Over the last month, state leaders have taken any chance they’ve gotten to tout CNBC’s recent study naming Ohio the 2026 best state for business.
Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel are traveling Ohio for their Heart of Opportunity tour, hosting regionally-focused conversations with business and education leaders all over—from Procter and Gamble’s facilities in Lima, to Arsenal-1, the shiny new Anduril facilities near Columbus.
“Ohio is red hot,” DeWine told reporters Wednesday. ”It reflects what we already knew, but it’s good to have somebody else say that.”
But for DeWine, the Heart of Opportunity is also an opportunity to make an appeal to whoever succeeds him.
“We have to continue to do all of these things,” he said. “And so bluntly, one of the reasons we’re doing this (tour) is because, I know, it’s not a surprise to anybody, there will be a new governor in January.”
Ohio outranks others in some areas, backslides elsewhere
Released in July, CNBC’s study analyzed 10 categories to determine its state-by-state ranking, a ranking it’s done for going on 20 years.
Among the categories, Ohio came in first of all 50 states for its infrastructure and for the cost of doing business. In education, however, the state was barely above average, at 23 of 50. It lagged even further behind in the workforce category—at 35, CNBC wrote too few skilled workers are staying in or moving to Ohio.
The state needs to continue to invest in all of its residents, DeWine told reporters, including those who are disabled or formerly incarcerated.
But Ali Smith, a senior project coordinator with the left-leaning think tank Policy Matters Ohio, said the business and individual tax breaks the GOP-led state has prioritized have contributed to its workforce woes. That, she said, is reflected in recent cuts to government-funded or assisted services, like childcare and Medicaid.
“We’re glad that Ohio has strong assets to attract businesses,” Smith said in an interview Wednesday. “Being the best state for business is not the same thing as being the best state for workers and families.”
Ohio came in ninth for its economy and the cost of living, according to CNBC.
