Columbus, Ohio has a generally strong[ citation needed ] and diverse economy based on education, insurance, banking, fashion, defense, aviation, food, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology.
Prominent employers in the Columbus area include numerous schools (e.g., The Ohio State University) and hospitals, hi-tech research and development and information/library companies such as Battelle Memorial Institute, OCLC, and Chemical Abstracts, and retail clothing and restaurant companies (such as Limited Brands and Wendy's). Other large employers include Alliance Data, Nationwide Insurance, JP Morgan Chase, American Electric Power, Huntington Bancshares, Worthington Industries and Cardinal Health, not to mention both state and local government.
In 1953, GBQ Partners, a professional services firm was founded, [1] and is the largest Columbus-owned accounting firm. During the recession beginning in late 2007, Columbus's economy was not impacted as much as the rest of the country, due to decades of diversification work by long-time corporate residents, business leaders, and political leaders. The former administration of mayor Michael B. Coleman had continued this work, although the city faced financial turmoil and had to increase taxes, due in part to alleged fiscal mismanagement. [2] [3] As Columbus is the state capital, there is a large government presence in the city. Including city, county, state, and federal employers, government jobs provide the largest single source of employment within Columbus.
in 2010, Overall, it was ranked as one of the top 10 best big cities in the country according to Relocate America, a real estate research firm. [4]
in 2016 Forbes ranked Columbus the No. 7 best city for young professionals. [5] In 2018 Business.com rated Columbus one of the Top Five best cities for entrepreneurs and startups. [6] Ohio is ranked No. 5 in the nation for headquarters of Fortune 500 companies, with Columbus home to the most in the state. [7]
In 2015 Columbus was named by the Intelligent Community Forum as one of the seven top Smart Cities in the world. [8]
In 2016 the Columbus metropolitan area's GDP was $130.8 billion, [9] ranking it 29th largest in the U.S. and second largest in Ohio, ahead of Cleveland and just behind Cincinnati. [10]
Historically, John Glenn Columbus International Airport, now the largest passenger airport in central Ohio and second busiest in the state after Cleveland, was once home to a North American Aviation factory (later North American/Rockwell). Aircraft built in Columbus include the North American F-86 Sabre, A-5 Vigilante, OV-10 Bronco, T-2 Buckeye, and components for the B-1 bomber, as well as numerous missiles and guidance systems. [11] Columbus was also home to Skybus Airlines, a discount carrier which began flying in May 2007. [12] [13] and ceased operations on April 5, 2008. [14] [15] Columbus is home to several private charter aviation companies, including Capital City Jet, located at Bolton Field, Stratos Jet Charters, Charter Logic, Pulse Aviation, New Flight Charters, NetJets and JetRide.
Vaisala is a Finnish global aviation company with operations in Columbus, originally started by pioneering innovator Vilho Väisälä. The corporation recently signed a long-term contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to supply next-generation GPS dropsondes for hurricane reconnaissance. [16] Honeywell operates facilities in Columbus, and German-based Siemens' Midwest facility is located here. Private aircraft-leasing giant NetJets is now based in Columbus, on a campus which recently saw a $220 million expansion. [17]
Huntington Bancshares Inc., a Fortune 500 company, has its headquarters in the downtown area. Bank One was headquartered in Columbus until 1998, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which acquired Bank One in 2004, continues to maintain a major presence in Columbus, with a large mortgage servicing unit in the city. First Financial Bank, PNC Bank (previously National City Bank), KeyBank, Heartland Bank, Charter One Bank, U.S. Bank, Citigroup, Fifth Third Bank, and Commerce National Bank all maintain a presence in Columbus. [ citation needed ]
One of the larger processing centers of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is located in Columbus. [18] The Department of Defense also operates the Defense Supply Center, Columbus (DSCC) east of downtown, which hosts the 391st Military Police Battalion and the 375th Criminal Investigations Division of the U.S. Army Reserve, along with elements of the Ohio National Guard. Rickenbacker International Airport, located south of the city, hosts the United States Air Force's Ohio National Guard 121st Air Refueling Wing. Fort Hayes, a historic military barrack, was located downtown. The Ohio National Guard Headquarters is located on the far north side of the city. Mission Essential Personnel, the government's leading source of linguists in Afghanistan, is based in the Easton Town Center. [19]
Limited Brands (formerly known as The Limited, Inc.), a Fortune 500 company, is located on the east side of the city and is the parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works, among others.
