Arizona Chief Executive magazine ranked Arizona as the sixth-best state in the nation in which to do business in 2013 — a four-spot jump from the previous year’s report. Forbes also picked Arizona to have one of the best economies in the U.S. over the next five years, projecting an economic growth rate of 4.6 percent and job growth of 3 percent.

Key industries in Arizona are aerospace, renewable energy, bioscience, photonics, advanced manufacturing, and IT. Bioscience is quite strong, generating $36 billion in annual revenue and employing more than 100,000 workers. The finance and insurance sector is also expanding — for example, State Farm Insurance will build a $600 million regional headquarters in Tempe, adding 5,000 new jobs.

The hottest sector in Arizona is IT. In Mesa, Apple (through its partner GT Advanced Technologies) will undertake a $1.5 billion expansion to manufacture synthetic sapphire for cell phones, camera lenses, biometric devices, and other products. The project will require 700 new workers. GoDaddy plans to open a $27 million, 150,000-square foot global technology center in Tempe that will create at least 250 new jobs.

Garmin International, an Olathe, Kansas-based GPS device manufacturer, is also expanding in Arizona. After a nationwide search, the company has decided to build an $11 million, 60,000-square-foot facility in Chandler, where it has leased space for the last five years.

“Garmin has been a longtime employer in Chandler and the greater Phoenix area because of the highly skilled workforce,” says Kevin Rauckman, Garmin’s chief financial officer. “Investing in the construction of our own facility signals a long-term commitment to Chandler and the state of Arizona.”

Indiana Indiana’s manufacturing industry is the driving force behind its economic recovery. Indiana ranked second in the country for manufacturing job growth, with more than 13,400 manufacturing jobs added in 2013. Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research predicts that Indiana’s economy will slightly outperform the nation as a whole in 2014, growing at about 2.2 percent when adjusted for inflation.

Transportation equipment manufacturing continues to create jobs across the state. North-central Indiana (including the Elkhart-Goshen area) is projected to see strong growth in 2014, with GDP rising by 4.6 percent — thanks to its vibrant cluster of automotive manufacturers and suppliers. For example, Drew Industries, which manufactures components for recreational vehicles, will move its headquarters from New York to Elkhart and expand its manufacturing operations there, investing $12.75 million and hiring up to 800 people by 2015. In another announcement, Grand Design RV is spending about $11 million to equip four manufacturing plants and establish its headquarters in Middlebury, creating up to 500 new jobs by 2016. In the Kokomo and Tipton areas, Chrysler Group is investing $374 million to expand its facilities, making it the largest transmission manufacturing operation in the world. The expansion is expected to create about 1,400 jobs Other important sectors in the Indiana economy include life sciences and financial and insurance services. For example, American Specialty Health is spending more than $10 million to move its corporate headquarters from California to Carmel, Indiana, where it will create 675 jobs by 2016. And, Ash Brokerage Corporation ($19.6 million, 115 workers) and NextGear Capital Corporation ($19.5 million, 169 workers) are both undertaking expansions in the state.

Tennessee According to Tennessee’s 2014 Economic Report, the state is poised for strong growth in 2014 and 2015. Nonfarm employment increased by 1.5 percent from 2010 to 2013, an increase of more than 40,000 jobs — many of them in manufacturing. The greatest gains in 2014 are expected from leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and the booming transportation equipment manufacturing market.

Tennessee has one of the largest automotive industries in the South. It has generated more than 12 percent of all jobs in the state since the Great Recession and more than one-third of the manufacturing sector’s output growth since 2010. Recent expansions include Nissan North America ($134 million, 900 jobs) and CalsonicKansei North America ($109 million, 1,200 jobs). Hankook Tire Company also plans to locate its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Clarksville. The $800 million manufacturing plant will create 1,800 new jobs and be operational by 2016.

Tennessee will also be home to 9to5 Seating, which is “reshoring” its furniture manufacturing operations back to the U.S. from China. The company will invest in a $39.5 million facility in Union City and hire 510 people over the next five years. “We chose Union City because of its close proximity to our major markets and the availability of its talented workforce,” says 9to5 Seating CEO Darius Mir. “We are determined to not only bring back manufacturing to the United States, but to reverse a 30-year trend by exporting our high-quality USA-made products competitively to Asia and other countries around the world.

MethodologyArea Development’s annual Gold and Silver Shovel Awards recognize states for their achievements in attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs in their communities. We collected information from all 50 states about their top-10 job-creation and investment projects initiated in 2013 (only those projects that actually had monies invested, “broke ground,” began an expansion, started new hiring, etc. were considered). Based on a combination of weighted factors — including the number of new jobs to be created in relation to the state’s population, the combined dollar amount of the investments, the number of new facilities, the diversity of industry represented — five states achieving the highest weighted overall scores are awarded Area Development’s 2014 Gold Shovels in five population categories: 15+ million, 8+ to 15 million, 5+ to 8 million, 3+ to 5 million, and fewer than 3 million. Runners up in each of these population categories are awarded 2014 Silver Shovels.