Accolades & Rankings

We certainly understand why working and living in Northeast Indiana can benefit your business and life, but it’s not just our belief, the experts think so too.

Below is a list of accolades and rankings from national publications on our business climate, quality of life, and education.

Take Their Word for It

Business and Economy

2020

Resonance Consultancy named Fort Wayne No. 19 in its ranking of America's Best Small Cities.
Fourth Economy community index ranked Steuben County No. 7 on its list of the Top Ten Small Counties List for 2021.
Fort Wayne ranked in the list of Top 10 Cities for First-Time Homebuyers by SmartAsset.com.
Area Development named Indiana No. 7 on its list of the Top States for Doing Business.
Fort Wayne among 'Best of the Midwest' for startups by Midwest Startups.
Parkview Health was named one of the nation's top hospital systems by Fortune.
Fort Wayne included among ‘Best-Run Cities’ by WalletHub.com.
Indiana ranked once again as one of the 'Best States for Business' by Chief Executive Magazine.
Fort Wayne was named the Wall Street Journal's list of the top hottest job markets.
The Brookings Institution’s 2020 “Metro Monitor” report puts the Fort Wayne metro area in 4th place among mid-size cities for productivity, 7th for prosperity, and 8th for the standard of living, based on indicators like annual wages and what types of jobs are available.

2019

Machinery buyer and seller Kempler Industries compiled a list of the top U.S. cities for manufacturing and Fort Wayne ranked No. 2.
Indiana ranked sixth nationwide in a study of states most attractive to the aerospace and defense industries, according to consulting firm PwC.

2018

Forbes ranked Indiana No. 11 on its list of the Best States for Business list.
Tax Foundation ranked Indiana No. 2 on it's Property Tax Index Ranking list.
CNBC ranked Indiana No. 2 in a list of the top states for infrastructure.
Chief Executive magazine ranks Indiana fifth best state for business.
The Washington D.C.-based Tax Foundation's 2019 State Business Tax Climate Index ranks Indiana 10th for its overall tax climate and number one in the Midwest.
Several Northeast Indiana communities appeared on Site Selector Magazine's list of the Top Micropolitans by Number of Projects.

2017

Forbes ranked Indiana No. 10 on its list of the Top 10 Best States for Business.
The Tax Foundation’s 2018 State Business Tax Climate Index ranked Indiana No. 9 for its overall tax climate, and tops in the Midwest.
WalletHub ranked Fort Wayne No. 9 on its ranking of the best-run cities in the country.
Indiana is ranked No. 7 by Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council on a list of entrepreneur-friendly states.
Indiana is ranked No. 1 for best state government in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
Fort Wayne is ranked No. 15 in Business Insider's list of the 20 best US cities for finding a job in 2017.

2016

Indiana is ranked in the top 10 on a list of states with the most competitive tax codes. The Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index ranks Indiana 8th for its overall tax climate.
According to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indiana earned triple-A credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, and Moody’s.
Indiana ranked first in the Midwest and fifth in the nation for doing business by Chief Executive magazine.
Fort Wayne named one of America's Hottest Real Estate Markets by Realtor.com.
Fort Wayne ranks No. 1 for “Growing Strong Clusters” according to a Harvard University report analyzed by the Community Research Insitute at Purdue University Fort Wayne.

2015

Indiana was ranked first in the nation for our affordable cost of doing business by CNBC.com.
Indiana was ranked second in the United States for our pro-business regulatory environment by Forbes.
The Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States study ranked Indiana third in the nation as the best place to do business.
The State Business Tax Climate Index by the Tax Foundation ranked Indiana eighth-best in the country, up from tenth in 2014. Indiana remains the top state in the Midwest for business-tax competitiveness.
A Brookings Institution study ranked Indiana fourth in the nation for its concentration of jobs in advanced industries. Tech-related industries employ more than 11 percent of the state’s workforce.
The City of Bluffton, located in Wells County, was named No. 1 in NerdWallet’s list of the Best Places to Start a Business. Bluffton was also named Indiana’s first “Gigabit City” thanks to its universally available internet speeds of up to one hundred times faster than a typical residential broadband connection.

2014

According to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indiana was only one of 11 states that have triple-A credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, and Moody’s.
Area Development magazine ranked Indiana best in the Midwest and No. 7 overall in its Top States for Doing Business survey.
According to Business Facilities’ State Rankings Report, Indiana’s business climate ranked best in the Midwest and No. 5 in the nation.
The Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States study ranked Indiana first in the Midwest and seventh the nation as the best place to do business.
Chief Executive magazine’s annual Best and Worst States survey ranked Indiana first in the Midwest and sixth in the nation.
Forbes’ Best States for Business and Careers Index ranked Indiana No. 3 in regulatory environment.
According to Area Development magazine, Indiana ranked No. 7 in a list of the Top States for Doing Business.
- The magazine also ranked Indiana as:
  - No. 1 in skilled labor availability
  - No. 2 in water availability and cost
  - No. 3 in distribution and supply-chain hubs
  - No. 4 in rail and highway access
  - No. 5 in corporate-tax environment
  - No. 6 in cooperative government, and
  - No. 7 in labor climate.
Business Facilities’ State Rankings Report named Indiana as the state with the best business climate in the Midwest and No. 5 nationally. Indiana is ranked among the top 10 in six categories, including best business climate and automotive-manufacturing strength.
Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States ranked Indiana as the best place to do business in the Midwest and No. 7 nationwide.
Chief Executive ranked Indiana the sixth-best state for doing business and the best place to do business in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year.
The National Association of Manufacturers ranked Indiana No. 1 in highest shares of manufacturing employment.
Site Selection magazine named Indiana its No. 1 pick in the Midwest for the best overall business climate, according to a survey of site consultants.
The Fiscal Times ranked Indiana among the Top 10 Best States for Taxes.
State Business Tax Climate Index by the Tax Foundation ranked Indiana among the top 10 states in the nation.

Earlier

Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States ranked Indiana as the best place to do business in the Midwest and the seventh-best nationwide. (2013)
Chief Executive ranked Indiana the fifth-best state for doing business for the second year in a row and the best place to do business in the Midwest for the third consecutive year. (2013)
Area Development magazine named Indiana as one of the top 19 states leading the U.S. manufacturing resurgence. The magazine ranked Indiana as No. 1 in manufacturing share of nonfarm employment, No. 2 in manufacturing share of GSP, and No. 7 in manufacturing jobs overall. (2013)
Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States ranked Indiana as the best place to do business in the Midwest and the fifth-best nationwide. The Pollina Report also said “Rising from No. 23 in 2010, Indiana at No. 5 for 2012 has become a pro-business powerhouse and will certainly dominate the northern states if it continues to build on its success.” (2012)
Chief Executive ranked Indiana the fifth-best state for business. (2012)

Living Here and Quality of Life