Where Talent Meets Industry

Cincinnati’s Target Growth Sectors

(Part 1 of 3 in REDI Cincinnati’s Target Industries Blog Series)

The best way to evaluate a region’s potential is to study the data, and in Cincinnati’s case, the numbers speak volumes. According to the REDI Cincinnati 2025 Target Industries Talent Strategy report, four industries stand out as engines of growth, drawing talent, investment, and innovation into the region.

The Strength of Specialization

One of the report’s most compelling findings is that Cincinnati doesn’t just participate in these industries, it specializes in them. Employment concentration data shows the region has an above average share of workers in many critical roles compared to the nation. That means a company entering the market here isn’t starting from scratch; it’s joining a thriving ecosystem of skilled employees, suppliers, and industry peers.

Take aerospace, for example. Cincinnati boasts an unusually high concentration of aerospace engineers 2.65 times the national average. Pair that with an average wage of nearly $160,000 per job, and the picture is clear: this is a region where technical expertise meets strong earning power.

The same story unfolds in chemical and materials manufacturing, where equipment operators and technicians are in higher supply than most U.S. markets. And in the food, flavoring and beverage sector, jobs like food batchmakers and packaging machine operators are more prevalent in Cincinnati than in peer cities. These clusters create stability and resilience, giving incoming companies confidence that their workforce needs will be met.

Numbers alone can feel abstract, so let’s consider momentum. Since 2019, the food, flavoring, and beverage industry has added nearly 4,000 jobs, a 19 percent increase in just a few years. This makes it the region’s largest target sector, employing more than 24,000 people. It’s a natural fit for a city known globally for consumer goods, where companies from craft breweries to global food manufacturers thrive.

Life sciences, meanwhile, tells a story of innovation. Employment in this sector has grown by 15 percent since 2019, with especially strong demand for medical scientists, laboratory technicians, and biotech specialists. Anchored by world-renowned institutions like Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati, this industry blends research excellence with real-world application, a powerful combination for companies at the cutting edge of healthcare and biotechnology.

Aerospace and aviation, while smaller in total employment, carry outsized weight. Employers here can access one of the most concentrated pools of aerospace talent in the nation, including aircraft mechanics and flight engineers. And while chemical and materials manufacturing has grown more modestly at 2 percent since 2019, it remains a critical backbone industry, employing more than 20,000 residents and supporting everything from advanced coatings to essential components manufacturing.

For executives weighing relocation or expansion, the presence of these clusters is more than an interesting statistic, it’s a risk mitigator. Moving into a region with deep, specialized labor pools ensures that hiring won’t become a bottleneck. It also positions a company within a collaborative ecosystem: suppliers, research institutions, training programs, and workforce pipelines that have grown up around these industries.

That ecosystem matters. A food manufacturer choosing Cincinnati isn’t just finding workers; it’s joining a community where quality control inspectors, packaging technicians, and flavor scientists are part of the region’s DNA. An aerospace startup isn’t just setting up shop; it’s landing in the same airspace as GE Aerospace and a network of suppliers that already understand the industry’s demands.

Another advantage highlighted in the Talent Strategy report is Cincinnati’s ability to offer both competitive wages and cost efficiency. Roles across the four target industries often exceed the MIT living wage threshold of $20.77 per hour for the region, making them attractive to workers. At the same time, companies here benefit from operating in a market with a far lower cost of doing business than coastal hubs.

This balance creates a win-win. Employees enjoy higher quality of life thanks to lower housing and living costs, and employers find it easier to attract and retain talent without the intense wage inflation that challenges larger metros.

The Bigger Picture

When you look across these industries together, the picture that emerges shows a robust foundation: growth sectors that build on Cincinnati’s heritage, technical roles where the region has unique specialization, and a workforce that is both skilled and affordable.

“We launched this Talent Gap Analysis to give the Cincinnati region a clear, data-driven picture of where our workforce stands today and where it needs to be tomorrow,” says Jennifer Thomas, Director of Research with REDI Cincinnati. “By understanding the gaps between employer demand and available talent, we can better align training, education, and recruitment strategies to keep our economy growing and competitive.”

As the REDI Cincinnati 2025 Target Industries Talent Strategy puts it, these industries represent more than opportunity, they represent sustainability. They provide not only immediate openings for companies considering a move, but also a clear trajectory for long-term success.

In the next article of this series, we’ll dive deeper into what may be the region’s most compelling advantage, its people. We’ll explore how Cincinnati is building, retaining, and upskilling the workforce of tomorrow, and why that should matter to any company making its next big move.