15. Ohio

Ty Wright | Bloomberg | Getty Images

An employee pours molten steel into a casting for a church bell at the Verdin Corp. production facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Category	Score	1018 Rank	2017 Rank	Grade
Workforce	234	25	31	B-
Infrastructure	261	4	5	A-
Cost of Doing Business	228	13	22 (Tie)	A
Economy	153	24	17	C
Quality of Life	128	35	40	D-
Technology & Innovation	137	16	15	B
Education	124	15	15 (Tie)	B
Business Friendliness	57	37	37 (Tie)	D+
Access to Capital	75	14	14	B+
Cost of Living	37	14	18	B+
Overall	1434	15	16	-

Economic Profile

Governor: John Kasich, Republican

Population: 11,658,609

GDP growth (Q4 2017): 1.8 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2018): 4.3 percent

Top corporate tax rate: None (levies a gross receipts tax)

Top individual income tax rate: 4.997 percent

Gasoline tax: 28.01 cents/gallon

Bond rating (Moody's/S&P): Aa1, stable/AA+, stable

Major private employers: Wal-Mart, Cleveland Clinic, Procter & Gamble

Economic profile sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute (excluding 18.40 cent/gallon federal tax), Moody's Investor Service, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Overall Rankings 2018