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.

Ohio is commonly noted as the Nation's Industrial Capital, dating to its roots in the Rust Belt and Ohio's present-day intelligence and scientific dominance. The year ending July 2011 saw the state ranked fourth in the nation in job creation behind Texas, California, and New York."All but six states post job gains in past 12 months" , G. Scott Thomas. Biz Journals. August 22, 2011. Accessed September 9, 2011 By 2016 the state wasn't in the top 10 for job growth,"Business Facilities’ 12th Annual Rankings Report: State Rankings" , Business Facilities. August 3, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016 but between 2017 and 2018 the state saw an increase in job creation of 44,600."State Economic Snapshots" , Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress. March 26, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018

After California and Texas, Ohio is the third largest U.S. manufacturing state, with total output in 2017 approaching $108 billion. Home to more than 12,000 manufacturers, 12.6% of the Ohio work force is dedicated to manufacturing.TOP 10 STATES FOR MANUFACTURING 2019 Retrieved December 31, 2019

Ohio is considered a center of science and industry, with museums dedicated to such in Columbus, COSI, the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, the Imagination Station in Toledo, and the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton. The state includes many historically strong industries, such as banking and insurance, which accounts for 8% of the gross state product, motor vehicle manufacturing, research and development, and steel production, accounting for 14-17% of the nation's raw output. More traditional industries include agriculture, employing one out of seven Ohioans, and new and developing sectors include bioscience, green, information, and food processing industries. Ohio is the biggest manufacturer of plastics and rubber in the country, has the largest bioscience sector in the Midwest, and ranked fourth in the country for green economic growth through 2007.

The state is recognized internationally as the "Fuel Cell Corridor","Ohio - top destination for the fuel cell industry" , The Fuel Cell Corridor, Retrieved November 20, 2009. while Toledo is recognized as a national solar center,"Five cities that will rise in the New Economy" , Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved November 27, 2009."Ohio gov. declares NW Ohio a solar energy hub", ABC13. June 30, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010. Cleveland a regenerative medicine research hub,"Atlantic Eye: Brunner is the best for Ohio" , Marc S. Ellenbogen. May 3, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2010. Dayton an aerospace and defense hub, Columbus a technological research and development hub, and Cincinnati a mercantile hub.

Wal-Mart is the largest private sector employer in Ohio with approximately 50,500 employees in 2017. The largest Ohio employer with headquarters in Ohio is the Cleveland Clinic, with approximately 49,050 employees and headquarters in Cleveland.Ohio's largest 100 employers in 2017: Walmart tops the list Accessed March 24, 2017 The largest employer at a single location in Ohio is Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. 70% of the nation's electrometallurgical ferroalloy manufacturing employees are located in Ohio.

Overview

The economy of Ohio nominally would be the 25th-largest global economy behind Sweden and ahead of Nigeria according to the 2013 World Bank projections, and the 24th-largest global economy behind Sweden and ahead of Norway according to the 2013 International Monetary Fund projections. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the state had a projected GDP of $526.1 billion in 2013, up from $517.1 billion in 2012, and up from $501.3 billion in 2011.

A 2014 report by the Quantitative Economics and Statistics Practices (QUEST) of Ernst & Young in conjunction with the Council On State Taxation (COST), ranks Ohio third in the nation for friendliest tax environment. The study, entitled "Competitiveness of state and local business taxes on new investment," provides a state-by-state comparison of tax liabilities. The Top 5 states ranked with the lowest effective tax rate on new investment are: (1) Maine (3.0%), (2) Oregon (3.8%), (3) Ohio (4.4%), (4) Wisconsin (4.5%), and (5) Illinois (4.6%). JobsOhio, Retrieved August 16, 2014. In 2013, Ohio was ranked in the Top 10 among states with the best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database. The state was edged out by Texas and Nebraska for the 2013 Governor's Cup award from the magazine, based on business growth and economic development. Ohio was ranked No. 11 by the council for best friendly-policy states according to their Small Business Survival Index 2009."SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVAL INDEX 2009" , SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL, Retrieved December 2, 2009. The Directorship's Boardroom Guide ranked the state #13 overall for best business climate and #7 for best litigation climate."The Best States for Business", Directorship, Retrieved December 2, 2009. Forbes ranked it #8 for best regulatory environment in 2009."The Best States For Business" , Forbes, Retrieved December 2, 2009. Ohio was also ranked No. 8 by U.S. News & World Report in 2008 for best high schools."Best High Schools: State by State Statistics" , U.S. News & World Report, Retrieved December 2, 2009. Overall, the state's schools were ranked No. 5 in the nation in 2010."State Report Cards" , Education Week, Retrieved February 20, 2010. However, by 2016 the state's high school rankings had slipped to #11 according to U.S. News & World Report,"How States Compare in the 2016 Best High Schools Rankings" , Robert Morse. U.S. News & World Report. April 18, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017 and #22 overall in quality by Education Week in 2017."Quality Counts 2017: State Report Cards Map" , Education Week. December 30, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017 The year ending July 2011 saw the state being ranked fourth in the nation in job creation behind Texas, California, and New York. By 2016, the state wasn't ranked within the top 10 for job growth, and between 2015 and 2016, the state saw a decrease in job creation of 38,800. Since February 2010, the state was 2.5% below the national average.

