North Carolina 2026 Economic Development Guide

2026 ECO N O M I C D EVE LO PM E N T G UI DE

BACK ON TOP

North Carolina regains its No. 1 state for business ranking with an approach to economic development that attracts everything from manufacturing to warehouses.

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

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® 2026 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

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WEST

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CHARLOTTE

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TRIAD

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE

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Western North Carolina’s economy thrives with national companies, homegrown businesses and tourism.

The Charlotte region is the nation’s most promising place for business relocation and expansion.

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The Triad, in the middle of the state, is also at the center of many business expansions.

Drawing talent and intelligence pair with quality-of-life stats.

EAST

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SOUTHEAST

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Eastern North Carolina boasts farms and beaches and a network of industrial settings.

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The state’s Southeast region features farms and beaches, and a diverse, growing economy.

AROUND THE STATE 10 reasons to be in N.C. ............................................................................ 8

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Q&A with Lee Lilley.....................................................................................12 Incentives ........................................................................................................ 66 Notable business expansions...............................................................68 Largest private companies .....................................................................70 Largest public companies .......................................................................72 Higher education directory.................................................................... 74 Top hospitals ....................................................................................................... 78 Economic data by county ..................................................................80 North Carolina by the numbers .........................................................94

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For more information ............................................................................9 5

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NCEDG | WELCOME

WELCOME TO THE BEST STATE IN THE COUNTRY

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here’s a reason why North Carolina is back on top of CNBC’s rankings of the best states to do business – the third year out of the past four it’s earned the top spot.

Let’s let some of the executives who decided to expand their operations in the state — or move to the Old North State — explain why: “Some states make it easier to do business,” JetZero CEO Tom O’Leary said in an interview, shortly after it decided to put its headquarters near the Piedmont Triad International Airport and commit to adding 14,500 jobs there in the next decade. “It’s tax policy, it’s incentives, and you need to have the assurance that you’re not going to get hung up. We have our mind on doing great things for the community and for the environment, and we feel this is the right place.”

“We have been impressed by how welcoming Robbinsville, Graham County and North Carolina have been to our company and this important project,” said Ping Zhang, chairman of Eco King Solutions, after announcing plans to add more than 500 jobs at its new plant. “We worked very hard to find the right location for our business to thrive. We know we found it right here due to the excellent workforce, quality of life and friendly business climate.”

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“This expansion is a major strategic milestone for us,” said Ali Sisman, CEO of Pelsan Tekstil, a Turkish company building a plant in Wayne County that will have more than 200 workers. “Our decision to invest in North Carolina underscores our belief in the region’s strong workforce, robust infrastructure, and its alignment with our values of innovation and collaboration.”

“Pratt & Whitney’s continued investment in Asheville is critical to meet the growing demand for our products, such as the GTF for the A320 family and the F135 for the F-35 Lightning II,” said Asheville General Manager for Pratt & Whitney Dan Field. The company is spending $285 million and adding 325 jobs in the state.

They’re not alone. In the first six months of 2025, there’s been announced business expansions or new projects that will yield nearly $17 billion of new capital investment and create more than 20,000 new jobs.

In this year’s guide, you’ll read stories about some of these companies and why they chose to do business in North Carolina.

— Chris Roush

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P U B L I S H E D A N N U A L LY B Y

PUBLISHER

Ben Kinney bkinney@businessnc.com EDITOR

David Mildenberg dmildenberg@businessnc.com MANAGING EDITOR

Kevin Ellis kellis@businessnc.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Ray Gronberg rgronberg@businessnc.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR

PROJECT EDITOR

Cathy Swaney

Chris Roush

cswaney@businessnc.com

PROJECT ART DIRECTOR

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Cathy Swaney

PROJECT GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Lauren Ellis

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Pete Anderson, Dan Barkin, Kathy Blake, Lawrence Bivins, Kevin Ellis, David Mildenberg, Katherine Snow Smith

Lauren Ellis MARKETING COORDINATOR

Jennifer Ware jware@businessnc.com EVENT DIRECTOR

Norwood Teague nteague@businessnc.com

ADVERTISING SALES ACCOUNT DIRECTOR

Melanie Weaver Lynch, eastern N.C. 919-855-9380 mweaver@businessnc.com ACCOUNT MANAGER

Anne Brundage, western N.C. abrundage@businessnc.com CIRCULATION: 818-286-3106 EDITORIAL: 704-523-6987 REPRINTS: circulation@businessnc.com

NCEDG.COM OWNERS Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels III, David Woronoff, in memoriam Frank Daniels Jr. PUBLISHED BY

Old North State Magazines LLC PRESIDENT

David Woronoff

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NCEDG | WELCOME

10 REASONS WHY NORTH CAROLINA IS A GOOD STATE FOR BUSINESS: 1. FAVORABLE TAX ENVIRONMENT North Carolina offers one of the nation’s most competitive tax environments. The corporate income tax rate is decreasing and will be phased out entirely by 2030. And studies from the Tax Foundation and Ernst & Young have ranked North Carolina among the states with the lowest business tax burdens. The state does not have a property tax, and many business inputs are exempt from state sales and use taxes.

5. ROBUST INFRASTRUCTURE The state’s infrastructure is designed to support commerce and provides excellent access to domestic and global markets. Its central location on the East Coast puts it within a day’s drive of over 150 million potential customers. North Carolina has the nation’s secondlargest state-owned highway system, four international airports (including a major hub in Charlotte), two deepwater seaports, and extensive rail service.

2. LOW BUSINESS COSTS The overall cost of doing business in North Carolina is lower than the national average, helping companies improve their bottom line. Industrial electricity costs are well below the national average. And commercial construction costs are significantly lower than the U.S. average.

6. ATTRACTIVE BUSINESS INCENTIVES North Carolina offers numerous incentives for businesses that invest in the state and create jobs.

Programs like the Job Development Investment Grant ( JDIG) and the One North Carolina Fund offer cash grants to new and expanding businesses. The state provides technology funding and tax exemptions for companies in science, engineering, and life sciences.

Grants are available to assist with renovating and upfitting vacant or existing buildings.

3. TALENTED AND GROWING WORKFORCE The state has one of the fastest-growing populations in the country, with strong net in-migration of college-educated workers. North Carolina boasts the largest manufacturing workforce in the Southeastern U.S., with deep roots in diverse industries like food, automotive, and textiles. The state has a strong talent pool in technology and life sciences, bolstered by its university system and Research Triangle Park.

4. WORLD-CLASS HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM The University of North Carolina System, along with major private institutions like Duke and Wake Forest, provides strong research and development resources.

And the 58-campus North Carolina Community College System offers customized training programs to meet specific business needs. The state’s universities are recognized for producing top talent in STEM fields.

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7. DIVERSE INDUSTRY BASE North Carolina’s economy is not reliant on a single sector and has a healthy balance of traditional and emerging industries. The professional services, real estate, and finance sectors have shown strong growth, reflecting the state’s diversification. With the largest manufacturing workforce in the Southeast, the state continues to thrive in advanced manufacturing, including automotive, aerospace and biotech.

8. FAVORABLE LEGAL AND REGULATORY CLIMATE The state has fostered a regulatory environment that supports business growth by minimizing bureaucratic hurdles. Streamlined practices, tort reform and specialized business courts create a predictable legal landscape. source: Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

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NCEDG | WELCOME

9. HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE North Carolina features a moderate climate and offers access to both mountains and coastline. The state has a rich arts and culture scene and diverse communities. And the cost of living is below the national average, with metro areas like Raleigh, Charlotte and Winston-Salem offering favorable living costs.

10. INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM The state has a heritage of innovation, driven by its research institutions and supportive environment. Research Triangle Park is the largest research park in North America and is a hub for technology, biotechnology, and other high-tech industries. North Carolina is also an emerging leader in the clean energy economy, with supportive policies and major investments from companies.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Q & A

LEADING NORTH CAROLINA’S RECRUITING EFFORTS Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley’s strategy for keeping North Carolina No. 1.

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ee Lilley, North Carolina’s secretary of commerce, brings extensive economic development experience to the role.

Lilley previously served as the director of economic and pandemic recovery for Gov. Roy Cooper, coordinating statewide pandemic recovery efforts, serving as state infrastructure coordinator, and leading economic development initiatives.

He joined the Governor’s Office in 2018 as the director of legislative affairs, where he led all gubernatorial and executive branch engagement with the General Assembly and served as the principal advisor to the governor on policy and legislative strategy.

Lilley was previously senior vice president and deputy director of federal practice at McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, based in Washington, D.C. There he represented clients that included Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, trade associations, and non-profits before Congress and the federal executive branch. Prior to joining McGuireWoods, he served as legislative director for Congressman G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), a member of U.S. House Democratic leadership and the Energy & Commerce Committee, and the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

A native of Williamston, Lilley is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Q & A

NORTH CAROLINA HAS HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS IN RECRUITING COMPANIES TO THE STATE IN RECENT YEARS. WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS?

It’s our unique combination of people, places, and partnerships that make us special. As the Commerce Secretary, I have the best job in state government, because my role is to sell a great product—and that product is the State of North Carolina and its people. As CNBC recently announced, we’re the top state for business in America, an honor we’ve won in three of the last four years.

Our key differentiator is our people—our workforce.

We have a highly trained, dedicated, and diverse workforce, people that can serve everything from a company’s highest needs in engineering and technical ability to experienced production operators needed in manufacturing. But our success isn’t just about our workforce; it’s about the strong leadership and collaboration that make our economic development

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efforts possible. Under Gov. Josh Stein’s leadership, and through close partnership with the governor’s office, our General Assembly, Chris Chung and his team at the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and many public and private partners across the state, we’ve created a unified approach to business recruitment and retention that delivers real results. When you combine our workforce with great industrial sites around the state, a great quality of life, an outstanding business climate, and partners unified in making our state the best that it can be, you create a top platform for success.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Q & A

WHAT COULD THE STATE DO TO IMPROVE ITS RECRUITING EFFORTS?

North Carolina must continue to invest in all levels of our education system, which is the most important factor for providing companies with a trained and prepared workforce. From early childhood education through higher education, every level of education requires continued investment and coordination across partners to deliver a top-class workforce for years to come.

In addition to investing in and upgrading our infrastructure, we must also work to identify and prepare new industrial sites to make them shovelready for major manufacturers whose prime motivator is speed-to-market. Our recent success in attracting manufacturers like Toyota means that our inventory of shovel-ready sites needs to be replenished, and I’m pleased to report that work is already underway with our Megasite Readiness Program.

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THERE ARE CERTAIN INDUSTRIES SUCH AS AIR AND ELECTRIC BATTERY MANUFACTURING THAT ARE ATTRACTED TO THE STATE. ARE THERE OTHER INDUSTRIES THAT YOU’D LIKE TO FOCUS ON?

The aerospace and battery industry sectors will continue to play important roles in North Carolina’s future economic growth, as will life sciences and food and agriculture. But with shifting priorities in the federal government, we’re also working to position North Carolina to take advantage of any change in policies. In particular, we think there will be a greater emphasis at the federal level on defense innovation and technology.

North Carolina should be a leader in that sector. We have one of the largest military footprints in all the United States, and major commands operating in the state, but we lag in companies that provide technology and other innovative products to meet the needs of the military.

With proper focus and investment, there’s room to grow.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Q & A

THE WESTERN PART OF THE STATE IS RECOVERING FROM A NATURAL DISASTER. WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO COMPANIES LOOKING AT THAT REGION?

