Area Development Recognizes Michigan as Top 10 State to Do Business for Third Consecutive Year

LANSING, Mich. (Sept. 30, 2026) – Michigan achieved a strong showing in Area Development's annual Top States for Doing Business, coming in at No. 10 for the third year in a row.

“Michigan is on the move and open for business. Our talented workers, driven innovators and entrepreneurs, and growing businesses have made Michigan a top 10 state to do business for the third year in a row," said Governor Whitmer. "I'm proud of the progress we've made to get this done, from enacting our R&D tax credit to making historic investments in higher education, workforce training, and community revitalization. Let's keep working together to help more workers, families, and business owners 'make it' in Michigan."

Michigan was named the No. 1 state for Water and Wastewater Capacity (consistent with No.1 in 2025 for Water Availability), rose to No. 1 for Climate Risk and Resilience (from No. 3 in 2025), and made its debut in the Top 10 for other categories:

• No. 2 for Engineering Talent & Industry Cluster Strength (new category)
• No. 6 for Access to Skilled Manufacturing Labor (first time in top 10)
• No. 8 for Availability of Industrial Sites & Buildings (first time in top 10)
• No. 8 for Innovation & Research Ecosystem (new category)
• No. 10 for Overall Speed-to-Market (new category)

The state was also ranked No. 9 for Cooperative Local and State Government, No. 8 for Site Readiness Programs and No. 10 for Workforce Training Programs. Overall, Michigan was ranked in the top 10 for 10 of the 20 categories.

“Today’s ranking by Area Development is a reflection of the Team Michigan work to create a business climate that reduces barriers to growth by implementing collaborative solutions to improve Michigan’s economic resilience across industries,” said Quentin Messer, Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). “While work remains, I’m proud of my colleagues, grateful for bipartisan support at the state and federal levels and pleased that we continue earning the votes of confidence of business leaders and their advisors reflected by these rankings."

The recognition of Michigan’s efforts in entrepreneurship and innovation is especially notable given just yesterday, the state joined J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., Ford Motor Company, Michigan Central and Newlab to announce Michigan LIFT, a first-of-its-kind, innovative platform allowing Michigan entrepreneurs direct access to providing real-time business solutions for major corporations.

Additionally, PitchMI competitions are underway across the state for 2026-27, led by the Michigan State University Research Foundation and supported by the MEDC.

“I’m pleased to see the recognition by Area Development of the critical work we’re doing to grow Michigan’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem as a validation of how important this is to our state’s overall business health, economic resilience, and diversity,” said Ben Marchionna, Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer at the MEDC. “Whether it’s through programming like Michigan LIFT and PitchMI, matching our employers with up-and-coming ideas for the next generation of work, or diversifying our economic drivers, Michigan clearly has what it takes to compete and win.”

The MEDC offers an array of programs and services supporting many of the efforts recognized in Area Development’s top 10 rankings, including: Industry 4.0, MTRAC/commercialization of university innovations, buyer/supplier matchmaking, Brownfield programs, and more.

Other notable highlights for the MEDC in 2026 include: 

• A 12-point improvement (from 2025) in positive sentiments about MEDC, to 81% positive, from the organization’s annual in-state survey of business leaders
• Report from Upjohn Institute finding total benefits of battery facilities in Michigan exceed incentive costs by about 55% ($880 million) across five major projects 

• Michigan’s No. 6 ranking from CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business, earning a Top 10 ranking for a fifth time 

• Recognition as a Top 5 state nationally for workforce development by Site Selection 

• IEDC honoring the MEDC with a Silver Award in the Innovative Economic Development category for PitchMI, a founder-focused pitch competition organized by the MEDC and the Michigan State University Research Foundation 

• The MEDC and the MSF receiving clean audits of financial statements and related disclosures by the Office of the Auditor General, providing independent third-party validation of our stewardship of Michigan’s taxpayer dollars 

METHODOLOGY: Area Development’s annual Top States for Doing Business rankings surveyed 50 leading site consultants in 20 categories. States were ranked by the number of consultant mentions in each category, with results weighted according to the relative importance of those factors in Area Development’s annual site selection surveys. The categories were then divided into four key themes to provide a comprehensive view of the state’s business environment:

• Workforce, Talent and Innovation: Focuses on the access, maintainability and improvement of labor.
• Sites, Utilities and Infrastructure: Highlights a state's site capabilities.
• Government Responsiveness and Project Execution: Assesses the state's governmental environment and speed to market.
• Cost, Tax and Long-Term Operating Risk: Examines the overall business costs within the state.

 

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Threads.