CEO Guide to Site Selection

#23

Kentucky

CEO Rank on Best & Worst States for Business

GREEN PASTURES IN THE BLUEGRASS STATE

In 2020, Kentucky announced 223 new location and expansion projects that will create more than 8,000 new jobs and inject more than $2.28 billion into thecommonwealth. That growth continued throughout 2021 as the state continues to build on its strengths. While agriculture remains a top sector, the logistics andmanufacturing industries are also growing. Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation announced the biggest economic deal in the state’s history in September 2021, with electric battery plants in Hardin County that will create more than 5,000 jobs.

“We thank Ford Motor and SK Innovation for their investment in Team Kentucky. This is the single largest investment in the history of our state, and this project solidifies our leadership role in the future of the automotive manufacturing industry. It will transform our economy, creating a better Kentucky with more opportunities for our families for generations. Our economy is on fire—and now, it’s electric. Never again will we be thought of as a flyover state. Our time is now. Our future is now.”
Andy Beshear
Governor

TAXES

0 %

top corporate income tax

# 0

on the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index ranking

EDUCATION

0 %

of students graduated high school in 2019

0 %

of adults age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

0 %

RIGHT TO WORK STATE

Yes

QUALITY OF LIFE

# 0

POPULATION GROWTH

0 %

increase between 2010 and 2020

KEY INCENTIVES

Kentucky Business Investment Program: Offers income tax credits and wage assessments to eligible companies that locate or expand operations in the state.

SBIR-STTR Matching Funds Program: Matches, on a competitive basis, up to $150,000 for Phase 1 and up to $500,000 for Phase 2 federal SBIR and STTR awards.

Kentucky Small Business Credit Initiative (KSBCI): Offers credit enhancement programs to help lenders finance credit-worthy small businesses that would typicallyfall just outside of normal lending guidelines.

Bluegrass State Skills Corporation Skills Training Investment Credit: Offers grants and tax credits to businesses that sponsors skills-training programs for theiremployees.

EDCs

Cabinet for Economic Development
ced.ky.gov

Frankfort Area Chamber of Commerce
frankfortky.info/business-resources/start-a-business

Commerce Lexington
locateinlexington.com

Greater Louisville Inc.
greaterlouisville.com/economic-development

Louisville Forward
louisvilleky.gov/government/louisville-forward

Northern Kentucky Tri-ED
northernkentuckyUSA.com

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAM OR INITIATIVE

The Bluegrass State Skills Corp. (BSSC), a group attached to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, helps private-sector businesses establish industry-specific trainingprograms. The program received more than $6.1 million in funds in 2021 to train 18,000 workers at 111 facilities.

BIG DEALS

  • Firestone Industrial Products announced in May 2021 a $50 million expansion and 250 new jobs in Williamsburg.
  • Marzetti announced in May 2021 a $133 million expansion and 220 new jobs in Horse Cave.
  • Fidelity Investments announced in July 2021 it will create more than 600 new jobs in Covington.
  • Manufacturer Chapin International announced in Au- gust 2021 an expansion in Rockcastle County that will create more than 200 new jobs.
  • Harbor Steel & Supply Corp announced in September 2021, it will construct a second facility in Bowling Green.
  • Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation announced in September 2021 the largest economic development project in the state’s history. Two electric battery plants worth$5.8 billion will create more than 5,000 jobs.
  • QSR Automations opened a new global headquarters and tech campus in Frankfort in October 2021.

BIG COMPANIES

One Fortune 500 company headquartered in state:

  • Humana (Fortune 500 headquarters)

Other large companies include:

  • Yum! Brands
  • Amazon
  • Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
  • Global Win
  • Wickliffe
  • Topgolf
  • Faneuil
  • CCBCC Operations
  • General Motors