When the Wright brothers of Dayton built and flew the world’s first airplane, they had no idea how their invention would forever shape the future development of their hometown in southwestern Ohio.
More than 120 years after the first airplane took flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the city that produced this world-changing vehicle is still impacting history in the aviation realm. Today, Dayton is home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base – the largest single-site employer in Ohio — and a plethora of aviation and aerospace companies employing tens of thousands of highly skilled workers.
Joby Aviation became the latest corporate investor to join the neighborhood. With a $500 million capital investment announced in Montgomery County, Joby will employ 2,000 skilled workers at a factory producing up to 500 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft per year. The firm chose a 140-acre tract at Dayton International Airport where it will build up to 2 million square feet of factory space.
Some 114 years after the Wright brothers opened America’s first airplane factory in Dayton, “The Birthplace of Aviation” is still flying high. In addition to Joby, Pratt Industries announced a $32 million investment into a new plant in Dayton last year, while GE Engine Services announced its own $20 million project. Beontag, meanwhile, announced a $60 million facility that creates 200 jobs in RFID technology in Dayton.
A thriving city of 134,404 people, Dayton benefits from its proximity to Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis and the rest of the Midwest. In fact, more than 60% of the country can be reached in a one-day truck drive or less from Dayton.
Other location factors contribute to Dayton’s business appeal. Forbes magazine named Dayton one of the nation’s “Most Affordable Cities” and “Happiest Places to Work.” Forbes did so because Dayton offers affordability, abundant career opportunities and an enviable quality of life. The City of Dayton, for instance, was named one of the first official “Welcoming Cities” in the country.
The median cost of a house in Montgomery County is just $124,000, and the cost of living is more than 10 points below the national average. The Dayton Region STEM School and the Dayton Early College Academy also add to the area’s attractiveness.
These and other attributes have made the Dayton area a hub for transportation, logistics, aerospace and defense, advanced manufacturing, automotive, and agriculture and food processing. Skilled workers are the norm in Dayton too, as the community boasts the fourth-largest concentration of engineers per capita in the country.
