Kentucky’s economic momentum has again garnered national recognition, with Business Facilities magazine ranking the commonwealth’s food processing, automotive and EV investment sectors among the top 10 in the nation.
Kentucky is home to more than 430 food and beverage production facilities that employ over 58,000 people statewide. Since 2019, the industry has seen over $6.3 billion in announced investments supporting nearly 7,000 new jobs.
The commonwealth’s automotive sector includes more than 550 operations that employ over 103,000 Kentuckians. Automakers and suppliers have announced over $14.3 billion in new investments over the last four years, with more than 15,700 jobs being created. Electric-vehicle growth has been a major contributor to that success, with over $11.7 billion in announced investments for EV-related projects supporting more than 10,280 new jobs.
The publication also recognized various Kentucky communities in its recently released 20th annual Metro Rankings Report. Lexington placed in the top 10 for Best Business Climate of large metros while the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region ranked in the top 10 for Best Business Climate of mid-size metros. The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region was also recognized by Business Facilities as a Tech Talent Leader among communities with a small labor pool (less than 50,000), placing fourth in their top 15 list.
Business Facilities also recognized Louisville and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region in their 2024 Metro Rankings for Manufacturing Hubs and Logistics Leaders. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky placed in the top 10 of the publication’s small manufacturing hubs list, while Louisville was recognized in the top three for the Logistics Leaders category, which evaluates existing infrastructure and strategic location, as well as recent and planned improvements in a region.
Northern Kentucky’s growing manufacturing presence includes Matrix Pack North America, which last year announced a $47.9 million investment creating 144 jobs, and Safran Landing Systems Kentucky, which recently moved forward with a $65 million expansion creating 92 jobs.
Louisville’s geographic location and infrastructure factored into its strong ranking in logistics, as well as the presence of the UPS Worldport and FedEx Ground hub. In late 2022, UPS announced a $155 million investment creating 315 well-paying jobs in Jefferson County to establish a new facility to boost the supply chain within the health care sector.
