Chicago Ranked No. 1 by Site Selection Magazine, but Critics Call the Ranking "Worse than Worthless"

The annual ranking is criticized for failing to account for businesses that have fled the city in recent years.

Published on Mar. 4, 2026

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Site Selection Magazine has ranked the Chicago metropolitan area as the top metro in America for the 13th consecutive year, but the ranking is being criticized as "worse than worthless" by some. The ranking is based solely on the raw total of new projects in the metro area that meet certain investment or job creation thresholds, without any consideration for businesses that have left the city in recent years. Critics argue the ranking gives cover to Illinois politicians to ignore the city's real economic challenges.

Why it matters

The Site Selection Magazine ranking is seen as an important metric of economic and business growth, and is often touted by local and state officials. However, the narrow criteria used to determine the ranking have led to accusations that it presents a misleading picture of Chicago's economic health, failing to account for the departure of major companies from the city in recent years.

The details

Site Selection Magazine's ranking is based solely on the raw total of new projects in the Chicago metropolitan area that meet certain thresholds, such as $1 million in investment, 20 new jobs, or 20,000 square feet of renovated space. The ranking does not distinguish between the significance of different projects, treating a 20-person call center the same as a $2 billion auto factory. Additionally, the ranking includes projects in parts of Indiana that are considered part of the Chicago metropolitan area, which critics say should not be counted as wins for the city.

  • Site Selection Magazine has ranked Chicago as the top metro for 13 consecutive years.
  • The latest ranking was announced in March 2026.

The players

Site Selection Magazine

A publication that produces an annual ranking of the top metropolitan areas in the United States for business growth and investment.

JB Pritzker

The Governor of Illinois, who celebrated the ranking as a reflection of Illinois' "innovative workforce development efforts, competitive incentives, and unmatched infrastructure."

Brandon Johnson

The Mayor of Chicago, who declared the ranking "one of the country's clearest measures of economic and business expansion" and said Chicago serves as "the backbone of American commerce."

Mark Glennon

The founder of Wirepoints, a website that has published research criticizing the Site Selection Magazine ranking as "worse than worthless."

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What they’re saying

“These rankings are a reflection of the innovative and accommodating business environment we've built here in Illinois.”

— Juliana Stratton, Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senate candidate (Press release)

“The Site Selection article based its number on the Chicago area Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA), which the magazine correctly labeled as including part of Indiana. The Chicago CBSA does ,in fact, include Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter Counties in Indiana. Relocations to there obviously should not be counted as victories for Chicago.”

— Mark Glennon, Founder of Wirepoints (Wirepoints)

What’s next

The critics of the Site Selection Magazine ranking argue that it gives cover to Illinois politicians to ignore the real economic challenges facing Chicago, and they hope the ranking will be scrutinized more closely in the future.

The takeaway

The Site Selection Magazine ranking of Chicago as the top metro area for business growth has been criticized as misleading and "worse than worthless" because it fails to account for businesses that have fled the city in recent years, and treats all new projects as equal regardless of their significance. The ranking is seen as giving cover to Illinois politicians to avoid addressing the city's real economic problems.