The Cleveland metro area ranks about average among its regional peers in some measures of a healthy economy, according to a Greater Cleveland Partnership report released this week.

Greater Cleveland’s “average” ranking, at best, is of little concern to GCP President and CEO Baiju R. Shah, who believes the metro area is heading in the right direction.

“The annual rankings are showing the progress that we’re making,” he said. “It’s going to take multiple years of sustained, strong performance to pull up in the decade rankings.”

Cleveland ranked fourth in annual business growth

Shah sees the Cleveland area “climbing” its way high on the list.

“If we put together a string of great years, you bet we’ll finish the 2020s among the top tier,” he said.

Pulling ahead will take effort. Indianapolis dominates the first place in each of the economic measures the report uses. These include annual rankings as well as what it calls decade rankings, which only cover 2019 through 2022.  

The All in Plan annual report measures 11 Great Lakes metro areas for what it terms business growth, income growth and jobs growth. The report’s numbers are based on Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and other federal data.

Cleveland ranked fourth in annual business growth but sixth in the decade ranking. In measuring what it calls business growth, the report used BEA data that measures the value of the goods and services produced in an area. These numbers can be used to compare the size and growth of local economies.

The metro had a 2% business growth rate in 2021-22, according to the report. Indianapolis ranked first with a 3.3% growth rate and Pittsburgh last with a 0.2% growth rate. For the decade, Cleveland’s growth rate was 6.5%. Indianapolis led with 8.4% and Pittsburgh was last at -1.7%. 

Income growth and jobs growth also show Cleveland with higher annual rankings than the ones for the decade. 

Cleveland ranked fifth for real per capita personal income growth between 2021-22 at -3.4%. Indianapolis was first at -2.3% and Buffalo was last at -5.8%. For the decade, Cleveland ranked eighth at 5.1%. Indianapolis was first at 10.3% and Buffalo last at 2.8%.

Cleveland ranked seventh in jobs growth annually and for the decade. The jobs growth rate was 1.1% for 2022-23. Indianapolis was first with 3.1% growth, and Milwaukee was last at 0.5%. For the decade, Cleveland’s jobs growth rate was -1.8%. Indianapolis led with 8.0% and Rochester was last at -3.0%.

Ohio receiving $1 billion in federal funding to establish a hydrogen hub 

The report points to efforts the Cleveland area is making in strengthening the local economy in areas that include business development and workforce development. The report also looks at efforts aimed at making a more inclusive economy in which women and people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds can find opportunity.

Ohio receiving $1 billion in federal funding to establish a hydrogen hub is among the efforts that will help in expanding the local economy, Shah said. He also pointed to Lincoln Electric producing a fast charger for electric vehicles as another promising development. 

Greater Cleveland Partnership says going green is key to gaining competitive advantage

Local businesses embracing sustainability efforts can also prove a winner for the local economy, Shah said. He noted how attendance at GCP’s recent Sustainability Summit had doubled to 850 over last year.  He said the heightened interest shows how going green is now viewed as not only “doing a good thing for the planet” but crucial to gaining a competitive edge.

“Businesses are increasingly seeing customers, whether they’re consumers or business customers, who are increasingly insisting on products that have characteristics that show that they have a smaller environmental footprint,” Shah said.

The report mentions several promising inclusion efforts, including the Community Benefits Agreement legislation Cleveland passed last year. The law, focused on the requirements that companies doing business with the city must meet, allows for smaller bid packages. The goal is to make it easier for minority- and women-owned businesses to bid on projects.

Shah said a GCP analysis last fall finding that corporate boards in Greater Cleveland are becoming more diverse shows hope for better inclusion efforts.

The report touches on how having a skilled workforce is essential to attracting and expanding businesses. Encouraging to Shah is that more than 20,000 people in Greater Cleveland have gotten credentials through Ohio’s TechCred program. The program provides grants to train workers for skills in-demand by employers. The certificates and other credentials workers can receive include those in robotics, healthcare technology and cybersecurity.

Shah said the trend will have to expand to have a big impact on the Cleveland metro’s ranking.

 “The ranking will take some time to pull off, but the most exciting thing in talent that we see is the real embrace of upskilling,” he said.