This is Louisiana NOW

At the beginning of 2026, “This is Louisiana NOW” was a statement of confidence in where Louisiana was headed.

Today, it is a statement of fact.

Louisiana is closing another record-breaking year with more investment, greater opportunity and bigger ambitions than ever before. But the story of 2026 is about more than records. It is about what those results reveal.

Louisiana changed the scale of what it can compete for, expanded the industries it can lead and created new opportunities for its people, businesses and communities.

What seemed unprecedented just a few years ago is becoming the expectation.

Changing the Scale
In 2026 alone, Louisiana leads the nation with more than $183 billion in announced capital investment. Since 2024, that total has reached nearly $260 billion.

SpaceX’s $100 billion Starbase Louisiana will establish the world’s largest spaceport in Vermilion Parish. Meta’s expanded $50 billion investment is bringing super intelligence infrastructure to north Louisiana through one of the largest projects of its kind. Hyundai Steel’s $5.8 billion investment will establish its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Ascension Parish.

Different industries. Different regions. The same Louisiana advantage.

The industrial expertise that has powered the state for generations now extends into aerospace, super intelligence and advanced manufacturing. Louisiana knows how to build complex projects, operate at scale and supply industries that compete around the world.

That foundation helped Louisiana compete at a higher level, opening more markets for Louisiana businesses and more career paths for its people.

When Investment Becomes Impact
Since January 2024, direct jobs associated with announced LED projects have an average annual wage of nearly $87,000 — roughly $24,000 above Louisiana’s statewide average and about $30,000 more than the average wage associated with announced projects in 2018.

Some of the clearest signs of that progress extend beyond the jobs created directly by those projects.

Louisiana businesses are becoming part of new supply chains and expanding alongside global investments. At Louisiana LNG, Woodside Energy and its contractors have now committed more than $1.27 billion with more than 249 Louisiana-based contractors. About 70% of contracts connected to Hyundai Steel’s Ascension Parish project have gone to Louisiana companies.

The effects do not stop at the project gate.

In Richland Parish, Meta’s Hyperion campus remains under construction. More than $1.6 billion in contracts have gone to Louisiana businesses, while rising sales tax collections have helped increase supplemental payments for eligible certified school employees from $10,200 in 2025 to more than $50,000 in 2026.

In Donaldsonville, businesses are preparing for new demand, commercial activity is growing and River Parishes Community College is expanding training capacity as Hyundai Steel’s investment brings new opportunity to the region.

The headline is the investment. The impact is what Louisiana builds around it.

A New Standard Takes Hold
The investment numbers are historic. So is the number of Louisianans working.

Employment reached an all-time high in 2026, while Louisiana’s employment growth rate averaged 1.4% from June through August compared with 0.3% nationally.

Louisiana’s talent pipeline is reaching new milestones, too. The state surpassed 85,000 annual degree and credential completers four years ahead of its 2030 goal, nearly doubling annual completions since the goal was established. Louisiana also ranks ninth nationally for manufacturing talent pipeline strength.

Louisiana companies have more ways to participate in that momentum. Source Louisiana now connects over 4,000 suppliers and contractors with major projects, while Louisiana Growth Network programs served more than 26,000 businesses in 2025, with participating companies securing $1.45 billion in contract value.

None of this happened by accident.

Over the past three years, Louisiana has built the systems to compete differently — strengthening site readiness, aligning workforce preparation with industry needs, expanding support for Louisiana businesses and bringing state, regional and local partners together earlier to move major projects from prospect to execution.

Those systems are delivering now.

Louisiana raised its ambitions, set a new standard and redefined what is possible for its people, businesses and communities.

This is Louisiana NOW.