Western North Carolina has always been a great place to do business, and most places in the west are back open and ready to work. While our tourismrelated industries are the backbone of the economy in that part of the state, manufacturing companies also thrive there, like Pratt & Whitney, GE Aviation, Baxter, and many others.

Many of the advantages companies seek when looking anywhere in our state can be found in the west, whether that be world-class university and community college institutions, robust transportation networks, or our friendly business climate.

The natural beauty of western North Carolina is renowned and can be a major draw for investment. Our focus on offering a skilled and available workforce applies to every location in the state. People in the west are strong, determined, and resilient, and CEOs can put those qualities to work in their own companies when they choose a western North Carolina location.

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HOW DOES THE STATE CONVINCE COMPANIES TO LOOK AT AREAS OUTSIDE THE METRO REGIONS?

Each company approaches the site selection process with their own set of criteria, and sometimes companies select a metro region because that’s what their criteria calls for. But many site searches do not impose that restriction, and as we’ve seen recently many of our most high-profile wins have selected rural areas of the state, such as Amazon’s choice of Richmond County and Toyota selecting Randolph County.

The Department of Commerce has an entire business unit focused solely on rural economic development, so we bring those programs to bear when we’re talking with companies about a rural location. Rural locations that have prepared themselves with modern infrastructure and workforce development systems, which the Department of Commerce can help with, offer convincing reasons to locate in their communities.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Q & A

HOW MUCH OF A ROLE DO INCENTIVES FROM STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS PLAY IN CONVINCING COMPANIES TO COME?

Our economic development incentives do play a critical role in persuading companies to come to North Carolina, but their utility only comes at the end of a company’s search process.

Incentives have no impact at all unless the fundamentals are in place first, fundamentals like a highly trained workforce, an education system that supports that workforce, a good inventory of prepared industrial sites, and a friendly and supportive business climate.

But once those fundamentals are in place, and we’re competing with an attractive site in another state or even another country, then our incentives can make a difference. North Carolina’s incentive programs are performance based, meaning we don’t pay them out unless the companies meet their job creation commitments, so taxpayers’ interests are protected while the economic climate is enhanced.

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WHERE SHOULD THE FOCUS BE — CERTAIN SKILLS OR STRATEGIES — ON EDUCATING THE WORKFORCE?

In April 2025, Governor Stein created a Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships, which I’m honored to co-chair along with N.C. Sen. Eddie Settle and Jeff Cox, the president of the North Carolina Community College System. In June, the Council approved 11 goals that offer a framework for our workforce development system over the next four years. The first goal says we must ensure that 2 million North Carolinians ages 25 to 44 will have earned an industry-valued credential or degree.

We know doubling the number of registered apprenticeships is important, as well as increasing participation in work-based learning programs.

Creating industry sector-based workforce programs is an approach we know works, and we must grow our programs in advanced manufacturing, education, and health care among others. Helping people develop skills in the fast-emerging area of artificial intelligence will also be key to building a future-ready workforce.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Q & A WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN FOR CONTINUING ECONOMIC GROWTH?

My biggest concern is ensuring that North Carolina’s workforce can keep pace with the rapid changes in our economy. We’re seeing incredible growth in sectors like clean energy, biotechnology, and aerospace manufacturing — and while that’s exciting, it also means we need to double down on education, training, and reskilling efforts across all communities.

We can’t afford to leave anyone behind — especially in our rural areas, where access to high-speed internet, quality job training, and transportation can still be major hurdles.

Economic growth must be widespread and in every region of the state, and that requires strategic investment not just in infrastructure, but in people.

Remaining competitive means a continued focus on innovation, regulatory stability, and attracting the kind of businesses that align with our values and long-term vision for the state.

Bottom line: Growth is only sustainable if we’re preparing our workforce for the jobs of tomorrow and making sure every part of North Carolina has a fair shot at success.

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FOCUS | WESTERN REGION

ECONOMIC BOOST

Pratt & Whitney’s expansion of its aircraft manufacturing facility in Asheville sparked a sense of optimism in a region still recovering from Hurricane Helene.

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ratt & Whitney, a leader in the design, manufacture, and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units, is growing in Asheville and bringing a ray of sunshine to a region still struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Last January, Gov. Josh Stein announced that the company would expand its Asheville manufacturing operations, including an additional investment of $285 million and 325 new jobs. The expansion is expected to be completed in 2027.

“In total, we’ll have over 1,200 jobs on site, and an investment of a billion dollars,” says Dan Field, director and general manager for Pratt & Whitney’s Asheville manufacturing facility.

The company’s Asheville plant, first announced in October 2020, produces high-tech turbine airfoils, an important component in aircraft jet engines.

The expansion will build production capacity to meet 24

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growing customer demand, deal with a decades-long backlog, and accommodate the manufacture of castings, critical components in the turbine airfoils production process.

The new facility will use about 300,000 square feet of the existing building.

For Pratt & Whitney, expansion was always in the cards and factored into the construction of its 1.2 million-square-foot building.

“At the time, we were not sure how we were going to fill the building, but we knew we were going to need the space in the future,” Field says. “Now the future is here, and we are adding a new process to our value stream.”

Pratt & Whitney, which is based in Connecticut, celebrated its 100th anniversary on July 25. It was founded in 1925 by Frederick B. Rentschler, a pioneer of the air-cooled radial engine design. According to company history, Pratt & Whitney’s first engine, the R-1340 Wasp engine, transformed military and commercial aviation and is still in use today.

Pratt & Whitney is part of the RTX global family of aerospace and defense businesses and has more than 90,000 engines in service. Its primary customer is Airbus.

BIGGEST COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Western Carolina University, Cullowhee UNC Asheville Appalachian State University, Boone Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

ATTRACTIONS Biltmore Estate, Asheville Blue Ridge Parkway Carl Sandburg Home, Flat Rock Nantahala Outdoor Center, Bryson City Tryon International Equestrian Center, Mill Spring Sliding Rock, Transylvania County North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville Grandfather Mountain, Linville Chimney Rock State Park, Chimney Rock Linville Caverns, Marion Asheville Tourists minor league baseball Hickory Crawdads minor league baseball Cherokee Cultural Attractions, Cherokee Tweetsie Railroad, Blowing Rock

Asheville

WESTERN SNAPSHOT

COUNTIES: Alleghany Ashe Avery Buncombe Burke Caldwell Cherokee Clay

Graham Haywood Henderson Jackson Macon Madison McDowell Mitchell

Polk Rutherford Swain Transylvania Watauga Wilkes Yancey

INDUSTRIES Aerospace and defense Furniture Craft beer Data centers Tourism Advanced manufacturing Christmas trees

FOCUS | WESTERN REGION

As Pratt & Whitney’s first employee in Asheville, Field served as the company’s project director, shepherding negotiations with state and local governments and partners, negotiating board approvals, and overseeing construction and workforce recruitment, hiring and training.

“I started on the project in the summer of 2019, and we opened the facility at the end of 2022 with about 100 people on our team,” he says. “Since then, we’ve grown to over 900 employees.”

In 2023, its first year of operations, the facility produced 1,200 units. In 2024, the output increased to 82,000 units, and as of last July, the volume was up to 100,000 units with nearly six months left in the year, Field says.

Locating Pratt & Whitney in Asheville was a once-in-alifetime investment that will have a generational impact on Buncombe County and the entire region, says Clark Duncan, senior vice president of economic development with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. It has already paid significant dividends.

“We have been marketing in the aerospace and aviation industry for over a decade, and we have seen growth in other companies like GE Aviation, Kearfott and Mills Manufacturing,”

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says Duncan. “Their investment and success in Buncombe County is a huge affirmation that western North Carolina is a go-to market for aerospace expansion.”

The expansion also speaks volumes about the strength of the state’s workforce and its commitment to staffing businesses that choose to locate here.

“More broadly, the expansion signals that aerospace is taking off across the entire state,” says Melissa Smith, senior vice president of business recruitment and development for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “We have the talent, the education systems, and the real estate assets to support this sector’s continued growth.”

Pratt & Whitney is in Biltmore Forest, land once owned by George Vanderbilt, who is famous for building the Biltmore House.

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FOCUS | WESTERN REGION

The region’s natural beauty is good for the soul, Field says.

“There’s a great view of Mount Pisgah right outside my office, so when I want to decompress for a minute, I can just look out the window,” he says.

As Duncan sees it, the beauty of the state’s western region, quality of life, and opportunities to develop a talented workforce are reasons companies like Pratt & Whitney locate there.

“We’re proud that Pratt has found success and continues to have the confidence to grow and invest here,” he says. “And I think we can attribute that to the investments that Buncombe County and the state of North Carolina continue to make.”

One major investment is in workforce development.

The availability of “top-notch” workforce training was one factor that attracted Pratt & Whitney to Asheville, Field says.

He credits the state’s community college system with tailoring education to meet the specific needs of business and industry.

For Pratt & Whitney, that includes a 16-hour pre-hire training program at Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College.

“That program has served as a pipeline for us to get talent in here that might not normally consider a manufacturing job,” Field says.

The average salary for the new positions at the plant will be $62,413 and will bring an annual payroll impact to the community of more than $20 million per year.

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When Hurricane Helene caused major flooding across western North Carolina last September and displaced hundreds of residents and small businesses, Pratt & Whitney stepped up, proved its value to affected communities, and at the same time, doubled down on its plans to expand operations.

“The company expressed commitment to the facility and started a hiring program in the storm’s aftermath,” Duncan says.

“It was a great shot in the arm of confidence at a time when we really needed it.”

About 50 of Pratt & Whitney’s employees had homes that were severely damaged or lost. The company helped them find housing and set up shower and laundry facilities, fresh water, internet service and electricity within the plant. They provided meals for their employees and the community at large, Field says.

The company also placed a relief station in nearby Swannanoa and included resources to help residents access the Red Cross and navigate FEMA. “We wanted to make sure people could get the help they needed to recover from the storm,” Field says. “Our parent company, RTX made sure that the well-being of all of our employees was taken care of, and we were also able to pivot after about a week to begin helping the community.”

Duncan says the region’s overall recovery is slow but steady.

“Every day is better,” he says. “Our manufacturing

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FOCUS | WESTERN REGION

community is thriving, and we’ve seen a good amount of local industry expansion activity this summer, which is great.”

And as grateful as state and local officials are for Pratt & Whitney’s ability to grow, they are also proud of being able to enable them to expand and create good jobs for the residents of western North Carolina.

“Helping stimulate economic mobility by bringing people into manufacturing is a great win for them in meeting aggressive hiring goals, but it’s also a win for the community and our residents by bringing them into a highgrowth industry,” Duncan says.

It’s also a boost of confidence for the entire state, says Smith.

“When a globally recognized brand like Pratt & Whitney chooses North Carolina, that sends a powerful message to other companies in the aerospace and defense sectors,” she says. “Every successful project creates a ripple effect that strengthens our competitiveness and attracts future investment.”

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FOCUS | CHARLOTTE REGION

STAYING POWER

The charlotte region is on an economic roll, balancing rapid growth with a desire to maintain its reputation for livability.

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harlotte’s strong status as a world-class finance center is now accompanied by clear evidence that it is a vital global business center spanning many sectors. That was among the conclusions of a Business North Carolina roundtable with six prominent Queen City business and civic leaders.

The 14-county Charlotte region accounts for a fifth of gross state output with a population of 3.1 million, a 20% increase since 2010. An unusual amount of that growth is coming from people in the 20-to-34 age bracket, along with sharp increases in the number of foreign-born residents.

Maintaining a strong quality of life and training workers for emerging industries are important challenges facing area leaders. The conversation was moderated by Editor David Mildenberg. The transcript was edited for clarity.

