CHRIS SCHILKEN TELLS HOW NORTH DAKOTA SEALED A NATIONAL TITLE
When North Dakota captured its first Site Selection Governor’s Cup trophy for having the most corporate facility projects per capita in 2025, the title alone did not tell the full story.
By landing 145 corporate real estate investment projects last year, North Dakota sent notice that being small doesn’t mean you have to take a back seat to anyone. For a state of nearly 800,000 residents — 47th smallest in the U.S. — to secure 145 projects, it had to outpace most states and most large cities nationwide.
To put that accomplishment into perspective, consider that only seven U.S. metro areas produced more corporate facility deals last year than North Dakota: Chicago, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, New York, Atlanta, Austin and Boston. The smallest of these is Austin, which has 2.5 million people. That’s more than three times the size of North Dakota.
Boston produced 146 facility deals, just one more than North Dakota, and Beantown is a metro area of more than 4.4 million people. In other words, if you moved everybody who lives in North Dakota to the Boston MSA, they would not make up even one-fifth of greater Boston’s population.
How does a state that small punch so powerfully above its weight class? To answer that question, we turned to North Dakota Commerce Commissioner Chris Schilken, who’s no stranger to turning a little into a lot. After all, he began his 15-plus-year career in economic development in Devils Lake, North Dakota, population 7,541.
In the following interview, Schilken, a Minot State University graduate who lives with his family in Glenburn, North Dakota, explains how the Peace Garden State pulled off its remarkable run in 2025 and how it’s gunning for more.
How significant is North Dakota’s Site Selection Governor’s Cup win?
SCHILKEN: The significance of our state’s Governor’s Cup victory plays into the whole state vision of being more operational than aspirational. At the North Dakota Department of Commerce, we take the path that our communities want to take. To me, that is the best part about these awards. This is a team award that only happens because we are winning projects at the local level.
North Dakota is growing its population
50% faster than the national average.
Since 2010, the state has grown by 19%.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Speaking of winning at the local level, Williston produced an upset victory by unseating 11-time defending champ Findlay, Ohio, to rank No. 1 among all U.S. micropolitan areas with 21 corporate facility deals. How did Williston pull this off?
SCHILKEN: Williston has put a lot of time and effort into economic development for a long time. They have seen a lot of ups and downs in the energy economy of northwest North Dakota. Sometimes, these projects take longer to happen. Williston is a great city with great economic development leadership, and that’s why they won.
Our job at Commerce is to support their vision and provide the tools they need to succeed. This ranking validates what they’ve been doing. At Commerce, we’re intentional about where we’re putting our resources. We prioritize getting in front of site selectors. That’s important, because they know more about your community than you do even before they call you. It’s hard to get on their radar, and once you get on there, it’s even harder to stay there. We’re set up to do that. We have sites that are ready for development, and we’re providing speed to market for businesses that want to grow in North Dakota.
How is economic development administered in North Dakota?
SCHILKEN: We’re set up to coordinate statewide efforts with our local partners via finance, workforce development, community service with boots on the ground, and tourism and marketing. Also, we’re investing in our existing industries and in the infrastructure needed to grow them. At the same time, we’re working to help grow newer industries like data centers, value-added agriculture, biotech and others.
We also make our economic development tools available to communities all across the state. Larger communities can budget for economic development more easily than the smaller ones can. We make our state tools available to all communities regardless of size. A big project used to be $10 million. Today, it can be $1 billion or more. The larger these projects are, the harder they are to get across the finish line. Our job at Commerce is to help every community land good deals.
Missouri River recreation is a big part of the Bismarck/Mandan lifestyle.
Photo courtesy of North Dakota Tourism.
What are the top priorities of the Commerce Commissioner’s Office and your economic development team this year?
SCHILKEN: Number one is to keep strengthening and diversifying our state economy. The oil and gas industry ebbs and flows. That’s why it’s important to diversify our economy with investments in unmanned aircraft systems and biotech; and to respond to projects around the state. We’re able to respond with different sites and incentive packages depending on the needs of each project. We move at the speed of business. We will also expand workforce development. We have a great workforce ecosystem; and we are working to strengthen that. Our goal is to revamp our workforce ecosystem to make it more friendly for the end-user. Also, housing goes along with the workforce piece. How do we coordinate that with agencies around the state? How do we tell a different story on solutions that are achievable for all? And, of course, we’re always working with our local partners.
What programs are offered to assist expanding businesses in the state?
SCHILKEN: The North Dakota Development Fund in general has a lot of programs. It can give low-interest loans. It can take equity positions. We have the LIFT (Legacy Investment for Technology Loan) Program, which provides front-end capital support for tech-driven companies. The Angel Match Program (AMP) provides front-end assistance for entrepreneurs. And then there are the unique characteristics of North Dakota. The Bank of North Dakota is the only state-owned bank in the nation. They can do interest buy-down programs. We don’t have a lack of programs in North Dakota. We have the ability to tailor incentive packages. We can pick and choose. We also received valuable feedback from site selectors, and because of that we’ve been taking a more proactive approach. Rather than selling programs, we’re offering solutions. We’re coming out with solution-based offers.
“If you need permitting or power or anything, we can show you how to get there. If you want to grow your business quickly, there is a fast and clear road to project execution in North Dakota.”
— Chris Schilken, North Dakota Commerce Commissioner
Are there any new incentive offerings that will appeal to growing companies?
SCHILKEN: We’ve recently done some programs to enhance communities. One is the Rural Catalyst Grant, which is a program to help them become catalysts for driving growth. This is not your traditional economic development. Rather, it’s about how can they access dollars to grow their community. That is new, and there is a lot of interest in it already.
Another one is the Destination Development Grant, which is a tourism-based grant. People are traveling to North Dakota. Maybe they are interested in relocating or even moving their business here. This is about helping people who are traveling across our state.
What do you feel are North Dakota’s best-kept secrets?
SCHILKEN: The best-kept one is that we have things to do in all four corners of the state. Our tourism and marketing department makes sure that this is front and center. You could travel in any direction and find something to do here. Hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation are here. There is a season for everything. We encourage everyone to come and check out North Dakota in person.
We also want everyone to know that we will set ourselves apart with competitive incentives, speed to market, and reliable and affordable energy. If you need permitting or power or anything, we can show you how to get there. If you want to grow your business quickly, there is a fast and clear road to project execution in North Dakota.
