Cincinnati, OH (September 18, 2024) – At an event today, the Cincinnati Regional Chamber’s Center for Research and Data (CRD) released its 2024 State of the Region Report, presented by First Financial Bank. The newly released report provides data and analysis on a broad set of economic and community indicators and compares how the region is performing related to peer cities.
The 2024 report features updated comparisons among the Cincinnati region’s peer cities, as well as intraregional datasets that help identify strengths and opportunities within our region. Also new are expanded data and information on immigration, generational change, and past and future population growth. This year’s industry focus is on Arts & Culture, and there is a new section highlighting transportation indicators.
“The State of the Region makes it clear that Cincinnati’s potential for growth remains strong,” said Brandon Rudd, Director of the Center for Research & Data at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber. “We’re proud to present a report with more data and statistics than ever before. This year’s report has an industry focus on arts and culture, a section dedicated to transportation insights, and a deeper focus on generational change throughout our region. As always, our peer benchmarks make clear the Cincinnati Region’s strengths and guide efforts to continue to improve to make Cincinnati a region where everyone feels like they belong.”
Similar to 2023’s report, there continues to be a recurring theme across the data emphasizing the connection between population and economic growth, especially when viewing our region’s GDP. Key drivers of our GDP locally include exports such as jet engines and pharmaceuticals, making Cincinnati second among peers for regional exports per capita. Immigrants also present a significant opportunity to economic growth. While lower as a percentage of population relative to our peers, immigrants have higher household incomes and labor participation rates than their native counterparts. This is largely due to a significant portion of immigrants landing in the prime-working age population (25 to 54 years old).
The report highlights also our region’s vast cultural assets, especially as compared with peer cities. The total gross regional product for arts and culture industries was $5.4 billion in 2023, a 31% increase since 2020. Moreover, the film industry has seen strong growth here, adding 46% more jobs since 2020, the fifth largest increase among our 22 peer regions. Cincinnati also captured about 60% of all Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credits in 2024, compared to 26% for Cleveland and about 6% for Columbus. This underscores just a few of the reasons Cincinnati was recently announced as a finalist to host the Sundance Film Festival and other national cultural events.
Additional highlights include:
- Intraregional population growth. Since 2010, Warren and Boone Counties have been the fastest growing counties in the region in percentage terms, but Hamilton County also added over 24,000 residents.
- Intraregional economic disparities. While Warren County stands out not only with the region and Ohio, but nationally, with high median household incomes, educational attainment and life expectancy, there is wide variation in these data across our 15-county MSA.
- Generational population spread. Cincinnati ranks in the top half of our peer regions for Gen Z population, ranking 10th out of 22, but the region ranks in the bottom half for Millennial population.
- Transportation and housing indicators. Transit ridership in the region is growing and Cincinnati Metro is seeing positive results from its Reinventing Metro initiative, with the highest post-pandemic ridership recovery among peers. However, the region still lags peers in housing production. The City’s Connected Communities reforms are one measure to improve these statistics, but the effect of those reforms will take years to show up in the data, and more will need to be done to tackle the regional housing shortage.
“The data in the Chamber’s State of the Region report provides a foundational understanding of how we can grow our region’s population, economy and cultural vibrancy,” said Brendon Cull President and CEO of the Cincinnati Regional Chamber. “Ultimately, it is data that will inform and improve our regional initiatives, enabling smarter, more strategic and effective outcomes. It is our hope that this report is on the desk of leaders everywhere as we make decisions about growing our region.”
About the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
The Cincinnati Regional Chamber is the premier business and civic organization dedicated to growing the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the Cincinnati region. To achieve its vision that Cincinnati is a growing, thriving region where everyone belongs, the Chamber seeks to grow our economy, grow our population, and grow our cultural vibrancy – with the foundation of a strong business community – to foster a welcoming environment for all. The Chamber’s membership offerings, signature leadership programs, government and regional advocacy efforts, community events such as BLINK and Oktoberfest as well as key partnerships with organizations like Cincinnati Experience, Cincinnati Compass, Cincinnati Minority Business Accelerator, and the Workforce Innovation Center lead the way in making that vision a reality. For more information, visit cincinnatichamber.com.
About the Center for Research and Data
The Cincinnati Chamber’s Center for Research and Data is an initiative to deliver data-driven analysis regarding vital regional indicators and outcomes. The Center helps regional leaders, community partners, and policymakers make informed decisions around priorities like talent attraction, inclusive economic growth, and communitywide
goals. We provide actionable insights to support the mission and vision of the Chamber.
Media Contact:
Amy Fitzgibbons, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Cincinnati Regional Chamber afitzgibbons@cincinnatichamber.com | 513.579.3106
Brandon Rudd, Director of the Center for Research and Data, Cincinnati Regional Chamber
brudd@cincinnatichamber.com | 513.579.3176