Express and The Limited retail stores are also headquartered in Columbus and were formerly part of Limited Brands.
Abercrombie & Fitch, a Fortune 500 company and parent company of Hollister Co. (whose first store opened in Easton Town Center in 2000), and Abercrombie Kids, is based in the Columbus suburb of New Albany. [20]
Fortune 500 company Big Lots is located in the city, as well as Schottenstein Stores Corp.
DSW Shoes are headquartered in Columbus, as well.
Restoration Hardware opened up a major customer service center just west of Downtown, in 2011.
Columbus is third, behind New York and Los Angeles, in employing fashion designers. [21]
Ten restaurant chains are based in the Columbus area: Charley's Grilled Subs, Steak Escape, White Castle, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, Bob Evans Restaurants, Max & Erma's, Damon's Grill, Donatos Pizza and Wendy's. Wendy's, a Fortune 500 company, operated its first store downtown as both a museum and a restaurant until March 2007 when the establishment was closed due to low revenue. The company is presently headquartered outside the city in nearby Dublin.
Budweiser has a major brewery located on the north side just south of I-270 and Worthington. Columbus is also home to many local-based micro breweries and pubs, including Barley's Brewing, Elevator-Draught Haus Brewing, Columbus Brewing Co., cb Beverage, Boathouse Brewery, BJ's Restaurant and Brewery, Gambrinus Brewing, and Biersch Brewing. The Brewery District, located just south of downtown, and next to the German Village, is home to many brewery pubs and restaurants. [22] Scotland headquartered BrewDog established its Western Hemisphere headquarters in a 100,000 square foot brewery in Canal Winchester in 2017. [23]
Asian frozen food manufacturer and ex-destination tiki restaurant Kahiki Foods is located on the East side of Columbus. Wasserstrom Company, a major supplier of equipment and supplies for restaurants, is located on the north side. Lancaster Colony Corporation, a manufacturer of candles and Marzetti food products, is headquartered in the city.
Columbus is home to many outstanding hospitals, which employ well over 8,000 in the city. Grant Medical Center, located downtown, is part of Ohio Health, a faith-based, non-profit organization that has been serving Columbus since 1891. In 2009, Grant was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the United States' best hospitals. [24] Another Ohio Health-operated hospital, Riverside Methodist, located in north-central Columbus, was also named one of the country's best hospitals in 2009 by U.S. News & World Report.
Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the country's premier children's hospitals, ranked in the top 10 of NIH-supported centers for their category, and is the fifth largest in the country. They specialize in surgical, neuroscience, rehabilitation, burn, dialysis and bone marrow areas. In 2018, U.S. News & World Report ranked this hospital No. 7 in its category. [25]
Other local hospitals include the Ohio State University Medical Center (see Medical research), Mt. Carmel East and West facilities, Doctor's Hospital, Riverside Methodist Hospital, and University Hospital East, and there are many specialty locations throughout the city.
Columbus's hospitality industry accounts for thousands of jobs in the area. There are 25,005 hotel rooms in the metropolitan area, and 3,280 downtown. [26] Major hotels downtown include Westin's historic Great Southern Hotel, a uniquely designed and ultra-modern Hyatt Regency in the Arena District, an urban-themed DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Columbus Downtown, a Crowne Plaza Hotel, the Sheraton Columbus at Capitol Square, the Manhattan-styled Lofts Hotel and Suites, the cosmopolitan Renaissance Hotel, the old European-themed Ashland Springs Hotel, Drury Inn and Suites, and a new Hampton Inn and Suites designed to conform with the surroundings. The Hilton Easton, located in northeast Columbus, is a new, classically themed hotel. The Fort Rapids Water Resort is located just east of Downtown on Hilton Corporate Drive. The Concourse Hotel and Athletic Club is located at Port Columbus. University Plaza and the Blackwell Inn, a newly built, modern hotel, are in the University District, and several Marriotts, Residence Inns, Embassy Suites, Best Westerns, Red Roof Inns, Holiday Inns, Courtyards, and other franchise hotels are found throughout the city.
