is working,” DeWine said. “When I took office, I promised to ‘plant the seeds’ of long-term investments that will positively impact Ohio for years to come. Today’s announcement is proof that these seeds are growing, and Ohio has a bright future ahead.”
Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, who leads Ohio’s workforce development strategy, pointed to the state’s focus on connecting Ohioans directly to in-demand careers as a major factor in Ohio’s successful strategy to become the top state for business, according to the JobsOhio news release.
“We have so many innovative workforce development programs that create talent pipelines that align with real employer demand, like WorkOhio and JobsOhio’s Experiential Learning Initiative, just to name a few,” Tressel said. “We’re proud to be ranked as the No. 1 state for business, and it should come as no surprise. This ranking reflects years of hard work from our administration, the General Assembly and other partners across the state to attract new businesses, support the companies already calling Ohio home and prepare our workforce to succeed.”
Ryan Augsburger, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association president, also hailed the announcement.
“Ohio did not stumble into the No. 1 spot,” he remarked. “This ranking reflects decades of progress, investment and hard work by Ohioans who produce what the country needs and solve problems others cannot. Manufacturing is not simply part of Ohio’s success story. It is the reason Ohio leads.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who previously served as DeWine’s lieutenant governor, pointed out that when CNBC published its rankings in 2010 that Ohio placed 34th.
“This did not happen by accident – it has been decades of focus. We’ve cut taxes, eliminated three business taxes and invested in infrastructure and our workforce. We also made Ohio the easiest and lowest cost state to do business,” he said.
“And with JobsOhio, we are winning the biggest economic development projects in America,” he continued. “Our children and grandchildren no longer need to leave Ohio to find opportunity. They can find it right here at home.”
Lake to River currently has projects in excess of $3.8 billion in the pipeline, 41 projects that would create more than 3,200 jobs if they come to fruition, Robbins said. Economic development leaders across Ohio have worked hard and in sync to make Ohio the No. 1 place for business, she added.
“The fact that CNBC now agreed with us is an amazing gift, and we’re all very grateful,” she said.
Pictured at top: Gov. Mike DeWine, right, joined CNBC’s Scott Cohn in Columbus on Thursday as CNBC announced that Ohio is America’s Top State for Business in 2026. (Office of Gov. Mike DeWine)