The tri-state region was in the top tier among all the states in job creation and new capital investment in the last year, says a leading economic development publication.
Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana all ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. in
Site Selection magazine's 2022 Prosperity Cup. The award recognizes state-level economic development based on capital investment project activity for the previous calendar year.
Ohio ranked seventh, Kentucky sixth, and Indiana tied Georgia for fourth place.
North Carolina was ranked first for the second straight year, followed by Texas and Tennessee.
The rankings are based on a 10-point index of criteria, including:
- Total new and expanded facilities in 2021 per 1 million population
- Total per capita capital investment in new and expanded facilities
- Total new jobs created
- A ranking of “business climate”
- State tax climate as ranked by the Tax Foundation
- Number of National Career Readiness Certificates per 1,000 residents ages 18-64.
In March, Site Selection announced that Kentucky and Ohio finished third and fourth, respectively, in recruiting businesses, securing 706 announced projects between the two states in 2021.
Kimm Lauterbach, CEO of REDI Cincinnati, the region’s economic development organization, says economic development in the region and on both sides of the river accounted for more than 7,000 new jobs, $358 million in new payroll and more than $755 million in capital investment in 2021.
Among the announcements was a $28 million investment by food manufacturer General Mills at its plant in Sharonville, a $24 million investment in Butler County by online car retailer Carvana, and an $18 million investment in Boone County by Summit Packaging.
Both REDI Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, Northern Kentucky’s economic development group, earned recognition with the 2022 Mac Conway Award for Excellence in Economic Development, which Site Selection magazine presents annually to the 20 top local and regional economic development organizations in the U.S. based on success in securing job creation and capital investment projects.
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