The architectural firm, HOK Chicago, was chosen to design the new 500+ room, $140 million convention hotel Downtown in collaboration with Hilton Hotels and the Franklin County Commissioners, breaking ground on July 13, 2010. [27] [28] The 126-room Hyatt Place, located on the Ohio State University campus, opened in September 2010. [29]
Columbus is home to five insurance companies. Nationwide Insurance, a Fortune 500 company, has its international headquarters downtown in a large, multi-building complex that dominates the northern end of the downtown area. The other insurance companies in the city are Motorists Insurance, [30] Grange Insurance, [31] Safe Auto Insurance, [32] and State Auto Mutual. [33]
CSX Norfolk operates a $67 million intermodal railyard in the city, with plans for a second $130 million facility imminent in 2008. [34] UPS has a large distribution center on the west side of the city.[ citation needed ] Major motor-freight companies in the city include Roadway Express, Estes Express Lines, Covenant Transport, Old Dominion Freight Line, and Overnite Transportation. Air cargo services companies operating at Rickenbacker International Airport include Federal Express, DHL/Airborne Logistics, Kuehne + Nagel, Scanwell, Walter J. Engel Co., Freight Expeditors, H A Logistics, Evergreen Airlines, Worldwide Flight Services, Nippon Express USA, Inc., and Panalpina, Inc. [35]
Worthington Industries, a large steel-processing company and Fortune 500 company, is primarily located on the north side near Worthington. Columbus Steel Castings, now defunct, formerly Buckeye Steel Castings, operated North America's largest steel foundry on the south side of the city. Momentive Specialty Chemicals (formerly part of Borden, Inc.) is located downtown, and Ashland Inc. has a large facility in the Columbus area. Rogue Fitness, currently located approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of the city's downtown, is a manufacturer and distributor of strength and conditioning equipment [36]
Columbus is home to an abundance of medical research and related institutions, including institutions such as the Battelle Memorial Institute, the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
In 2009, scientists at The [Nationwide] Research Institute developed a trial for an HIV vaccine from genetic research, while researchers at OSU developed a genetic injection treatment for the disease obesity. [37] [38] Other recent innovations in 2009 include an ear infection vaccine from The Research Institute. [39]
The Ohio State University Medical Center has a history of medical research including many medical firsts and breakthroughs. The Ohio State University and Cleveland Clinic, a world-renowned medical institution in northeastern Ohio, recently licensed technology to PreCelleon, based in Columbus, to develop a tool to collect more cancerous cells for research. [40] Battelle's West Jefferson biomedical center, just west of Columbus, in 2009 began studying the H1N1 virus and testing their existing technology to find a way to better detect it. [41] The Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University was ranked in U.S. News & World Report's elite "Honor Roll" for medical institutions in the country in 2009, marking the 17th year in a row OSU was honored. [42]
Other medical operations in the area include the Fortune 500 company Cardinal Health, which has its headquarters in the Columbus suburb of Dublin (Cardinal was originally based in Columbus). The Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories, makers of Ensure nutritional drink and Similac infant formula, is headquartered in Columbus, with over 7,000 employees.
Columbus has routinely been ranked No. 1 as the most up and coming technological city in America, aided by Battelle Memorial Institute, created in the 1920s by industrialist Gordon Battelle. [46] Central Connecticut State University ranked Columbus No. 8 in the nation for Internet literacy in 2005, but by 2008 the city had slipped to No. 21. [47] [48] In 2009, Forbes ranked Columbus as the 29th most wired city in the country. [49]
Columbus is home to the Ohio Supercomputer Center, founded in 1987, and located on the Ohio State University campus. It is available to research scientists, focusing on bio and data science, advanced materials, and engineering research. 1,850 miles of network infrastructure is utilized by the center through OARNet, providing internet access to over two million Ohioans as well as colleges and universities. The OSC partners with the U.S. Department of Defense, Education, and Energy, as well as the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, among other institutions. [50]
Many technology companies either call Columbus home or have significant operations in the area. The first major commercial Internet service provider in the United States, CompuServe, still has its roots in Columbus, although it has been owned by AOL since 1998. They started in Columbus in 1969 and first offered Internet service in 1979 with electronic mail services. [51] Chemical Abstracts Service is located just north of the OSU campus, and is the "world's foremost clearinghouse for chemical research". [52]
Sterling Commerce, a B2B software company, has its headquarters on the northwest side. Mettler Toledo, a manufacturer of precision scales and scientific equipment is headquartered in the area known as Polaris on the north side of the city. Columbus is home to interactive agencies and software development companies, with a concentration in Columbus' downtown and Arena District neighborhoods. Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), a leading library information company, is based in the Columbus area.
