Ohio Takes Top Spots in Governor’s Cup

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the fifth consecutive year, Ohio earned the No. 2 spot overall for total projects in the Governor’s Cup 2018 rankings from Site Selection Magazine.

Ohio reported 454 projects for the year, preceded by Texas with 608 projects. The Buckeye State also placed third overall for projects per capita, making Ohio the only state to place in the top three of both categories.

Regionally, Ohio led the East North Central region in total projects, with Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin rounding out the top five.

Many of the metropolitans, smaller cities and villages in the state also led the nation in attracting new business and investments. Cincinnati and Columbus placed among the top 10 for Tier 1 Metros – those with populations of more than a million – ranking fifth and seventh, respectively. Toledo placed third among Tier 2 metros (population between 200,000 and one-million).

Ohio micropolitans – cities with 10,000 to 50,000 people – took 17 spots in the Top 100 Micropolitans category. For the fifth straight year, Findlay earned the top spot, followed by Wooster, Ashland, Defiance and Tiffin among the top 10. Other Ohio cities among the top 100 include 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 for 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.”

Since 1988, Site Selection has awarded the annual Governor’s Cup to states with the greatest number of new and expanded corporate facilities as tracked by Conway Data Inc.’s New Plant Database.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.