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESSRELATED ISSUES FOR THE REGION? PACK: Employment hits everybody’s radar. The city has

done great at diversifying industry since 2009 and 2010 from what was perceived as a predominantly financial services market.

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There is now construction, development, manufacturing, distribution and services, which is pretty encompassing.

A lot of people don’t realize all the companies that are still moving to Charlotte and the consolidation of businesses.

WALTON: Interest rates and inflation seem to be cooling.

You’ve got political uncertainty, and businesses and people in finance like nice stable trends and predictability. A lot of entrepreneurs are kind of delaying decisions until we get on the other side, maybe in the beginning of next year.

BIGGEST COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES UNC Charlotte Gardner-Webb University Wingate University Central Piedmont Community College Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, multiple campuses Gaston College, multiple campuses

ATTRACTIONS

City of Charlotte

CHARLOTTE SNAPSHOT

COUNTIES: Alexander Anson Cabarrus Catawba

Cleveland Gaston Iredell Lincoln

Mecklenburg Rowan Stanly Union

U.S. National Whitewater Center, Charlotte Harvey B. Gantt Center for AfricanAmerican Arts & Culture, Charlotte Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord Carolina Panthers, NFL team, Charlotte NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte Charlotte Hornets, NBA team Charlotte FC, professional soccer club Charlotte Knights, minor league baseball team Charlotte Checkers, minor league professional hockey Carowinds, Charlotte Discovery Place, Charlotte Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, Belmont Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Gastonia N.C. Transportation Museum, Spencer Lake Norman and Lake Wylie

INDUSTRIES Business, financial services and fintech Corporate headquarters Aerospace and defense Textiles Energy Automotive-parts manufacturing

FOCUS | CHARLOTTE REGION

Tripp Beacham managing principal, BB+M Architecture

Kandi Deitemeyer president, Central Piedmont Community College

Amy Noland Pack co-founder, principal partner, Accrue Partners, an executive search and staffing project solutions firm.

Michael Smith CEO, Charlotte Center City Partners

Thad Walton N.C. commercial banking leader, Charlotte market executive Regions Bank

Scott Wilson managing partner, CoxSchepp Construction

WILSON: I was recently in Germany meeting with several

clients who manage family run manufacturing companies looking to build in our region. They know Charlotte and its large German community and a large manufacturing base here. The big concern right now is what happens with the election. The potential for additional punitive tariffs is going to be a pretty significant chilling effect as far as the viability of making good economic sense.

Charlotte is extremely attractive, but they were aware of some of the ills Charlotte is facing, along with most cities.

Normally it’s just a pure discussion of accolades. This time, it included some concerns about the health of our uptown.

It was surprising because I seldom have to defend our city.

WHAT ARE THE GREATEST ASSETS FOR THE REGION? BEACHAM: Quality of life here is amazing. We have been very resilient. Two years ago, when construction costs were spiking like we’ve never seen, we were able to continue projects moving forward because rents kept going up. We just made the math work in a different way.

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One difference in Charlotte has been leaders like Hugh McColl, who transformed the city from when uptown was non-existent after 5 o’clock. I’m curious to see how people step up into that vacuum, because it’s not what it used to be.

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that has to happen to keep Charlotte business-friendly.

MICHAEL, TALK TO US ABOUT THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE CITY CENTER? SMITH: Downtowns across the world have faced headwinds

like we’ve not known since the ’70s. It’s stay-at-home orders, it’s expensive capital, it’s uncertainty on the ability to finance things. It’s issues of public safety. Those are things that this community has demonstrated a real commitment to addressing.

There’s also an interesting change going on. We feel like it’s evolving from a central business district to a central activity district. Tepper Sports and the new owners of Hornet Sports and Entertainment (Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall) are trying to more regularly program their assets. So we’re seeing giant spikes in hospitality.

WHAT ADVANTAGES DOES CHARLOTTE HAVE? WALTON: Accessibility. You’ve got major interstates passing through here, a major airport, top 10 in the world from takeoffs and landings. You can get to the mountains with acres and acres of open space in 90 minutes. For the most part, you can get anywhere you want in two hours.

PACK: People get here and they’re like, “Wow, Charlotte, it’s really green and really cool.” You have young ones that move here, and then the next thing you know, their brothers and sisters and mothers and aunts and uncles are all moving here.

I don’t think anybody’s left in Buffalo or Rochester.

WILSON: We’re a curious city.

We have no massive mountain range, there’s no huge body of water. I’m always impressed by the Germans who come from the Black Forest, or these lovely places. I ask, “Once you get the business established, will you go back to Germany?” No, they’re so entrenched with the quality of life here, for all kinds of variable reasons. I think Charlotte has a tremendous pride of place.

It’s a city that seems to have, as part of its collective psyche, the idea of constant improvement.

ARE WE INVESTING ENOUGH IN EDUCATION? DEITEMEYER: Central Piedmont

is in an urban core. Mecklenburg County has been very generous to the college. We have six amazing campuses with unmatched facilities that are university-esque.

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FOCUS | CHARLOTTE REGION

With a headcount of 48,000-plus, we are tracking back toward our highest enrollment pre-pandemic. We have the capacity to continue to meet the needs of our community in terms of workforce development with 300-plus programs. Whatever you can dream or imagine that you want a place in this beautiful, vibrant city and county, the college can get you there. We also have fantastic transfer partners, including our largest with UNC Charlotte.

We do great things in higher education at Central Piedmont because we’re embraced. We are in conversations about what needs to happen in business and the workforce.

SMITH: The way that North Carolina stands out No. 1 or No. 2 in business, the foundation of that is our education assets. We continue to be a place that has 113 people a day moving here. In-migration is the lifeblood of that. About 60% of UNC Charlotte graduates stay in the market. It is now at about 30,000 students. We believe that UNC Charlotte is a foundational part of our economic development strategy for what’s next for our region.

IS THE MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING MARKET STILL STRONG? BEACHAM: On paper, we have the best backlog we’ve

ever had. But about this time last year, when the sort of convergence of construction costs staying high and getting higher, and then interest rates just crushing your clients 36

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ability to pencil out a deal, we had to cut a lot out, in pretty short order.

Until we start seeing actual rate cuts, a lot of these players are going to stay on the sidelines. We’re hopeful that a lot of those deals come back alive toward the end of the year.

WILSON: What I think is a fascinating megatrend that many cities are dealing with. We have these lovely new apartment neighborhoods close to our uptown, and in a couple of years you will begin to see school buses out in front of them. Apartments here seem to be designed for the 21-to-31 age demographic. At some point many move on to home ownership, but we just don’t have a great deal of product. For all kinds of reasons, we are not seeing a transition. Charlotte is going to face an inflection point. We’ll continue to attract young people, but they may struggle building personal equity as they wish to start families and age.

SMITH: It will be interesting to see how we do this without

building concentric circles further and further out, and how we pair it with the transportation system that allows for better density, maybe some more affordability. One thing we cannot ever, ever let happen again in American consciousness is to allow our city centers to hollow out. That is a devastation, that is a cancer that will spread through and finally get to the suburbs.

One of the great qualities of Charlotte is that it’s got a really impressive downtown.

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FOCUS | CHARLOTTE REGION

ARE HOUSING ISSUES AN IMPEDIMENT TO ATTRACTING TALENT? PACK: For people relocating, selling their home and then getting to Charlotte and finding a house at the same time, can be a challenge. In the last two years, working several C-level searches, the biggest problem is going to be who can move and find something. And if they’re moving a family, do they have the flexibility to move into an apartment on an interim basis? Many times, that’s not appealing.

DO YOU THINK WE ARE INVESTING IN MOBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION TO GET AROUND? SMITH: We don’t have an option. If we want to be the

city that we have been, and hold on to the quality of life that’s drawn people here, that then brings jobs here, we’ve got to make investments in infrastructure. We’re on a heckuva growth curve and that growth curve has to be complemented with those kinds of investments.

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When we invested in the Blue Line in the early aughts, it was a bold move. I personally provided 30 tours to major cities throughout North America that wanted to understand what our vision was. It’s a shame that it’s now been a couple decades, but I’m thrilled at who we’ve got at the table, the kind of vision that’s being shared and the kind of conversations that we’re having.

WALTON: When I first moved to Charlotte, you effectively

felt like you had University, Lake Norman, Center City, South Park and then Ballantyne. Now you’ve got a lot of labels on neighborhoods in-between that are going vertical.

So Charlotte for years grew out, and now it’s growing up to some degree.

A lot of companies, ours included, are encouraging people to get back in the office. We’re in Center City and glad to be there.

GASTON COUNTY HAS BECOME A HOT MARKET. WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT REGIONALISM?

game. Even the ones that want to go out, they want a boomerang back. It’s about being able to access the world but still have a place that is truly North Carolina.

BEACHAM: We just finished an adaptive reuse of a mill

WILSON: Another interesting thing is that the city is becoming a more august and sincere city. It’s becoming an older city. People get in their 60s and they say well, I guess it’s time for me to self-segregate, and go to Sun City or Sea Pines or something. At 59, I don’t really have this desire to self-segregate from an urban environment that I find appealing.

in Belmont that leased up quicker than any project we’ve ever had. Yet the town of Belmont is using that as a reason to slow things down. I can only imagine what if it had been a bad project.

We see that in every bedroom community. It’s Matthews; it’s Fort Mill. You can’t argue with the folks that live there because many of them have lived there their whole lives and don’t want to see a change.

Still, Charlotte is the engine that makes them thrive.

Ease of transportation might exacerbate their problems, so I think that’s why you’re seeing some tension with some of these bedroom communities about future rail lines. They don’t want to lose what they’ve got.

IS CHARLOTTE MORE INTERESTING THAN IT WAS 10 OR 20 YEARS AGO? SMITH: Absolutely. The ultimate test is whether our

children want to return here. And we’re winning that

IS THERE A SENSE THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORK AT BANK OF AMERICA OR THE OTHER GIANTS TO GET AHEAD? WALTON: There’s more than 100,000 employees in the financial services industry in Charlotte. You don’t necessarily have to live in your headquarters’ city to have a meaningful job. Regions is the largest [superregional] bank headquartered in the Southeast, based in Birmingham. There are a lot of senior leaders that live in Charlotte, and they hop on that airplane every Monday and come back on Thursday.

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FOCUS | CHARLOTTE REGION

We have more than 400 employees who work in Charlotte. Most larger financial institutions have major operations in Charlotte because it is such a talent pool.

PACK: People don’t realize until they get here all the other industries that are here. We have a lot of great companies in the middle market that aren’t name brand companies. They’re headquartered here. They’re global in nature. They create lots of jobs and lots of opportunities. I would say that’s a large piece of my customer base. We serviced 187 clients last year.

Not Lowe’s and not Bank of America.

It’s been that mid-market customer that has really built the foundation of Charlotte and created a lot of great opportunities.

WALTON: Another important asset is the hospitals we have

here. We forget how valuable of a resource that is to have in our backyard.

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SMITH: And they keep getting stronger. This conversation

about the diversification of our local economy is so key to where we’re going next. Financial services is an amazing base, but through our education system, through the kind of talent that’s coming here, and then also these new innovation hubs that are being created like The Pearl (which includes Wake Forest University School of Medicine). We are just starting to understand the amount of institutional capital and national labs money that’s possible.

WILSON: One sword of Damocles over our cities and a point of concern is the environment. For a week, Raleigh reached a heat index of around 115 degrees. This is going to fundamentally impact every aspect of our lives. We cannot change the world, but we need to seriously begin to implement what changes we can make to have a more sustainable and habitable city center, such as creating green canopies for our streets and walkways.