The Battelle Memorial Institute has played a key global role in the technological community over the last century, launching many products based on their discoveries. Battelle is the "world’s largest private contract research and development organization", [52] managing labs and companies all over the world. In 2004, Battelle opened a new biotechnology and chemistry lab in Columbus. [53] In 2009, Battelle was awarded 26 prestigious awards from R&D Magazine for developments, bringing their total to 217. [54]
The multi-jurisdictional 315 Research + Technology Corridor was set up in 2006 to promote the area nationally and internationally. [55] TechColumbus was also created in 2002 to help accelerate and support the growth of Central Ohio's tech economy.
American Electric Power, a Fortune 500 company, has its headquarters in downtown Columbus.
Alliance Data, Also a Fortune 500 company has recently arranged to move its headquarters to Columbus Ohio from its prior location in Plano, Texas. [56]
Vertiv, a provider of equipment and services for data centers is based in Columbus.
Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, and the third-most populous U.S. state capital, after only Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas. Columbus is the seat of government of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses ten counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan area entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest metro area in the U.S.
Battelle Memorial Institute is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The institute opened in 1929 but traces its origins to the 1923 will of Ohio industrialist Gordon Battelle which provided for its creation and his mother Annie Maude Norton Battelle who left the bulk of the family fortune to the institute after her death in 1925. Originally focusing on contract research and development work in the areas of metals and material science, Battelle is now an international science and technology enterprise that explores emerging areas of science, develops and commercializes technology, and manages laboratories for customers. It has 3,200 employees, and manages another 29,500 in ten United States Department of Energy National Laboratories.
German Village is a historic neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, just south of the city's downtown. It was settled in the early-to-mid-19th century by a large number of German immigrants, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the city's entire population. It became a city historic district in 1960 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, becoming the list's largest privately funded preservation district, and in 2007, was made a Preserve America Community by the federal government. In 1980, its boundaries increased, and today it is one of the world's premier historic restorations.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona and Des Moines, Iowa. Nationwide currently has approximately 25,000 employees, and is ranked No. 75 in the 2024 Fortune 500 list.
The Arena District is a mixed-use planned development and neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. The site was developed through a partnership between Nationwide Realty Investors, Ltd., the City of Columbus and private investors. Interpretation of the boundaries of the district are evolving as the neighboring blocks around the original 75-acre (300,000 m2) site have seen additional commercial and residential development. The Arena District is named for Nationwide Arena.
The Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is a region of commerce and industry located along Interstate 88 in the Chicago metropolitan area, primarily in Cook, DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb Counties. The corridor is home to the headquarters or regional centers for many Fortune 1000 companies, several office and industrial parks, colleges and universities, research and scientific institutions, medical centers, government centers, and abundant shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment amenities. In addition to the I-90 Golden Corridor, the I-94 Lakeshore Corridor, and the I-55 Industrial Corridor, the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is one of the principal economic centers in suburban Chicago.
The Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in Central Ohio surrounding the state capital of Columbus. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, it includes the counties of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, and Union. At the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 2,138,926, making it 32nd-most populous in the United States and the second largest in Ohio, behind the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The metro area, also known as Central Ohio or Greater Columbus, is one of the largest and fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the Midwestern United States.
Since it earliest days, the economy of Louisville, Kentucky, has been underpinned by the shipping and cargo industries. Today, Louisville is home to dozens of companies and organizations across several industrial classifications.
Downtown Columbus is the central business district of Columbus, Ohio. Downtown is centered on the intersection of Broad and High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inner Belt. Downtown is home to most of the tallest buildings in Columbus.
