California has crushed the competition as the top-ranked state for Opportunity Zones and Michigan is still the undisputed heavyweight champ in Automotive Manufacturing Strength in Business Facilities’ 15th Annual Rankings Report, released this week.
In BF’s new Opportunity Zones ranking, based on statewide totals of federally designated Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs) created by the Tax Reform and Jobs Act of 2017, California took the crown with 879 out of the 8,764 QOZs approved by the Treasury Department. Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois and Ohio rounded out the top five in the new QOZ ranking, respectively.
“The states and the MSAs within their borders had a level playing field when they were applying for federal Opportunity Zone designations,” said BF Editor in Chief Jack Rogers. “The Golden State had its act together and put itself in a position to reap the benefits of a new program we all hope will assist in raising capital for projects in disadvantaged areas of the U.S.”
Michigan repeated as BF’s top-ranked state for Automotive Manufacturing Strength, based on combined 4Q 2018 employment stats for motor vehicle production and motor vehicle parts production. Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky filled out the top five, respectively, in BF’s annual automotive heavyweight standings.
“The birthplace of the automotive assembly line and the home of Motown has been written off more times than we can remember, but Michigan always comes roaring back on all cylinders,” Rogers said.
Business Facilities is a national publication that has been the leading location source for corporate site selectors and economic development professionals for more than 50 years.
The complete 2019 BF Rankings Report, including state, metro and international results are available online.
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