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THE TRIAD’S TIME

Much work remains, but JetZero’s ambitious plans electrify the region and state.

I

n today’s business world, one solid piece of infrastructure can go a long way. Just ask leaders of the Piedmont Triad Region, who gathered in June 2025 to celebrate the largest job-creation project in recent state history.

California-based JetZero selected a property at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) for production of futuristic passenger jets – bringing nearly 15,000 jobs and more than $4.7 billion investment to Guilford County.

Brent Christensen, CEO of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, recalls accompanying JetZero officials on their first visit to PTI’s expansive industrial site, which connects to the airport complex via a 280-foot taxiway bridge. Completed in 2018 as part of a key package of transportation upgrades around the airport that included I-73, the span can accommodate the world’s largest jets as multiple lanes of vehicular traffic pass below.

“Not until they looked at it and stood on it did they realize it would be an asset,” Christensen says. “Their eyes got really big.”

With the advantage of a 700-acre ready-to-go site and the region’s aerospace-savvy workforce, Greensboro was the natural choice for JetZero, which was founded in 2018

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with a mission of disrupting the global aviation market.

The company’s “blended-wing-body” design re-imagines longstanding tube-and-wing aircrafts, creating a more comfortable travel experience while cutting fuel consumption in half. Delta and United are investing in the company’s vision, as is the U.S. Air Force, which pledged $235 million to JetZero in 2023.

The company’s yearlong site search considered 25 locations across 17 states, North Carolina Department of Commerce records show, with PTI being among five finalists.

JetZero CEO Tom O’Leary is not intimidated by the prospects of competing with giants like Boeing and Airbus. Just weeks after announcing Greensboro’s selection, O’Leary outlined the company’s expectations at a gathering of Triad business and community leaders.

BIGGEST COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES UNC Greensboro Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem Elon University High Point University N.C. A&T State University, Greensboro Winston-Salem State University Guilford Technical Community College Forsyth Technical Community College Greensboro Science Center ‘s Skywild ropes course

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TRIAD SNAPSHOT

COUNTIES: Alamance Caswell Davidson Davie

Forsyth Guilford Montgomery Randolph

Rockingham Stokes Surry Yadkin

North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Greensboro Old Salem Museum & Gardens, Winston-Salem Greensboro Science Center Andy Griffith Museum, Mount Airy Yadkin Valley Wine Country, Elkin Kaleideum (North and Downtown museums) Winston-Salem Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts

INDUSTRIES Aerospace and defense Furniture Finance Insurance Textiles Wine making

FOCUS | TRIAD REGION

“Some states make it easier to do business,” O’Leary told Business North Carolina after the event. “It’s tax policy, it’s incentives, and you need to have the assurance that you’re not going to get hung up. We have our mind on doing great things for the community and for the environment, and we feel this is the right place.”

State incentives approach $1.6 billion, a figure that includes customized training and workforce support, site preparation and a “transformative” Jobs Development & Investment Grant that could return a large share of company’s local payroll over 37 years. Guilford County and the city of Greensboro chipped in about $76 million and $14.5 million, respectively. In exchange, JetZero’s North Carolina operations will add nearly $260 billion to the state’s GDP over the life of the grant, according to Commerce’s economic modeling.

“This is a monster win,” says Kevin Baker, executive director of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. JetZero is the third aerospace manufacturer to arrive at PTI, success that validates years of strategic planning at the airport, Baker says. Honda Aircraft has maintained significant R&D, manufacturing and management operations there since 2006. In 2023, Boom Supersonic, the pioneering maker of net-carbon-zero supersonic jets, began creating a 1,750-job production facility at PTI.

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JETZERO By the numbers NEW JOBS: 14,564 (over 10 years / 2027-2036) AVERAGE WAGE: $89,340 (Guilford County current average is $60,125) JETZERO INVESTMENT: $4.724 billion SPECIAL CONDITION: 10,000 jobs and $3.779 billion investment would trigger grant payment STATE INCENTIVES: $1.570 billion over 37 years LOCAL INCENTIVES: $784.7 million ROI: 274% (For every dollar of cost, the state expects to receive $3.74 in state revenue)

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FOCUS | TRIAD REGION Major aviation service providers also operate there, including HAECO, part of the British conglomerate John Swire & Sons, and the U.K.’s Marshall Aerospace, which launched plans for a $50 million maintenance and engineering facility only months after Boom’s announcement.

Grading and other work at the site is underway as JetZero finalizes facility planning. Baker says the company’s production complex could be on a scale comparable to the 472 million cubicfoot plant Boeing maintains in Everett, Washington. First up though will be readying space to accommodate JetZero’s HR, staffing and training operations. “That will be among the earliest things you will see,” Baker predicts.

The PTI acreage, formerly a par three golf course, was deemed “ready” for industrial development pursuant to Duke Energy’s Site Readiness program, which puts properties – and the communities taking them to market – through a rigorous checklist designed to trim time from the building process once arriving tenants pull the trigger on location plans. Duke took the PTI site through the process in 2018, bringing in a technical team to gauge developability.

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Working closely with national location advisers, Duke’s program also shines attention on available properties. “It never hurts to have a good site selection consultant on your dirt looking around,” says Bill Roberts, manager of economic development at Duke Energy. “We also want to make sure we know where good product is.” Communities respond to a mock RFI, collaborating with workforce partners and local allies to satisfy project specs. “It’s just like a client visit,” explains Roberts.

As with Boom, Marshall and other Triad aerospace firms, the region’s workforce resources went far in sealing the deal.

Guilford Technical Community College, for example, has a decades-long track record of collaboration with local employers in designing associates-level curricula in aerospace machining, manufacturing engineering, aircraft assembly and repair, aviation management and avionics.

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FOCUS | TRIAD REGION

The college maintains an innovative curriculum partnership with North Carolina A&T University in the form of a “2+2” program leading to a BS in aeronautical engineering. Guilford Tech has similar articulation agreements with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which shares with the college a campus at PTI that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Engineering schools at NC State, Virginia Tech, UNC Charlotte and Clemson are a short drive away. “The talent pipeline is here, and it is robust,” says Baker.

Looking ahead, Triad leaders see a wave of recruitment opportunities ahead as suppliers and partners establish regional operations to support JetZero and other PTI manufacturers.

“We’ve already got over 200 aviation and aerospace suppliers in the Carolina Core region,” says Mike Fox, CEO of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, which coordinates regional economic development strategy and marketing under the Carolina Core brand. Local development leaders in many nearby counties are now fine-tuning sites, infrastructure and talent readiness in anticipation of arriving component manufacturers.

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“Our mayors, county commissioners and state legislators are all now bought into this,” says Fox, who also chairs the North Carolina Board of Transportation.

The region’s public and private educational institutions are also closely aligned, Fox adds. “Everyone is working to make sure we’ve got the workforce that companies like JetZero are looking for.”

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FOCUS | RESEARCH TRIANGLE

PEOPLE FIRST Ralliant Corp. chose Raleigh for its new global headquarters because of the city’s ability to accommodate growth and remain a great place to live.

W

hile North Carolina’s healthy business climate initially enticed Ralliant Corp. to locate its new global headquarters in Raleigh, it was the people who live and work here that sealed the deal.

“As we prepared to become an independent, publicly traded company, we needed to establish a headquarters where people wanted to live, provided access to top talent and aligned with our growth strategy,” says CEO Tami Newcombe.

Raleigh checked all the boxes.

Just months after announcing plans to locate its global headquarters in Raleigh last March, Ralliant is already building out its office space in the Midtown business district, investing $2.1 million in Wake County and filling 180 jobs.

Currently operating in a temporary space, the company is expected to open its permanent office at North Hills at the end of this year, according to Newcombe.

“The headquarters here in Raleigh will serve as a strategic and operational hub as well as offices for our executive leadership team,” Newcombe says. “It is where the majority of our corporate team will sit and represent all our functions from legal to finance, communications to human resources, IT and more.”

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Newcombe previously served as the president and CEO of Fortive’s Precision Technologies and Advanced Healthcare Solutions segments. She assumed her post on June 28.

In 2024, Ralliant split from Fortive, its parent company, and formed an independent public corporation to drive nextgeneration innovation in the field of test measurements and sensors for aerospace and defense subsystems.

Ralliant designs, manufactures and services precision instruments and highly engineered products. Its team of more than 1,400 engineers around the world serves customers in a variety of sectors, bringing advanced technology to corporations, research institutions and governments. The company touches a variety of operations, including semiconductors, data centers, consumer electronics, automotive, energy storage, aerospace, defense, utilities and industrial manufacturing.

BIGGEST COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES NC State University, Raleigh N.C. Central University, Durham UNC Chapel Hill Duke University, Durham Wake Technical Community College, multiple campuses Central Carolina Community College Durham Technical Community College

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Downtown Raleigh

TRIANGLE SNAPSHOT

COUNTIES: Chatham Durham Franklin Granville Harnett

Johnston Lee Moore Orange

Person Vance Wake Warren

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh PNC Arena, home of NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and N.C. State basketball, Raleigh State Farmers Market, Raleigh North Carolina Courage, women’s professional soccer team, Cary North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh Durham Performing Arts Center Durham Bulls Minor League Baseball, Durham Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, Chapel Hill Marbles Kids Museum, Raleigh North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh Museum of Life and Science, Durham Koka Booth Amphitheater, Cary

INDUSTRIES Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals Information technology Fintech Clean technology Higher education State government

FOCUS | RESEARCH TRIANGLE

“We empower engineers with precision technologies essential for breakthrough innovation in an electrified and digital world,” Newcombe says. “And in this way, we enable our customers to bring advanced technologies to the market faster and more efficiently.”

Ralliant’s road to Raleigh started a year ago, says Kyle Touchstone, Raleigh economic development director with Wake County’s economic development corporation.

“We began working on this project in October of 2024, when the company, which was confidential at that time, had narrowed their search to a few locations across the United States, and Raleigh was at the top of the list,” he says.

The headquarters decision came down to a choice between Raleigh and Beaverton, Oregon.

North Carolina commerce officials approved state incentives worth up to $3.5 million, including a jobs grant of up to $2.6 million spread over 12 years. The company will offer six-figure annual salaries averaging $189,000.

In addition to the incentives, Raleigh’s location, access to an educated population and reputation as a great place to live helped

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convince Ralliant to choose the Capital City, Newcombe says, noting the Triangle’s high-tech research presence, top universities, and skilled workforce.

“Some other considerations that influenced our decision included potential space to accommodate future growth and infrastructure readiness in Raleigh,” Newcombe says. “As a company driven by our people-first culture, Raleigh’s outstanding quality of life also played a role in our decision making.”

North Carolina is no stranger to global headquarters, and among notable corporations that have located their executive offices here are a dozen Fortune 500 headquarters including Bank of America, Lowe’s, Duke Energy and Labcorp, says Melissa Smith, senior vice president of business recruitment and development for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

In addition to Ralliant, other companies announced new corporate headquarters and hubs in North Carolina in 2025, including JetZero in Greensboro, BuildOps in Raleigh, 21st Century Software in Morehead City and CitiGroup in Charlotte.

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FOCUS | RESEARCH TRIANGLE

The state offers a large workforce of more than 700,000 corporate professionals and a steady talent pipeline delivering graduates equipped with skills in management, marketing, and technology.

The MBA programs at Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill are considered among the best in the nation, Smith says.

“North Carolina is also considered an ideal destination for global headquarters, with a bipartisan commitment to a pro-business tax structure,” she says.

