Quantifying contributions to economic development is what Site Selection magazine does best. For 72 years, the Atlanta-based publication has tracked corporate investment activity worldwide, analyzed and reported it, and ranked locations based on their performance.
When you consider the economic development performance of the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces that comprise the Great Lakes Region, it is easy to see why the region, if it were a country, would rank as the world’s third largest economy. Here are the major rankings this magazine has published for 2025-2026:
Top Performing Great Lakes States
- Governor’s Cup: In total project performance in 2025, four Great Lakes states score in the top 10: Illinois is No. 2 (680 projects); Ohio is No. 3 (467); New York is No. 7 (287); and Pennsylvania is No. 8 (257).
- Regional Ranking: With 2,247 total projects in 2025, the eight states of the Great Lakes Region (New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin) outperform every other region in the country. The South Central Region, which includes Texas and seven other states, is second.
- Prosperity Cup: In Site Selection’s 2026 Prosperity Cup ranking, which measures overall competitiveness across 10 performance criteria, two Great Lakes States place in the top 5: Ohio at No. 3 and Indiana at No. 5.
- Sustainability Index: Using multiple criteria to measure the overall sustainability of development in each state, Site Selection places three Great Lakes States in the top 10: Illinois at No. 6; Minnesota at No. 9; and Ohio at No. 10.
- Business Climate: Last November, Site Selection placed five Great Lakes States in the top 12 nationally in overall business climate: Ohio (6); Illinois (7); Indiana (8); Pennsylvania (11); and New York (12).
Canada’s Best Locations
- 2026 Canadian Competitiveness Award: Based on points awarded for project activity and project-affiliated capital investment and job creation, Ontario once again ranks as the top performing province in economic development in Canada, per Site Selection. The No. 1 ranking in Canada and top award goes to Invest Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.
- Top Performing Metros in Canada:
ONTARIO:
Invest Brampton (Peel Region)
Advantage Brantford
Invest in Hamilton
London Economic Development Corp.
City of Mississauga
City of Oakville (Halton Region)
City of Oshawa (Durham Region)
Greater Sudbury Economic Development
Toronto Global
Vaughan Economic Development (York Region)
Invest Windsor-Essex
QUEBEC:
Montreal International
Quebec International
Top Performing Great Lakes Metros in the U.S.
- Chicago ranks as the No. 1 metro area in the U.S. with 606 projects in 2025, giving Greater Chicago a record-breaking 12th consecutive win.
- Allentown, Pennsylvania ranks No. 1 in the tier 2 metro category with 49 projects.
- Lima, Ohio; Battle Creek, Michigan; and Kenosha, Wisconsin, all rank in the Top 10 in the tier 3 category, at fourth, sixth and eighth, respectively.
- Ohio places 5 cities in the Top 10 of all U.S. micropolitan areas (small towns). These include Findlay (2); Wooster (3); Fremont (4); Tiffin (5); and Greenville (6). For Findlay, it’s the first time this Northwest Ohio micro failed to finish first in the country — a feat it accomplished a record 11 years in a row through 2024.
- Ohio is No. 1 in the U.S. with 20 micros ranking in the Top 100. (Source for all metro and micro rankings: Site Selection)
