New regional report shows Cleveland’s economy strengthening, while population and talent growth lag behind peer metros
Economic momentum, uneven demographic results
A new regional assessment of Greater Cleveland points to measurable economic gains, including new and retained jobs tied to business expansions and new corporate investments. At the same time, the report highlights a persistent constraint: the region’s ability to attract and keep residents has not kept pace with its economic ambitions, leaving employers and civic leaders focused on workforce availability and long-term population trends.
Recent economic-development results underscore why the report characterizes the economy as improving. In 2025, Team NEO—Northeast Ohio’s business-attraction and expansion organization—reported 92 project wins across the 14 counties it covers, associated with 2,953 new jobs, an estimated $188 million in annual payroll, $455 million in capital investment, and 7,197 retained jobs.
Anchor institutions and sector strength
Healthcare and advanced manufacturing remain central to the region’s employment base. Cleveland Clinic, one of the area’s largest employers, reported $18 billion in operating revenue in 2025 and nearly 16 million patient encounters, while also describing continued investment in digital transformation and operational modernization. Regional leaders also continue to market Northeast Ohio’s manufacturing footprint, including thousands of manufacturers and a large industrial supply chain that supports both legacy production and emerging technologies.
Downtown indicators: foot traffic and reinvestment
Conditions in Downtown Cleveland provide a mixed but improving snapshot. A recent development and advocacy report for downtown cited 38 million total visits in 2024—an 86.2% recovery compared with 2019—alongside roughly 21,000 full-time residents, $1.3 billion in combined private and public development activity, and 29 new storefront openings. Separately, tourism spending in Cuyahoga County reached a record $6.9 billion in direct spending in 2024, reflecting growth in visitor activity and hospitality employment.
Why “attracting people” remains difficult
Despite these gains, broader population and talent attraction remains a regional vulnerability. A national metro-area performance ranking released in 2025 placed Cleveland near the bottom tier among large U.S. metros, using measures tied to labor-market performance and growth-oriented indicators. Local workforce initiatives continue to emphasize early career exposure, engagement of young professionals, and efforts to connect students to regional employers—signals that leaders see retention and in-migration as issues that require sustained intervention rather than a single policy fix.
What leaders are prioritizing next
Expanding job creation pipelines through business attraction, including international investment outreach and “site readiness” efforts intended to shorten the timeline from project interest to groundbreaking.
Increasing access to housing and neighborhood reinvestment tools, including partnerships aimed at affordable lending, small-business support, and financing for housing development.
Strengthening talent retention strategies by connecting high school and college-aged residents to regional career paths in fields such as IT, finance, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.
Cleveland’s current picture is defined by improving economic indicators alongside a demographic challenge: building a larger, sustainable base of residents to support continued growth.
The report’s bottom line is that Greater Cleveland’s near-term economic performance is showing progress, but long-term competitiveness will depend on whether the region can translate job creation, downtown reinvestment, and institutional strength into sustained population and workforce growth.