New Jersey New Jersey is the home headquarters for nearly two dozen Fortune 500 companies, including both Fortune 100 and Global 500 organizations. The state has a reputation for leadership in key markets including financial, pharmaceutical, life sciences, IT, aerospace, manufacturing, and logistics.

New Jersey added about 58,000 jobs in 2013, a 1.5 percent growth rate, surpassing the 49,100 jobs the state added in 2012. Many of these new jobs are high-tech positions — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Jersey was one of the top states for tech-job growth last year.

The state’s pharmaceutical industry has stabilized and is regaining economic steam. For example, Merck recently dedicated a new headquarters for its animal health division. Bayer has consolidated its operations from New Jersey and New York into a 650,000-square-foot space in Hanover — its new East Coast headquarters. Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics is also planning a $37 million expansion of its operations in Flanders, Mount Olive Township, creating about 500 jobs.

With its outstanding transportation infrastructure and proximity to the East Coast and Midwest, New Jersey continues to attract logistics and distribution investment. For example, Amazon.com’s new one-million-square-foot, $150-million distribution facility in Robbinsville will employ about 1,400 workers. Destination Maternity is also building a $50 million retail headquarters and distribution center in Moorestown, moving its operation from Philadelphia.

“A critical factor in our decision to relocate to New Jersey was the approval we have obtained from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority for an incentive package of $40 million in benefits, over a 10-year period,” adds Ed Krell, CEO of Destination Maternity.

North Carolina North Carolina has a highly diversified economy that includes traditional industries (for example, lumber, agriculture, and textiles) and knowledge-based industries such as aerospace, biotechnology, alternative energy, and information technology. North Carolina began this high-tech transition over 50 years ago with the establishment of Research Triangle Park in 1960. Today “RTP” is one of the premier high-tech research parks in the country and home to more than 170 global companies, including IBM, GSK, Syngenta, RTI International, and Cisco.

Some of the strongest job growth in North Carolina is coming from its rapidly expanding professional and business services sector. For example, Red Ventures, a company that optimizes online marketing and data analytics for major companies, is expanding its operations in Mecklenburg County, creating over 600 new jobs. MetLife, a life insurance and employee benefits company, intends to create 2,600 jobs in Charlotte and Cary by the end of 2015 through its $125.5 million investment in its Mecklenburg County and Wake County campuses. “The strong sense of community in Cary and Charlotte, as well as the region’s robust infrastructure and sustainable talent pool, were all compelling reasons for coming here,” says Eric Steigerwalt, executive vice president at MetLife.

More than 40 new manufacturing facilities were announced in North Carolina during 2013. These include Electrolux Home Products ($85 million, 810 jobs), Wright Foods ($53 million, 505 jobs), and Sturm, Ruger & Company ($26 million, 476 jobs). In October 2013 Gildan Activewear indicated it would invest $250 million to expand its yarn-spinning manufacturing facilities in Bladen and Rowan counties and establish a new yarn-spinning facility in Davie County, creating more than 500 jobs.

“These investments will reinforce our position as a global, low-cost manufacturer,” says Chuck Ward, president of Gildan Yarns. “North Carolina provides a qualified textile workforce, competitive energy rates, and a good transportation network, which are all central to our expansion projects.”

Ohio Ohio is getting off to a great start this year — for the month of January 2014, the state ranked second in the nation for job gains with 16,700 jobs (second only to Texas). According to a survey by Forbes, Columbus, Ohio, is also only one of six cities where the population of the core district has grown more than the surrounding suburbs — another good sign of economic recovery.

Key industries in Ohio include professional and financial services, energy, aerospace, automotive, food processing, plastics, chemicals, and logistics and distribution. Major manufacturing announcements in 2013 included Vitamix Corporation’s $1.3 million expansion in Strongsville (500 jobs). Festo Americas, which manufactures pneumatic and electromechanical systems and components for process and industrial automation, plans to build a $250 million, state-of-the-art product assembly and distribution center in Mason (250 jobs). The facility will have foreign-trade-zone status, making it easier to support customers throughout North America from a central U.S. location.

Expansions in Ohio’s important food-processing industry include Nestle USA ($2.5 million, 250 workers) and H.J. Heinz ($28 million, 250 workers). Daisy Brand also plans to build a $116 million production facility in Wooster, creating 89 jobs. This will be the third U.S. facility for the company, the nation’s largest sour cream manufacturer, and serve the East Coast market. Ohio faced tough competition from other Midwest states for the project — key factors that drove the Daisy Brand decision to locate in Ohio included its high-quality supply of cream, abundant clean water, and pro-growth business climate.

Pennsylvania With a gross domestic product of more than $600 billion, Pennsylvania has one of the largest economies in the country. It is also highly diverse, ranging from longstanding, traditional industries like agriculture, coal, and steel to innovative, knowledge-based markets, including life sciences, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. In addition, production of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale is stimulating growth in the oil-and-gas and chemical markets.

Industries undertaking major locations or expansions include retail, agribusiness, life sciences, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and distribution. Urban Outfitters plans a $210 million expansion of its headquarters in Philadelphia and fulfillment center in Gap, Pa., creating a total of 2,500 new jobs. Church & Dwight Company, a vitamin manufacturer, plans to invest $55 million in its operations in York County. The new manufacturing line will expand production capacity by 75 percent and employ about 180 people. Strengthening Pennsylvania’s ranking as the fourth-most-valuable food manufacturing industry in the country, Bell & Evans will develop a $39 million food processing plant in Fredericksburg employing 380 people.

With its top transportation infrastructure and central East Coast location, Pennsylvania is also a preferred location for distribution facilities. In 2013 Wal-Mart Stores announced a $96 million distribution facility in Bethlehem (351 jobs) and Gordon Food Service revealed plans for a $78 million facility (166 workers) in Imperial. One of the biggest projects is American Eagle Outfitters’ construction of a one-million-square-foot, $160 million distribution facility in Luzerne County, creating 369 jobs.

“We are delighted to bring additional jobs to the Pennsylvania community and look forward to working with the state to build this new facility,” commented American Eagle Outfitters former CEO Robert Hanson at the facility’s opening. The company received a funding offer from the Department of Community and Economic Development that includes a $400,000 Pennsylvania First Program grant and a $166,050 Guaranteed Free Training grant for the new workforce.

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.