The most innovative companies in economic development for 2026

Traditional economic development tends to focus on investments made and jobs created. For this year’s group of Most Innovative Companies—or in many cases, foundations or governments, in this case—the key performance indicator isn’t dollars spent, but connections made. Growth comes not from directing resources, but finding a better way to nurture what you already have. Governments found creative ways to unleash the potential of their residents, workers, and civil servants. The state of New Mexico, for example, made a first-in-the-nation move to subsidize childcare for all, giving working parents and families a leg up. In Illinois, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act offered a pathway for low-income residents to electrify homes and cut their bills, while the San Diego Unified School District used one of their underutilized assets—land—to help launch an effort to build thousands of units of housing for their staff. And in St. Louis, the Arts Place Initiative eases the path towards owning a