By Mark Owens, Vice President of Marketing and Communications: Team NEO
When CNBC named Ohio America’s Top State for Business earlier this summer, the ranking put a national spotlight on the state’s competitive strengths.
But for companies making investment decisions, rankings are only the starting point. What matters is how those statewide advantages translate for their business: talent, infrastructure, access to customers, competitive operating costs, and a strong business and economic development ecosystem.
Many of the strengths that propelled Ohio to number one are deeply rooted in Northeast Ohio, from infrastructure and affordability to a track record of successful business investment.
A location built for making and moving items
Infrastructure was the most heavily weighted category in CNBC’s 2026 analysis, and Ohio ranked first in this area.
Northeast Ohio adds significant weight to that advantage. Almost half of U.S. consumers and 56% percent of U.S. Fortune 500 headquarters are within a day’s drive of the region.
That connectivity is particularly important for a region with deep capabilities in advanced manufacturing and other industries where moving materials, products, and people efficiently can directly affect competitiveness.
And infrastructure is about more than transportation. Across Northeast Ohio, communities and economic development partners continue working to bring more sites to market and prepare them for increasingly complex business requirements, with considerations like utilities, communications, and power grid infrastructure.
Affordability to invest, operate, and grow
CNBC also ranked Ohio the top U.S. state for Cost of Doing Business. The state offers no corporate income tax, no tax on products sold outside Ohio, and no state tax on machinery, equipment, or R&D investments.
Northeast Ohio builds on that advantage. The region’s cost of doing business is estimated at 10 percent below the U.S. average. Companies also benefit from abundant freshwater through Lake Erie and the Great Lakes, along with a central location that can help reduce the cost and complexity of reaching major markets.
Taken together, those Northeast Ohio business advantages give companies more room to invest in the elements that fuel growth: people, technology, facilities, and innovation.
A large, diverse economy for expansion
Northeast Ohio brings another important ingredient to Ohio’s business case: collective might.
Northeast Ohio is a $299 billion economy and one of the 20 largest regional economies in the United States. Its 14 counties are home to nearly 3.7 million people, a workforce of more than 1.9 million, and more than 25 higher education institutions producing 40,000-plus graduates each year.
That scale supports a diverse industry base spanning advanced manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, energy, technology, and other sectors. It also creates connections across industries and supply chains. A manufacturer can tap engineering and production expertise. A healthcare company can benefit from globally recognized clinical and research institutions. Emerging industries can build on generations of materials, manufacturing, and engineering success.
The region’s business environment has global reach, too. More than 800 foreign-owned companies operate in Northeast Ohio, and Team NEO has helped companies from more than 42 countries establish operations here.
Talent to support what comes next
Companies need more than a good site and competitive costs. They need people. The region currently has more than 1.8 million workers. And Northeast Ohio’s colleges, universities, employers, and organizations are collaborating on workforce planning strategies to retain talent and prepare a future-ready workforce as technologies and employer needs evolve.
This matters as competition increasingly centers on advanced manufacturing, automation, artificial intelligence, energy, semiconductors, aerospace, and other technology-intensive industries.
A track record of turning advantages into investment
Ultimately, a top business climate ranking doesn’t matter unless you have results to back it up. Northeast Ohio has those results. Since 2015, Team NEO, its regional economic development partners, and Northeast Ohio companies have worked on more than 500 projects representing more than 44,000 new jobs and $11.3 billion in capital investment. These results demonstrate the success that’s possible when infrastructure, affordability, talent, industry expertise, and regional collaboration work together.
Ohio’s number one ranking gives Northeast Ohio something valuable: greater visibility among companies deciding where to invest next. But the region’s opportunity is bigger than the ranking itself.
The next measure of success isn’t where Ohio ranks. It’s what we do with the advantages that put us there: attracting investment, creating jobs, strengthening our industries, and building an economy that keeps Northeast Ohio competitive for the long term.