Economy of Ohio

The economy of Ohio nominally would be the 20th largest global economy behind Switzerland and ahead of Belgium according to the 2009 World Bank projections, and the 21st largest behind Belgium and ahead of Poland according to 2009 International Monetary Fund projections. The state had a projected nominal GSP of $471.26 billion in 2009, down from the revised figure of $477.25 billion in 2008, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis report of November 2010. The projected real GSP of the state from the same report was $429.81 billion in 2009, down from $441.78 billion in 2008. In 2009, Ohio was ranked #4 in the country for best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database. The state was referred to as a dynasty after having won its fourth consecutive Governor's Cup award from the magazine in 2010, based on business growth and economic development. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council ranked the state #10 for best business-friendly tax systems in their Business Tax Index 2009, including a top corporate tax and capital gains rate that were both ranked #6 at 1.9%.

Ohio was the only state in the U.S. to have two areas make the Intelligent Community Forum's list of global Smart 21 Communities for 2011, with Dublin and Northeast Ohio receiving the honors. The state has 5 of the top 115 colleges in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2010 rankings, while the Ohio State University was ranked #10 by the same magazine for awarding degrees to Fortune 500 CEOs. The state was ranked #8 by the same magazine in 2008 for best high schools, while overall, in 2010 the state's schools were ranked #5 in the country by Education Week. It was second only to Texas in having the most U.S. cities in the top 30 best places for new college graduates, according to BusinessWeek in 2010.

Ohio is considered a center of science and industry, with museums dedicated to such in Columbus, COSI, the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, the Imagination Station in Toledo, and the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton. The state includes many historically strong industries, such as banking and insurance, which accounts for 8% of the gross state product, motor vehicle manufacturing, research and development, and steel production, accounting for 14-17% of the nation's raw output. More traditional industries include agriculture, employing one out of seven Ohioans, and new and developing sectors include bioscience, green, information, and food processing industries. Ohio is the biggest manufacturer of plastics and rubber in the country, has the largest bioscience sector in the Midwest, and ranked fourth in the country for green economic growth through 2007.

The state is recognized internationally as the "Fuel Cell Corridor", while Toledo is recognized as a national solar center, Cleveland a regenerative medicine research hub, Dayton an aerospace and defense hub, Akron the rubber capital of the world, Columbus a technological research and development hub, and Cincinnati a mercantile hub.

Wal-Mart is the largest private sector employer in Ohio, with approximately 53,000 employees. The largest Ohio employer with headquarters in Ohio is Kroger, with approximately 36,500 employees, and headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The largest employer at a single location in Ohio is Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. 70% of the nation's electrometallurgical ferroalloy manufacturing employees are located in Ohio.