The Golden Corridor is the area around the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, formerly known as the Northwest Tollway, in the Chicago metropolitan area. Its name refers to the "gold" mine of economic profit for communities in the area. Several Fortune 500 company headquarters, office parks, industrial parks, exhibition and entertainment centers, medical facilities, hotels, shopping centers, and restaurants are in the Golden Corridor. With the exception of the O'Hare area of Chicago, all the communities in this region are part of a larger region known as the "Northwest Suburbs".
The economy of Omaha, Nebraska is linked to the city's status as a major commercial hub in the Midwestern United States since its founding in 1854. Dubbed the "Motor Mouth City" by The New York Times, Omaha is widely regarded as the telecommunications capital of the United States. The city's economy includes agriculture, food processing, insurance, transportation, healthcare and education. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway has lived in Omaha all of his life, as have the ConAgra Foods, Union Pacific Railroad and Mutual of Omaha Companies, and Kiewit Corporation, all Fortune 500 corporations.
Located on the Mississippi River, the metropolitan area of Memphis is one of the largest in the Southeastern United States, ranking 42nd in the United States according to the 2010 census. The city has historically been one of the largest shipping hubs in the Mid-South, dating back to the Civil War, when the port was one of the largest on the Mississippi River and served as a shipping hub for the Confederacy.
Nationwide Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The hospital has 673 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the Ohio State University College of Medicine. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout Ohio and surrounding regions. Nationwide Children's Hospital also sometimes treats adults that require pediatric care. Nationwide Children's Hospital also features an ACS-verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, one of four in the state. The hospital has affiliations with the nearby Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Nationwide Children's Hospital is located on its own campus and has more than 1,379 medical staff members and over 11,909 total employees.
The economy of Ohio nominally would be the 20th largest global economy behind Turkey and ahead of Switzerland according to The World Bank as of 2022. The state had a GDP of $822.67 billion in 2022, which is 3.23% of the United States total, ranking 7th in the nation behind Pennsylvania and ahead of Georgia. In 2013, Ohio was ranked in the top ten states for best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database. The state was edged out only by Texas and Nebraska for the 2013 Governor's Cup award from the magazine, based on business growth and economic development.
Medical Mutual of Ohio (MMOH) is an American mutual health insurance company. It is the oldest and largest health insurance company based in Cleveland, Ohio, and serves more than 1.6 million customers. Employing 2,500 people, Medical Mutual is one of the biggest employers in downtown Cleveland.
The culture of Columbus, Ohio, is particularly known for museums, performing arts, sporting events, seasonal fairs and festivals, and architecture of various styles from Greek Revival to modern architecture.
The Ohio bioscience sector strength was ranked #4 among USA states in 2008 by Business Facilities magazine.
Philadelphia is the center of economic activity in both Pennsylvania and the four-state Delaware Valley metropolitan region of the United States. Philadelphia's close geographical and transportation connections to other large metropolitan economies along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States have been cited as offering a significant competitive advantage for business creation and entrepreneurship. Five Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the city. As of 2021, the Philadelphia metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of US$479 billion, an increase from the $445 billion calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for 2017, representing the ninth largest U.S. metropolitan economy. Philadelphia was rated by the GaWC as a 'Beta' city in its 2016 ranking of world cities.
S.G. Loewendick & Sons, also known as Loewendick Demolition Contractors, is a demolition company based in Grove City, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The company is the largest specializing in demolition in Central Ohio. It has torn down most of the landmark buildings in Columbus in recent decades, including Union Station, the Ohio Penitentiary, the Christopher Inn, the Deshler Hotel, and the Ohio State University Drake Performance and Event Center.
The economy of Indianapolis is centered on the City of Indianapolis and Marion County within the context of the larger Indianapolis metropolitan area. The Indianapolis–Carmel–Anderson, IN MSA, had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $134 billion in 2015. The top five industries were: finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing ($30.7B), manufacturing ($30.1B), professional and business services ($14.3B), educational services, health care, and social assistance ($10.8B), and wholesale trade ($8.1B). Government, if it had been a private industry, would have ranked fifth, generating $10.2 billion.