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Touchstone says that any time a corporation chooses a destination for its headquarters, it signals that the health of a community and the ability to provide top talent across a variety of industry sectors are strong.

“And it creates a ripple effect,” he adds.

“If corporations are seeking a place to locate headquarters, they’re likely to choose a place where other corporate headquarters are located.”

Newcombe is proof of that concept, saying that Ralliant sought out a headquarters city focusing first on the availability of a workforce, then bringing a leadership team into a loyal partner community that is engaged, inspired and committed to driving a high-performance culture.

“This culture is centered on a growth mindset, continuous improvement, and the belief that empowered individuals lead to better results,” she says. “By investing in our employees’ growth, we foster a sense of ownership, accountability, and innovation that permeates the entire organization.”

Smith acknowledges that the new headquarters is a big win for Raleigh, and for the state as a whole.

“North Carolina is recognized as a national leader, and we impress corporations with the caliber of our people, the affordability of doing business here, and the access to both domestic and global markets,” she says.

“But I think what really stands out is our consistency. Whether it’s a major metro or a rural community, companies know they can count on North Carolina to deliver.”

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Touchtone points to two recent superlatives that set North Carolina apart – the state’s recent top ranking by CNBC as the best state for business and Raleigh’s designation as the best performing large city of the United States by the Milken Institute, a nonprofit think tank, focused on improving lives and economic conditions around the world.

“To have that number one ranking and to be located in the best state for business tells us that Raleigh is at the epicenter for economic development and growth,” Touchstone says. “Any time a company is located in or growing within a community, it says that it is favorable to business, that its infrastructure is strong and available for future growth, and it also means that it’s a great place to live.”

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FOCUS | EASTERN REGION

PROLEC GE EXPANSION More workforce, more prosperity for Goldsboro and Eastern NC.

P

rolec GE Waukesha Inc., a power transformers manufacturer headquartered in Wisconsin and a subsidiary of Monterrey, Mexico-based Prolec GE, announced plans in May to invest $140 million to construct a second manufacturing facility adjacent to its current operations in Goldsboro.

The 144,00-square-foot addition will double the site’s production of medium power transformers, nearly double the number of employees and strengthen the region far beyond Goldsboro and Wayne County.

“The expansion of Prolec Waukesha in Wayne County and eastern North Carolina with the creation of 330 new jobs with an average wage of $71,912 and $140 million in capital investment represents a transformative milestone for a rural North Carolina community and its surrounding region,” says Mark Pope, president of the NC Global TransPark Economic Development Region.

“This level of high-quality job growth significantly elevates local household incomes, boosts consumer spending and supports small businesses, while the capital investment drives infrastructure improvements and long-term economic vitality. Moreover, such a development strengthens the

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talent pipeline, enhances regional competitiveness for future projects and sends a powerful signal to both residents and the broader business community about the area’s potential for sustained growth and prosperity.”

The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Economic Investment Committee project summary indicates $140 million in capital investment by Dec. 31, 2027, including $120 million in real property construction and/ or improvements and $20 million in tangible personal property.

In the DOC’s release May 14, Gov. Josh Stein attributed the Goldsboro expansion to “our strong economy and world-class workforce,” noting several partners in the project, including Wayne Community College in Goldsboro.

“Wayne Community College’s Workforce Continuing Education division has partnered with Prolec GE, formerly Waukesha, for many years to support the development of their workforce,” says Renita Dawson, WCC’s vice president for workforce continuing education & community engagement. “Through this collaboration, the college has provided customized training programs tailored to the company’s specific needs, as well as short-term occupational

BIGGEST COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES East Carolina University, Greenville UNC Wilmington UNC Pembroke Fayetteville State University Fayetteville Tech Community College Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington Pitt Community College, Greenville

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Wilmington

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FOCUS | EASTERN REGION

courses designed to strengthen employee skills and meet evolving industry demands.”

Those specific needs include assembly workers, welders, engineers, machine operators and other manufacturing support positions with annual wages well above Wayne County’s average of $46,211.

“Through our Customized Training Program, Wayne Community College will provide safety courses to ensure new employees are well prepared and confident as they transition into their roles,” Dawon says. “In addition, we are developing a broader training project to equip workers with the skills required for positions such as assemblers, welders, machine operators, and quality specialists. Our degree and diploma programs in welding, machining and advanced manufacturing will also play a key role in preparing talent to meet the company’s growing needs over the next three years.”

Stein also credited the N.C. General Assembly, Global TransPark EDR, Wayne County Development Alliance, North Carolina’s Southeast and Duke Energy in the group effort to secure the expansion.

The 2.5-year project will increase the power transformers company’s capacity from 220 to 420 units per year, a commitment to meet growth and demand in the energy market.

Goldsboro was chosen over locations in Mexico, Wisconsin, Louisiana and Brazil. The DOC notes Goldsboro’s existing vacant land and established Lean Manufacturing System (increased productivity through optimizing processes and eliminating waste) as selling points.

Lee Lilley, who became N.C.’s Secretary of Commerce in January and leads the Economic Investment Committee, credits the state’s reputation for welcoming and supporting business investments.

“Prolec GE could have made their $140 million investment anywhere in the world, but they chose Wayne County, further proof of North Carolina’s standing as the best state to do business,” Lilley says. “From textiles to power transformers, our tradition of manufacturing excellence — powered by infrastructure investments and innovative workforce training — continues to fuel economic growth in both rural and urban communities.”

According to the DOC, the May announcement came after a Job Development Investment Grant of $4.7 million was approved by the Economic Investment Committee earlier that day. The 12-year grant will begin in 2026.

Prolec GE must meet a minimum of 297 new jobs, or 90% of the target.

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Other grants include an NCCCS (community colleges) amount of $594,000 and $702,600 DWS grant (water systems) for a total of $5,992,600.

Training for the job goal is in place, Dawson says.

“Wayne Community College’s Customized Training Program is truly a gem within the North Carolina Community College System. Over the past year alone, the program delivered 21 classes, reaching 150 employees across Wayne County,” she says. “From those efforts, 19 employees earned Continuous Improvement certifications, 94 received safety certifications, and five completed specialized auditor training through NC State Industry Expansion Solutions.

Beyond training, the college has played an instrumental role in workforce development by supporting the hiring process.

Through collaborations with partners such as the NCWorks Career Center, we help local companies not only find the right employees but also ensure those employees have the skills and confidence to succeed.”

The Economic Investment Committee summary states that the combination of the JDIG and other state incentives were critical to North Carolina being considered for the expansion. According to the DOC, the expansion project, over the course of the 12-year term of the grant, is expected to grow the state’s economy by $1.05 billion and offer a potential reimbursement to the company of $1,696,000 spread over that time.

Prolec GE began in 1969 with the acquisition of a small transformer plant in Mexico City, then moved to Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in 1976, according to its website. Prolec GE, Xignux and General Electric established a joint venture in 1995 and, in 2020, established operations with Prolec GE USA in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Prolec GE in Brazil.

In 2021, the company marked the acquisition of Waukesha Transformers in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Goldsboro and Dallas, Texas.

The company says its Goldsboro expansion raises Prolec GE’s recent investment commitment to North American customers to more than $300 million.

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FOCUS | SOUTHEAST REGION

UTILITIES FUELS AMAZON’S RISE IN RICHMOND COUNTY E-commerce industry leader picks a rural N.C. county for a $10 billion plan.

A

mazon’s $10 billion data center campus in Richmond County will help power artificial intelligence, the latest iteration of the 21st-century economy. But driving North Carolina’s largest-ever capital investment was one of the Tar Heel State’s oldest industrial resources: water.

A subsidiary of the global e-commerce giant, Amazon Web Services (AWS), unveiled plans in June 2025 to create a 20-building data campus at Energy Way Industrial Park. AWS is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud computing solution, enabling customers from healthcare and manufacturing to financial services and government to modernize operations. The move brings at least 500 tech-oriented jobs to the rural county.

Like much of rural North Carolina, Richmond County was stung in the 1990s by losses in domestic textile production and low-skill manufacturing. The local economy relies largely on small manufacturers, farming, and food processing. Home to Rockingham Speedway and an adjacent dragway, the county has a storied motor sports legacy and

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sits just minutes south of Pinehurst. But the 2020 census counted just under 43,000 residents there – a loss of about 3,900 people over the decade, and the N.C. Department of Commerce classifies Richmond as a Tier 1 county – among the state’s most economically distressed.

What Richmond County has in abundance is water. The Pee Dee River traverses the county about halfway between its Appalachian source and the Atlantic Ocean. The county’s water resources helped attract a major electrical generating plant in the early 2000s by what was then CP&L (now part of Duke Energy). The presence of the S.H. Smith Energy Complex, in turn, would be key in capturing the imagination of AWS location hunters.

“Our site selection methodology is complex and rigorous, and it often takes Amazon months or even years to evaluate sites,” explains Andres Anzola, a spokesman for AWS. “We choose locations based on power availability and the stability of the grid, water infrastructure, ideally for re-use water or potential to develop in the future, strong workforce development partners and a welcoming community.”

But easy access to natural waterways alone didn’t ensure Richmond County was ready for “Project Blue Marlin.” Strong planning and leadership did.

As the 1,247 MW Smith Complex took shape two decades ago, local officials saw a unique avenue toward economic development and began building infrastructure that, combined with a major powergenerating station, could lure a transformative project.

They also optioned nearly 700 acres adjacent to the plant.

“Richmond County had the foresight to assemble land for an industrial park, update the zoning to accommodate target industries, and execute partnerships with the cities of Rockingham and Hamlet to ensure the project site would have adequate water and fire support,” Anzola says.

The vision came together when county and municipal governments agreed to collaborate on water and wastewater service. Gene McLaurin, who was mayor of Rockingham from 1997 to 2012, recalls discussions that led to the county and city sharing responsibilities for expanded

water and wastewater services. “Working as a team, we made investments to prepare for a future when it would be needed,” explains McLaurin.

With AI data centers consuming considerable water to cool the 24/7 operation of its high-performance computing equipment, which rely on steady supplies of electricity,

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FOCUS | SOUTHEAST REGION

Energy Way Industrial Park was in a commanding position when AWS began planning for its expanded presence in the southeastern U.S. “We had to be patient and continue investing,” says McLaurin, who currently chairs the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

“There’s a positive message there for all rural communities.”

Among key partners Richmond County had in readying Energy Way was the state’s IDF-Utility Account, which awarded $1 million in 2020 – three years before beginning talks with AWS – to extend sewer connections to the park.

The Utility Account is an important resource for Tier 1 properties lacking an active client.

“It’s a program that supports public infrastructure that doesn’t require immediate job creation,” explains Mark Poole, director of the Commerce Finance Center at the N.C. Department of Commerce, which administers the fund.

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“The Utility Account puts rural communities in a better position to compete for right-size projects,” he says.

Unlike most of the state’s large projects, AWS neither sought nor will receive state incentives under the Jobs Development & Investment Grant ( JDIG) program. Still, JDIG was relevant in landing the company because funding for the Utility Account is derived from a portion of JDIG grants that flow into urban North Carolina.

Take the arrival of JetZero in Greensboro. That company’s JDIG, which potentially runs 37 years, could end up channeling more than $113 million into the Utility Account, Poole says. “There are great synergies in how the two programs work together,” he says of JDIG and the Utility Account. Much of the criticism of JDIG since its 2003 founding, he says, rests on the fact that few awards find their way into the state’s poorest counties.

Since 2003, the Utility Account has funded 189 grants, totaling more than $140 million in awards. About two-thirds of those grants went to Tier 1 counties.

“We’ve got money to play with,” Poole says of the fund’s approximately $15 million balance as of summer 2025.