Ohio's private sector consists of 921,000 employers, which hire at least 50.4% of the state's non-farm private workforce. The state has a developing technology sector, and it is home to over 28,000 employers employing roughly 820,000 people; its rate of technology operations is 14% higher than the US average. Between 2006 and 2014, Ohio's employment is expected to grow by 290,700 jobs, or approximately 5.0%. Personal income grew an average of 3.1% in 2008. About 659,900 people are employed in the state's manufacturing sector. Major manufacturing employers in the state include AK Steel, Timken, and Honda. In 2007, foreign-based companies employed 229,500 of Ohio's citizens, led by Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Switzerland.

Ohio's exports constituted 3.2% of total U.S. exports in 2009, with top destinations being Canada at $14.2 billion, followed by Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Greece, Brazil, Japan, Germany, France, and Australia."Total U.S. Exports (Origin of Movement) via OHIO" , U.S. Census. June 10, 2010. Accessed December 11, 2010. In 2009, the state was ranked as the nation's seventh-largest exporter with $34.1 billion."Ohio: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment", International Trade Administration. November 2010. Accessed December 11, 2010 About 092 companies exported in 2009, with transportation equipment accounting for $9.9 billion, machinery $4.9 billion, chemicals $4.4 billion, and computer and electronics products $2.4 billion.

, Ohio was ranked No. 5 in the nation for Fortune 500 companies, with 27, including Cardinal Health (#16), Marathon Petroleum (#22), Kroger (#23), Procter & Gamble (#50), Nationwide Insurance (#74), Progressive Insurance (#86), Sherwin-Williams (#180), Goodyear Tire and Rubber (#216), L Brands (#248), Fifth Third Bank (#325), Dana (#367) and Owens Corning (#431)."Fortune 500 " , Fortune.com, Retrieved May 19, 2020.

Major employers The following is a list of the top ten employers with headquarters in Ohio, .

Rank Employer Number of Ohio employees Headquarters location Sector 1 Cleveland Clinic Foundation 56,986 Cleveland Health 2 Kroger 44,077 Cincinnati Retail: food stores 3 Ohio State University and Medical Center 35,656 Columbus Education and health 4 Wright Patterson Air Force Base 28,000 Dayton Government: Air Force base 5 University Hospitals Health System 30,891 Cleveland Health 6 Mercy Health Partners 30,510 Cincinnati Health 7 OhioHealth 30,488 Columbus Health 8 ProMedica 18,712 Toledo Health 9 Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center 17,204 Cincinnati Health 10 Kettering Health 14,413 Dayton Health

The following is a list of the top Ohioan employers not headquartered in Ohio, .

Rank Employer Number of Ohio employees Headquarters location Sector 1 Wal-Mart 55,262 Bentonville, Arkansas Retail: general merchandise 2 Amazon 45,000 Seattle, Washington Retail: general merchandise 3 JP Morgan Chase 20,228 New York, New York Finance: bank 4 Giant Eagle 17,400 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Retail: food stores 5 FedEx 15,250 Memphis, Tennessee Transportation: air delivery 6 United Parcel Service 15,236 Atlanta, Georgia Transportation: air delivery 7 Lowe's Companies 14,400 Mooresville, North Carolina Retail: home improvement 8 Honda Motor Company 14,400 Tokyo, Japan Manufacture: motor vehicles 9 The Home Depot 12,600 Atlanta, Georgia Retail: home improvement 10 Target 12,410 Minneapolis, Minnesota Retail: department stores

Industries

Aerospace and defense Dayton is designated as the state's aerospace hub due to its high concentration of aerospace and aviation technology. In 2009, Governor Ted Strickland designated Dayton as Ohio's aerospace innovation hub, the first such technology hub in the state. Aircraft engine manufacturing accounts for nearly 75% of Ohio's aerospace and defense industry workforce.

The aerospace and defense industry employs 16,000 Ohioans. Employment has been increasing after 2003, despite an overall decrease in employment since the industry's peak at 37,000 employees in 1990. In 2005, Ohio ranked fifth among US states in the production of aerospace products and parts, and eighth in the number of aerospace industry workers. Recently the states' employees have ranked No. 1 in value produced per worker. Ohioan workers in the aerospace industry made an annual average salary of $75,765 in 2005, compared to $48,208 in for workers in the manufacturing sector generally. Nearly 75% of the state's aerospace and defense employees work in the aircraft engine manufacturing sub-sector; only Connecticut has larger aircraft engine workforce.