The Lehigh Valley ranked as one of the U.S. hotspots for business attraction and expansion in 2022, placing second in the country for regions its size.

The Lehigh Valley also ranked fifth of all sized regions in the Northeast for the number of economic development projects. Forty-six projects in the Lehigh Valley qualified under the criteria for the competition.

The rankings are part of Site Selection magazine’s prestigious Governor’s Cup Awards, which each year determines the best-performing regions in the country for announced or completed economic development projects.

“The Lehigh Valley has regularly been in the top 10 in the country for the number of economic development projects for regions our size,” said Don Cunningham, President and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). “Last year took it to another level with us ranking second in the U.S. What’s most impressive is that these projects are in nearly every sector of our economy, showcasing growth from the life sciences to technology to advanced manufacturing and lots in between.”

Cunningham will highlight the ranking at the March 21 Annual Meeting at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks. For those not attending, the meeting will be live streamed on wfmz.com, starting at 3:30 p.m.

The Lehigh Valley was second only to Greenville, S.C., for regions with a population of 200,000 and million. The Lehigh Valley improved its ranking from No. 8 in 2021 and beat out this year communities including Omaha, Neb., Baton Rouge, La., and Dayton, Ohio.

The Lehigh Valley also had a strong showing in the Northeast overall despite competing with much larger metro areas – including New York City, Boston and Philadelphia.

Business attraction, expansion and retention projects tracked by Site Selection may differ from those presented in LVEDC publications because of the magazine’s specific criteria for inclusion.

Some of the major 2022 projects identified by LVEDC include the OraSure Technologies’ 139,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Bethlehem Township, Easy Signs’ move into a 72,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Upper Macungie Township, and Shift4’s announcement of plans to move to a 75,000-square-foot office in Upper Saucon Township. For a full list of projects, download LVEDC's 2022 Annual Report.

Those projects will be detailed in the forthcoming LVEDC Annual Report, which will be released on March 21, the same day as the organization’s 2023 Annual Meeting.

Published by Conway Data, Site Selection is the oldest and one of the most widely-read publications in the corporate real estate and economic development field, with a circulation base of about 44,000 executives involved in corporate site selection decisions.