In landing AWS, Richmond County had a tremendous ally in Duke Energy. The Charlotte-based utility got the ball rolling on data centers more than 15 years ago as it

sought to fill surplus electrical capacity in western North Carolina after the offshoring of power-intensive furniture manufacturing. Soon, Apple and Google were building data centers in one-time furniture meccas like Hickory and Lenoir.

“The actual project came from conversations AWS had with Duke,” says Rick Watkins, chair of the Richmond County Board of Commissioners. “That’s where it originated, and it all went from there,” Watkins says.

Local leaders are now working to execute an economic makeover in Richmond County. “This transformation will make us a hub of the digital world,” says Watkins, likening the pivot to the 1900 arrival of Seaboard Railroad to Hamlet.

“We’ll be the home of data stored and shared from all over the world.”

Building the campus alone will bring 2,000 construction jobs. National homebuilders are already arriving to explore residential development opportunities, Watkins says.

So too are hotel chains. The county’s infrastructure, including the Smith Energy Complex, can be expanded to accommodate AWS’s downstream needs. Watkins says county leaders are eager to partner with the company, as well as its economic development allies, to make the most of the historic opportunity. “Working together,” he says, “our possibilities are limitless.”

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AROUND THE STATE | INCENTIVES

Businesses expand or locate in North Carolina for many reasons including financial incentives and grants. Here are some of what’s available an the investments they helped make possible.

MORE THAN MONEY NORTH CAROLINA’S 2024 SCOREBOARD

$1.55B

$14.5B

16,555

(compared to $1.83B in 2022)

(compared to $4.89B in 2023)

(compared to 10,855 in 2023)

projected new annual payroll

in capital investment

new jobs

source: Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

BIGGEST JOBS ANNOUNCEMENTS

2024

Toyota Motor

3,000

Boviet Solar

2023

2022

Wolfspeed

1,802

VinFast

7,500

908

Siemens Mobility

500

Macy’s

2,800

Ross Stores

852

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy

485

Toyota Motor

2,100

Fuljifilm Biosynth

680

So-Pak-Co

440

Boom Supersonic

1,750

559

Bank of London

350

Amazon

850

Siemans Energy

source: Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

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AROUND THE STATE | EXPANSIONS

HOME COOKING Blue-chip U.S. companies lead the state’s biggest job-creating projects.

By Lawernce Bivins

N

orth Carolina notched another impressive series of economic development triumphs over the 12 months through May 31, according to Business North Carolina’s annual report on the largest job-creation announcements.

That was before Amazon disclosed its plan in early June to invest $10 billion in a data center campus in rural Richmond County, marking the largest initial investment pledge in state history.

Amazon says at least 500 jobs may be created at that project. We didn’t include it this year’s list, which is based on developments announced between June 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025. However, the Seattle-based e-commerce and logistics giant is already in the ranking because of a big fulfillment center planned near Wilmington.

This year’s list has more of a domestic tone, with U.S. operators making up seven of the 10 biggest job-creating projects, versus only two last year. But foreign investment continues to flow into North Carolina as companies in Canada, Europe and Asia announced new

and expanded facilities. Five North Carolina-based companies are also on the list.

Energy-related businesses led much of the activity, egged on by the push toward electric vehicles and an unquenchable thirst for power. North Carolina remained a go-to choice for global life sciences companies, especially for large biomanufacturing operations, and the state is luring more aerospace and aviation-related enterprises.

Project details are distilled from state reports, press releases and local media coverage. Some projects inevitably fail to hit their anticipated jobs and investment targets, while others will surpass their initial goals. For example, Toyota initially pledged 1,700 jobs and $1.3 billion in capital expense at its new battery manufacturing plant in Randolph County in 2021. Production launched in April with 1,400 workers and an investment of $14 billion, and staffing could reach 5,000 by 2030.

1. NATRON ENERGY

2. (TIE) AMAZON

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA

SEATTLE AND ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

NEW JOBS: 1,062

NEW JOBS: 1,000

COUNTY: EDGECOMBE

COUNTIES: PENDER, NEW HANOVER

PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $1.4 BILLION

PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $350 MILLION

N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: $21.75 MILLION

N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: N/A

After evaluating 70 sites across nine states, Natron Energy selected Edgecombe County’s Kingsboro megasite for a 1.2 millionsquare-foot factory to make sodium-ion batteries. The privately held company’s batteries, produced at an initial site in Holland, Michigan, are the only UL-listed batteries on the market and provide an alternative to lithium-ion batteries. Potential customers include data centers, EV charging stations, microgrids and telecom providers. Investors in Natron included ABB, Chevron and ND Capital. Unfortunately, Natron ceased operations in September and its N.C. plans have ended.

At the March groundbreaking of the company’s 650,000-squarefoot fulfillment center near Wilmington, Amazon Vice President Holly Sullivan called Pender Commerce Park a “unicorn” site and praised the region’s growing workforce.

“This facility represents not just a building, but a gateway of opportunity,” Sullivan said. The center is expected to open by early 2027. Amazon employs 27,000 in North Carolina and has 13 fulfillment centers and 14 delivery stations.

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2. (TIE) NOVO NORDISK BAGSVÆRD, DENMARK NEW JOBS: 1,000 COUNTIES: JOHNSTON PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $4 BILLION N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: N/A

The Danish maker of popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, diabetes treatment Ozempic and related therapies will expand its North Carolina operations on a 56-acre parcel adjacent to its plant in Clayton. The new 1.4 million-square-foot facility may be complete as early as 2027. The project follows completion of the company’s $2 billion Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients site announced in 2015. Novo Nordisk employs 2,500 North Carolina workers.

4. FLEET READINESS CENTER EAST HAVELOCK NEW JOBS: 444 COUNTY: LENOIR PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $4.35 MILLION N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: N/A

FRC East is said to be North Carolina’s largest industrial employer east of I-95. But the military aviation maintenance depot has outgrown its longtime coastal campus in Havelock. In June, officials gathered at the Global TransPark in Kinston to break ground on a 750,000-square-foot hangar complex that will house work on the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ C/KC-130 Hercules and Super Hercules refueling, cargo and tactical passenger planes.

The new facility could boost the TransPark’s appeal to defense contractors and help solidify eastern North Carolina’s military bases as the Pentagon streamlines maintenance operations.

5. JOHNSON & JOHNSON

6. GENENTECH

NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY

SAN FRANCISCO

NEW JOBS: 420 COUNTY: WILSON PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $2 BILLION N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: $15.2 MILLIONS

Johnson & Johnson, maker of Tylenol and hundreds of other health and consumer products, aims to boost its global supply chains in a major way in North Carolina. Its 500,000-square-foot plant is focused on biologic medicines in oncology, immunology. neuroscience and other areas, as directed by subsidiary Janssen Biotech. It’s the first of a round of $55 billion in U.S. capital investment expected over the next four years. The Wilson workforce will include analysts, engineers, microbiologists, scientists and management personnel, with an annual average compensation of $109,000. That’s more than twice Wilson County’s average.

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NEW JOBS: 400 COUNTY: WAKE PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $700 MILLION N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: $9.85 MILLION

Founded in 1976, Genentech has been part of Switzerland’s Roche Group since 2009. The biotech pioneer will build a 700,000-square-foot fill-finish operation in Holly Springs. The company develops oncology, neuroscience and ophthalmology therapies, and its drugs include Avastin, Herceptin, Rituxan and Tamiflu. Genentech’s first eastern U.S. plant joins Fujifilm Diosynth, CSL Seqirus and Amgen in establishing significant manufacturing sites in Holly Springs in recent years.

7. AMGEN

8. METOX INTERNATIONAL

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA

HOUSTON

NEW JOBS: 370 COUNTY: WAKE PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $1.02 BILLION N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: $4.9 MILLION

NEW JOBS: 333 COUNTY: CHATHAM PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $193.8 MILLION N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: $3.2 MILLION

Barely three years after unveiling plans for its first North Carolina production site, Amgen is doubling down on its investment in Holly Springs. Founded in 1980, the company develops treatments for cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. At Amgen’s late-January groundbreaking, state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger says, “It’s not every day a company decides to expand its operations before the initial facility is fully operational.”

Pioneered in University of Houston materials labs, MetOx’s superconducting technology enables high-power transmission at lower voltages and greater efficiency. Established in 1998, the company and its energy solutions could be key in meeting the intensive electrical demands of AI-driven applications and hyperscale data centers. Houston billionaire John Arnold’s Centaurus Capital and climate-focused New System Ventures are among the private company’s backers.

9. PROLEC-GE WAUKESHA

10. (TIE) PRATT & WHITNEY

WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN

EAST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

NEW JOBS: 330 COUNTY: Wayne PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $140 million N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: $4.7 million

NEW JOBS: 325 COUNTY: Buncombe PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $285 million N.C. CASH INCENTIVES: $4.1 million

Prolec GE Waukesha will double its Goldsboro facility’s production of medium power transformers. The company designs, sells and supports transformers for electric utilities, which are striving to meet surging demand for power. The company is a joint venture between Mexico’s Xignux and GE Vernova, an energy equipment business based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Opened in 2022, Pratt & Whitney’s 1.2 million-square-foot plant at Asheville’s Biltmore Farms manufactures turbine airfoils, a key component of jet engines. The company is part of Virginia-based RTX, formerly Raytheon Technologies. Its current expansion, announced in January, was welcome news for the region’s hurricane-battered economy. Pratt & Whitney met its initial pledges for jobs and investment three years ahead of schedule, and estimates its workforce will reach 1,200 by 2029.

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AROUND THE STATE | P R I VAT E CO M PA N I E S

NORTH CAROLINA’S LARGEST PRIVATE COMPANIES The annual BNC 125 list continues a decades-old tradition of highlighting the biggest private employers based in the state. This year’s list cites 59 enterprises with annual revenue topping $300 million, including 30 that top $1 billion. The goal is to make the list more comprehensive every year, although we unintentionally miss some businesses. Tips are always appreciated, and we’ll keep looking. Most companies on the BNC 125 list provide revenue and employment information. For the others, we conduct research through public sources to develop estimates. Trade publications with deep expertise in specific industries are key data sources. Many thanks to the contributors to this report.

$1 BILLION AND MORE

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To view the complete list, visit businessnc.com

or scan the code to go directly to the page.

$500 MILLION TO $999 MILLION

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

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AROUND THE STATE | PU B L I C CO M PA N I E S

NORTH CAROLINA’S TOP PUBLIC COMPANIES We looked at the undergraduate alma maters of the leaders of the 10 top performers, and only two graduated from a North Carolina school. Frank Holding Jr. of First Citizens is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, and Coca-Cola Consolidated’s Frank Harrison III is a Duke University alum. Both are scions of longtime N.C. business families. On the flip side, readers will see that shares of 17 companies had a negative return over the past five years. Reasons for the dismal showings are all over the map. But it’s obvious that leadership matters when it comes to long-term stock market performance.

1 TO 25

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MARKET VALUE

PRICE & STOCK PERFORMANCE

NET INCOME

To view the complete list, visit businessnc.com

26 TO 50

or scan the code to go directly to the page.

