The Cincinnati-Middletown metropolitan area sprawls through parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. The Cincinnati area is home to over ten Fortune 1000 company headquarters. The largest company headquartered in the Cincinnati area is Kroger. Probably the most famous companies headquartered in the area are Kroger, Procter & Gamble, and Chiquita Brands International. More than 370 Fortune 500 firms have operations in Cincinnati.
Major business honors and awards that have been received by the Cincinnati metropolitan area include:
- The Cincinnati area ranked 13th among the 50 top large cities on Entrepreneur magazine's 2005 list of "Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs".
- The Cincinnati metropolitan ranked 81st on Forbes magazine's 2006 "Best Places For Business And Careers" list.
- The Cincinnati-Middletown metropolitan area has ranked in the top fifty U.S. Cities in the large cities category for the last three years (2004-2006) on Inc. magazine's list of "Best Cities for Doing Business". The 2005 survey ranked the Cincinnati area 18th for the "Most Balanced Economy and Growth".
- The Cincinnati-Middletown area was ranked 33rd on Expansion Management’s 2006 "America's 50 Hottest Cities" rankings.
- The Cincinnati-Middletown area received a "5-Star Business Opportunity Metro" ranking from Expansion Management’s 2005 Mayor’s Challenge ranking of the "Top Business Opportunity Metros".
- The Cincinnati area is ranked the 6th safest region for business in United States by Risk & Insurance magazine.
The Cincinnati area has a well educated work force. According to a U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, Cincinnati has almost 34% of its workforce with a college degree or higher, placing it 19th among large U.S. cities. Cincinnati ranks among the top ten most literate cities in the United States according to a 2005 Central Connecticut State University study. Helping to fuel this well educated work force are almost 300 colleges and universities that are located within 200 miles of Cincinnati.
According to the Economics Center for Education & Research at the University of Cincinnati, some of the major industry clusters in the Cincinnati area include:
- Advanced Design Services
- Business Management
- Financial Services
- Biotechnology
- Digital Equipment and Telecommunications
- Software & Data Processing
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Aerospace
- Chemicals and Plastics
- Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
For business travelers, the Cincinnati area is served by the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). CVG is one of the thirty busiest airports in the United States.
Companies with headquarters or major operations in the Cincinnati metropolitan area include:
- AK Steel Holding
- 513 Ventures
- American Financial Group.
- Chiquita Brands International
- Cincinnati Bell
- Cincinnati Financial Corporation
- Cinergy
- Cintas
- Comair Airlines - Delta Connection
- Convergys
- Cornerstone Brands (subsidiary of the InterActive Corp.)
- Duro Bag Manufacturing Company
- E.W. Scripps
- Federated Dept. Stores
- Fifth Third Bancorp
- Formica Corporation
- Fujitec America
- GE-Aviation
- General Cable Corporation
- Kroger
- LaRosa's Pizza
- LCN Solutions
- Luxottica Retail (division of Luxottica SpA of Milan, Italy)
- Milacron
- Mitsubishi Automotive Electric America
- Omnicare
- Paycor, Inc.
- Portion PAC
- Procter & Gamble
- Roto-Rooter
- Skyline Chili
- The Andrew Jergens Company (subsidiary of Kao, Inc.)
- The David J. Joseph Company
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America
- United Dairy Farmers
- US Playing Card Company
- Western & Southern Financial Group
Business organizations/associations in the Cincinnati area include:
- The Cincinnati Business Incubator
- The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
- The Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau
- The Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce
- The Hamilton County Development Company
The "Business Section" of the Cincinnati Enquirer is an excellent sources of information on business in the Cincinnati area.