Expansion Solutions Magazine Announces 2026 Top 10 States Award Recipients

Published on Thursday, September 24, 2026 by Nicole Shakir, Managing Editor of Expansion Solutions Magazine

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Ten states recognized for data-driven economic performance and momentum

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — September 24, 2026 — Expansion Solutions Magazine today announced the recipients of its 2026 Top 10 States Awards of Excellence, recognizing 10 states that are demonstrating exceptional economic performance, business momentum and competitive strength. The honorees are presented as a distinguished group without individual rankings.

The Expansion Solutions Awards of Excellence recognize the states, metropolitan areas, counties, and rural communities across the United States that are demonstrating the strongest economic performance and momentum. Each honoree earned this recognition on the strength of its own data — measured on the same terms as every other state and community in the country.

This is a meaningful distinction. The 2026 program evaluated all 50 states, every U.S. metropolitan area, and more than 3,000 counties. Placing among the honorees reflects the results of sustained, deliberate work by economic development teams, public leaders and business communities.

“The 2026 Top 10 States represent a distinguished group of places that are turning strategy, investment and collaboration into measurable economic momentum,” said Nicole Shakir, Publisher of Expansion Solutions Magazine. “Because every state is evaluated on the same national framework, this recognition reflects performance that stands out on its own merits.”

How the Awards Are Determined

The Expansion Solutions awards are determined by a proprietary economic performance model developed by ProspectEngage®. The model scores every U.S. state, metro area, and county on a consistent set of indicators drawn from trusted federal data sources — including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and a continuously verified database of publicly announced expansion and investment projects.

Composite scores reflect factors such as industry concentration and specialization, employment and establishment activity, population and growth momentum, state tax and regulatory policies, and announced capital investment and job creation. The same methodology is applied uniformly at each geographic level, allowing communities of all sizes to be evaluated on equal footing. Industry awards are based on industry-specific measures of scale, concentration, and growth.

Winners are determined solely by the data. There are no nominations, applications, or fees. The specific indicators, weightings, and scoring formulas are proprietary to ProspectEngage®.

2026 Top 10 States Award Recipients

The following states and economic development organizations are recognized as the 2026 honorees. The list does not indicate individual rankings.

About Expansion Solutions Magazine

Expansion Solutions Magazine connects corporate decision-makers, site selectors and business leaders with communities and economic development organizations across North America. Its coverage and location intelligence help companies identify opportunities for expansion and investment.