MARKET VALUE

PRICE & STOCK PERFORMANCE

NET INCOME

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

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AROUND THE STATE | HIGHER EDUCATION

NORTH CAROLINA’S HIGHER EDUCATION DIRECTORY UNC GREENSBORO GREENSBORO uncg.edu

PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY BOONE, HICKORY appstate.edu

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY GREENVILLE ecu.edu

ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY ELIZABETH CITY ecsu.edu

FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY FAYETTEVILLE

UNC PEMBROKE PEMBROKE uncp.edu

UNC SCHOOL OF THE ARTS WINSTON-SALEM uncsa.edu

UNC WILMINGTON WILMINGTON uncw.edu

WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY CULLOWHEE

wssu.edu

campbell.edu

CAROLINA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE WINSTON-SALEM carolina.edu

CAROLINA COLLEGE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES FAYETTEVILLE ccbs.edu

CAROLINA UNIVERSITY carolinau.edu

SALISBURY

catawba.edu

CHAMBERLAIN UNIVERSITY NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE

chamberlain.edu

CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN COLLEGE AND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY CHARLOTTE

PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS

charlottechristian.edu

CHOWAN UNIVERSITY MURFREESBORO

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

BARTON COLLEGE

RALEIGH

WILSON

ncsu.edu

barton.edu

UNC ASHEVILLE

BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE

unca.edu

belmontabbycollege.edu

UNC CHAPEL HILL

BENNETT COLLEGE

BELMONT

CHAPEL HILL

GREENSBORO

unc.edu

bennett.edu

UNC CHARLOTTE

BREVARD COLLEGE

uncc.edu

brevard.edu

CHARLOTTE

BUIES CREEK

CATAWBA COLLEGE

WINSTON-SALEM

ncat.edu

ASHEVILLE

CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY

WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY

GREENSBORO

nccu.edu

cabarruscollege.edu

WINSTON-SALEM

NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY

DURHAM

CONCORD

wcu.edu

uncfsu.edu

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

CABARRUS COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

BREVARD

chowan.edu

DAVIDSON COLLEGE DAVIDSON

davidson.edu

DUKE UNIVERSITY DURHAM duke.edu

ECPI UNIVERSITY

CHARLOTTE, GREENSBORO, RALEIGH ecpi.edu

ELON UNIVERSITY ELON

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GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY

MEREDITH COLLEGE

gardner-webb.edu

meredith.edu

BOILING SPRINGS

SOUTHEASTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

RALEIGH

WAKE FOREST

GREENSBORO COLLEGE

METHODIST UNIVERSITY

greensboro.edu

methodist.edu

GREENSBORO

GUILFORD COLLEGE GREENSBORO guilford.edu

HERITAGE BIBLE COLLEGE

FAYETTEVILLE

MID-ATLANTIC CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY ELIZABETH CITY

MILLER-MOTTE COLLEGE

HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY

miller-motte.edu

HIGH POINT

FAYETTEVILLE, JACKSONVILLE, RALEIGH, WILMINGTON

highpoint.edu

MONTREAT COLLEGE

JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY

montreat.edu

CHARLOTTE jwu.edu

JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY CHARLOTTE jcsu.edu

LEES-MCRAE COLLEGE BANNER ELK lmc.edu

LENOIR-RHYNE UNIVERSITY

SOUTHEASTERN FREE WILL BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE WENDELL sfwbc.edu

ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY LAURINBURG

macuniversity.edu

DUNN

heritagebiblecollege.edu

sebts.edu

MONTREAT, BLACK MOUNTAIN

NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE

sa.edu

STRAYER UNIVERSITY NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE, CONCORD, GREENSBORO, HUNTERSVILLE, MORRISVILLE, RALEIGH strayeruniversity.edu

UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT OLIVE

ROCKY MOUNT

MOUNT OLIVE, DURHAM, GOLDSBORO, SMITHFIELD

ncwc.edu

omu.edu

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY

northeastern.edu

wfu.edu

PFEIFFER UNIVERSITY

WARREN WILSON COLLEGE

CHARLOTTE, ONLINE

WINSTON-SALEM

SWANNANOA

ASHEVILLE, HICKORY

MISENHEIMER, CHARLOTTE, RALEIGH, DURHAM

lr.edu

pfeiffer.edu

LIVING ARTS COLLEGE

QUEENS UNIVERSITY

living-art-college.edu

queens.edu

LIVINGSTONE COLLEGE

SAINT AUGUSTINE’S UNIVERSITY

WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY

livingstone.edu

st-aug.edu

wgu.edu/north-carolina

LOUISBURG COLLEGE

SALEM COLLEGE

WILLIAM PEACE UNIVERSITY

louisburg.edu

salem.edu

peace.edu

MANNA UNIVERSITY

SHAW UNIVERSITY

manna.edu

shawu.edu

RALEIGH

SALISBURY

LOUISBURG

FAYETTEVILLE

MARS HILL UNIVERSITY

CHARLOTTE

RALEIGH

WINSTON-SALEM

RALEIGH

warren-wilson.edu

WATTS SCHOOL OF NURSING DURHAM

wattsschoolofnursing.org

DURHAM, ONLINE

RALEIGH

WINGATE UNIVERSITY WINGATE, CHARLOTTE, HENDERSONVILLE wingate.edu

MARS HILL mhu.edu

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AROUND THE STATE | HIGHER EDUCATION

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

CARTERET COMMUNITY COLLEGE

EDGECOMBE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

carteret.edu

edgecombe.edu

MOREHEAD CITY

ROCKY MOUNT, TARBORO

CATAWBA VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

FAYETTEVILLE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

alamancecc.edu

cvcc.edu

faytechcc.edu

ASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

CENTRAL CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

FORSYTH TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

cccc.edu

forsythtech.edu

ALAMANCE COMMUNITY COLLEGE BURLINGTON, GRAHAM

ARDEN, ASHEVILLE, CANDLER, MARSHALL, WOODFIN abtech.edu

BEAUFORT COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

CONOVER, HICKORY, NEWTON, TAYLORSVILLE

DUNN, LILLINGTON, PITTSBORO, SANFORD, SILER CITY

CENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

WASHINGTON

CHARLOTTE, HUNTERSVILLE, MATTHEWS cpcc.edu

BLADEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

CLEVELAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

beaufortccc.edu

DUBLIN

bladencc.edu

BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE BREVARD, FLAT ROCK, HENDERSONVILLE

SHELBY

clevelandcc.edu

COASTAL CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGE JACKSONVILLE

FAYETTEVILLE, FORT BRAGG, SPRING LAKE

KERNERSVILLE, KING, WALNUT COVE, WINSTON-SALEM

GASTON COLLEGE

BELMONT, DALLAS, LINCOLNTON gaston.edu

GUILFORD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

COLFAX, GREENSBORO, HIGH POINT, JAMESTOWN gtcc.edu

HALIFAX COMMUNITY COLLEGE WELDON

halifaxcc.edu

blueridge.edu

coastalcarolina.edu

HAYWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE

BRUNSWICK COMMUNITY COLLEGE

COLLEGE OF THE ALBEMARLE

haywood.edu

BOLIVIA, LELAND, SOUTHPORT, SUPPLY brunswickcc.edu

CALDWELL COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTE BOONE, HUDSON cccti.edu

CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE BURGAW, CASTLE HAYNE, HAMPSTEAD, WILMINGTON cfcc.edu

BARCO, EDENTON, ELIZABETH CITY, MANTEO abemarle.edu

CRAVEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAVELOCK, NEW BERN cravencc.edu

DAVIDSON-DAVIE COMMUNITY COLLEGE BERMUDA RUN, LEXINGTON, MOCKSVILLE, THOMASVILLE davidsondavie.edu

DURHAM TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

DURHAM, HILLSBOROUGH durhamtech.edu

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CLYDE

ISOTHERMAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

COLUMBUS, RUTHERFORDTON, SPINDALE isothermal.edu

JAMES SPRUNT COMMUNITY COLLEGE KENANSVILLE

jamessprunt.edu

JOHNSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

CLAYTON, FOUR OAKS, SMITHFIELD johnstoncc.edu

LENOIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE KINSTON, LA GRANGE, PINK HILL, SNOW HILL, TRENTON lenoircc.edu

MARTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE WILLIAMSTON, WINDSOR martincc.edu

MAYLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

BURNSVILLE, NEWLAND, SPRUCE PINE mayland.edu

MCDOWELL TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE MARION

mcdowelltech.edu

MITCHELL COMMUNITY COLLEGE MOORESVILLE, STATESVILLE mitchellcc.edu

MONTGOMERY COMMUNITY COLLEGE TROY

montgomery.edu

NASH COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROCKY MOUNT nashcc.edu

RICHMOND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

STANLY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

richmondcc.edu

stanly.edu

HAMLET, LAURINBURG

ALBEMARLE, LOCUST

ROANOKE-CHOWAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SURRY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

roanokechowan.edu

surry.edu

ROBESON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

TRI-COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

AHOSKIE

LUMBERTON

DOBSON, ELKIN, MOUNT AIRY, PILOT MOUNTAIN, YADKINVILLE

MARBLE, MURPHY, ROBBINSVILLE

robeson.edu

ROCKINGHAM COMMUNITY COLLEGE WENTWORTH

rockinghamcc.edu

ROWAN-CABARRUS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

tricountycc.edu

VANCE-GRANVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

CREEDMOOR, HENDERSON, LOUISBURG, WARRENTON vgcc.edu

rccc.edu

WAKE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SAMPSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

waketech.edu

CONCORD, KANNAPOLIS, SALISBURY

CLINTON

CARY, MORRISVILLE, RALEIGH, WAKE FOREST, WENDELL, ZEBULON

WAYNE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

sampsoncc.edu

SANDHILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

PINEHURST, CARTHAGE, RAEFORD, ROBBINS

GOLDSBORO waynecc.edu

WESTERN PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

sandhills.edu

MORGANTON

pamlicocc.edu

SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

WILKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE

PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

sccnc.edu

SPARTA, WEST JEFFERSON, WILKESBORO

SOUTH PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

WILSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

PAMLICO COMMUNITY COLLEGE BAYBORO, GRANTSBORO

ROXBORO, YANCEYVILLE piedmontcc.edu

PITT COMMUNITY COLLEGE WINTERVILLE pittcc.edu

RANDOLPH COMMUNITY COLLEGE ASHEBORO

randolph.edu

WHITEVILLE

MONROE, POLKTON, WADESBORO spcc.edu

wpcc.edu

wilkescc.edu

WILSON

wilsoncc.edu

SOUTHWESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYLVA

southwesterncc.edu

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

77

AROUND THE STATE | HOSPITALS

Business North Carolina’s list of the state’s best hospitals with 50 or more beds examines data compiled from several sources to determine which medical centers provide the best care for their patients.

The rankings are calculated using more than 25 metrics, including information provided by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Patient-satisfaction surveys, as well as infection, readmission and death rates for common procedures, are also taken under consideration.

Other factors include safety report cards by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit The LeapfrogGroup, distinction awards from insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and national performance ratings from U.S. News & World Report.

1

TIED

5 TIED

MISSION HOSPITAL

UNC HEALTH REX

BEDS: 853

BEDS: 489

2024 RANK: T-6

2024 RANK: 5

CEO: GREG LOWE

PRESIDENT: CHAD SETLIFF

ASHEVILLE

1

TIED

DUKE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL DURHAM

RALEIGH

5 TIED CONE HEALTH MOSES H. CONE HOSPITAL

BEDS: 1,062

GREENSBORO

2024 RANK: 1

BEDS: 628

PRESIDENT: GREGORY PAULY

2024 RANK: 2 PRESIDENT: PRESTON HAMMOCK

1

9 TIED ATRIUM HEALTH PINEVILLE PINEVILLE BEDS: 373 2024 RANK: NR FACILITY EXECUTIVE, VICE PRESIDENT: ALISHIA CAMPBELL

9 TIED ATRIUM HEALTH CABARRUS CONCORD BEDS: 457 2024 RANK: T-17 FACILTY EXECUTIVE: ASHA RODRIGUEZ

TIED

WAKEMED RALEIGH RALEIGH

BEDS: 690

7 NOVANT HEALTH PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER

11 TIED ATRIUM HEALTH CAROLINAS MEDICAL CENTER

2024 RANK: NR

CHARLOTTE

ADMINISTRATOR: BECKY ANDREWS

BEDS: 643

CHARLOTTE

2024 RANK: T-6

BEDS: 1,064

PRESIDENT: SAAD EHTISHAM

2024 RANK: 20

4

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT CENTRAL DIVISION: VICKI BLOCK

NOVANT HEALTH FORSYTH MEDICAL CENTER WINSTON-SALEM BEDS: 859

8 CAROMONT REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

2024 RANK: 10

GASTONIA

INTERIM PRESIDENT: ALISHA HUTCHENS

BEDS: 476 2024 RANK: T-13 CEO: CHRIS PEEK

11 TIED ATRIUM HEALTH WAKE FOREST BAPTIST WINSTON-SALEM BEDS: 885 2024 RANK: 11 PRESIDENT: CATHLEEN WHEATLEY

78

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

11 TIED

14 TIED

21 TIED

UNC HOSPITALS

FIRSTHEALTH MOORE REGIONAL HOSPITAL

ATRIUM HEALTH WAKE FOREST BAPTISTHIGH POINT MEDICAL CENTER

CHAPEL HILL BEDS: 1,032

2024 RANK: T-03 PRESIDENT: JANET HADAR

14 TIED CAROLINAEAST MEDICAL CENTER NEW BERN

PINEHURST BEDS: 402

HIGH POINT

2024 RANK: T-8 PRESIDENT: JONATHAN DAVIS

18 FIRSTHEALTH MOORE REGIONAL HOSPITAL RICHMOND

2024 RANK: T-13

BEDS: 402

PRESIDENT, CEO: MICHAEL SMITH

2024 RANK: NR

DURHAM BEDS: 388

2024 RANK: 4 INTERIM PRESIDENT, COO: JASON CARTER

14 TIED ECU HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER GREENVILLE BEDS: 974 2024 RANK: 24 PRESIDENT: JAY BRILEY

21 TIED CATAWBA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER HICKORY BEDS: 256

ADMINISTRATOR: CHRISTY LAND

DUKE REGIONAL HOSPITAL

2024 RANK: T-21 PRESIDENT: JIM HOEKSTRA

BEDS: 350

14 TIED

BEDS: 351

19 TIED DUKE RALEIGH HOSPITAL RALEIGH

2024 RANK: 23 CEO: DENNIS JOHNSON

21 TIED UNC HEALTH PARDEE

BEDS: 204 2024 RANK: T-8

HENDERSONVILLE

PRESIDENT: DR. BARBARA GRIFFITH

BEDS: 222 2024 RANK: 12

19 TIED WAKEMED CARY CARY

BEDS: 208 2024 RANK: NR CEO: TOM HUGHES

CEO: JAY KIRBY

24 IREDELL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL STATESVILLE BEDS: 391 2024 RANK: NR CEO: JOHN GREEN

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

79

AROUND THE STATE | COUNTY BY COUNTY

A L A M A NCE Alamance Chamber of Commerce 336-228-1338 alamancechamber.com

A L EXA N DER EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 18.4% Retail: 14.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Laboratory Corporation of America

Alexander County Economic Development Corp.

828-632-1161 alexanderedc.org

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

Elon University; Alamance Community College

A LLEGHA NY Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce 336-372-5473 alleghanycountychamber.com

Taylorsville: population 2,361

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

49.4 cents per $100 value

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 36.8 8.8 5.7% $31.6

2024* 36.4 8.5 3.7% $49.7

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 20.2% Healthcare: 11.7%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Anson Economic Development Corp.

336-430-6318 ansonedc.com

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Wadesboro: population 5,018

59.7 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Wilkes Community College

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 25.1 7.6 7.5% $31.4

2024* 21.5 6.6 4.4% $51.0

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 16.1% Healthcare: 14.9%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

American Emergency Vehicles

Avery County Economic Development Committee 828-733-8201 averycountync.gov/economic_development

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

77.7 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

South Piedmont Community College

2014 26.7 6.8 7.6% $31.2

2024* 26.8 7.5 3.1% $48.5

HIGHER EDUCATION

Wilkes Community College

BE AU FO RT Beaufort County Economic Development 252-946-3970 beaufortedc.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 17.8 6.8 7.0% $30.3

2024* 17.5 7.2 4.3% $50.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 13.1% Education: 8.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Bertie County Economic Development 252-794-5301 co.bertie.nc.us

Sugar Mountain Resort

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

40.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Lees-McRae College; Mayland Community College

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 12.6% Government: 12.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Perdue Farms

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Washington: population 9,785 2024* 43.9 15.8 3.7% $57.4

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

B ERT I E

Nutrien

2014 46.4 15.5 7.5% $38.5

Government: 12.3% Retail: 12.3%

Banner Elk: population 1,253

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

44.0 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Jefferson: population 1,638

80

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

AVERY

Ashe County Economic Development 336-846-5535 growashe.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Catawba County Community College

Peoplease

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

ASHE

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

Manufacturing: 19.8% Government: 15.2%

Sparta: population 1,929 2024* 11.6 3.4 3.8% $46.7

65.0 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 10.9 3.2 7.2% $32.5

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

A N SO N

Parkdale Mills

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Burlington (part): population 59,504 2024* 183.2 67.7 3.6% $51.4

Manufacturing: 34.2% Government: 10.7% Craftmaster Furniture

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 155.6 57.9 6.2% $35.4

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Windsor: population 3,479

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

44.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Beaufort County Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 19.8 6.3 8.9% $33.3

2024* 16.7 5.2 4.9% $49.6

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

93.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Roanoke-Chowan Community College; Martin Community College

For sources and notes, see page 92

BLADEN

B RUN SWI C K

Bladen County Economic Development Commission 910-645-2292 bladennc.govoffice3.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 47.7% Education: 6.7%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Brunswick Business and Industry Development 910-408-1603 brunswickbid.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 16.2% Hospitality: 14.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Smithfield Foods

Walmart

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Elizabethtown: population 3,282 POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 32.9 12.1 9.2% $33.5

2024* 29.4 13.5 4.8% $50.5

Leland: population 33,065

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

78.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Bladen Community College

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 115.5 29.3 7.0% $38.4

B U N CO M B E

B URK E

Economic Development Coalition EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY Healthcare: 19.9% Asheville-Buncombe County Hospitality: 12.9% 828-258-6101

Burke Development Inc. 828-764-9370 burkedevinc.com

ashevillechamber.org/economic-development

2024* 168.2 41.3 4.1% $62.1

2014 252.4 119.1 4.7% $39.9

2024* 280.0 136.5 4.3% $66.3

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Mission Health

UNC Health Blue Ridge

Morganton: population 18,206

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

54.7 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

UNC Asheville; Montreat College; Warren Wilson College; Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 87.5 29.4 6.8% $30.3

2024* 90.6 29.6 3.6% $47.6

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 14.8% Healthcare: 13.3%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Atrium Health Cabarrus

2024* 246.6 87.7 3.4% $57.7

Caldwell County Economic Development 828-728-0768 caldwelledc.org

HIGHER EDUCATION

Western Piedmont Community College

57.6 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Barber-Scotia College; Rowan-Cabarrus Community College; Cabarrus College of Health Sciences

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 22.4% Healthcare: 13.1%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Lenoir: population 18,814 POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 81.3 22.8 7.0% $30.0

2024* 82.3 25.5 3.5% $47.4

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

49.8 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute

CA RT ERET

Camden County Economic Development Commission 252-338-6363, ext. 310 camdencountync.gov

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Government: 12.9% Retail: 9.9%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Carteret County Economic Development Department 252-648-7880 carteretcountync.gov

V&N Trucking

HIGHER EDUCATION

College of The Albemarle

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Morehead City: population 10,207

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

73.0 cents per $100 value

Hospitality: 17.6% Retail: 17.4%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Elizabeth City (part): population 41 2024* 10.7 1.3 2.8% $60.4

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Walmart

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 10.0 1.5 6.5% $42.0

55.5 cents per $100 value

Merchants Distributors

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

CA M DEN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

CA L DWEL L

Concord (part): population 115,053 2014 193.7 66.3 5.7% $38.5

Brunswick Community College

Manufacturing: 24.8% Healthcare: 22.4%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

CA BA RRUS Cabarrus Economic Development Corp.

704-703-1725 cabarrusedc.com

34.2 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Asheville: population 98,270 POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 68.1 22.5 5.9% $43.1

2024* 70.8 25.0 3.4% $68.5

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

22.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Carteret Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

81

AROUND THE STATE | COUNTY BY COUNTY

CA SWE LL

CATAWB A

Caswell County Economic Development 336-694-4193, ext. 2102 allincaswellnc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Government: 19.3% Construction: 16.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Catawba County Economic Development Corp.

828-267-1564 catawbaedc.org

RWS Construction

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Hickory (part): population 45,902

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

62.7 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Piedmont Community College

C HATHA M

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 156.0 81.8 6.7% $37.7

2024* 168.1 89.4 3.6% $57.6

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 15.0% Hospitality: 10.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Cherokee County Economic Development 828-835-9564, ext. 204 cherokeecounty-nc.gov

2024* 82.8 18.5 3.1% $86.0

Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Murphy: population 1,806

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

60.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Central Carolina Community College

C HOWA N

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 27.2 7.8 8.3% $28.9

2024* 29.9 8.0 3.8% $42.0

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 17.8% Retail: 12.5%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Clay County Economic Development 828-389-0089 economic.claync.us

HIGHER EDUCATION

Tri-County Community College

Retail: 19.2% Healthcare: 13.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Ingles Markets

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Edenton: population 4,479 2024* 13.8 5.1 3.5% $54.6

Cleveland County Economic Development Partnership 704-669-4703 chooseclevelandcountync. com

Hayesville: population 483

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

69.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

College of The Albemarle

C L EVE L A ND

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 10.7 2.0 6.1% $30.1

2024* 11.9 2.2 3.3% $47.1

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 18.7% Healthcare: 15.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Columbus County Economic Development Commission 910-640-6608 columbusedc.com

Walmart

43.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Tri-County Community College

HIGHER EDUCATION

Gardner-Webb University; Cleveland Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

Healthcare: 18.6% Retail: 13.4%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Whiteville: population 4,689

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

54.5 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Columbus Regional Healthcare System

Shelby: population 22,168 2024* 101.1 36.7 4.0% $47.8

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

CO LUMB US

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

82

61.0 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Meherrin Agricultural & Chemical

2014 97.1 33.3 6.7% $32.4

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

C L AY

Edenton Chowan Partnership Inc. 252-482-2007 edenton.net

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Lenoir-Rhyne University; Catawba Valley Community College

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Siler City: population 7,838

2014 14.4 4.6 7.8% $35.3

HIGHER EDUCATION

Retail: 18.3% Healthcare: 17.5%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

39.9 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

NC Welding & Rigging

2014 67.3 14.3 4.4% $52.8

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

C H ERO K EE

Chatham County Economic Development Corp.

919-542-8274 chathamedc.org

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Yanceyville: population 1,843 2024* 22.5 3.0 3.6% $43.4

Manufacturing: 25.8% Healthcare: 12.7% Corning Optical

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 23.2 3.0 6.7% $30.5

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 55.3 15.7 8.4% $30.6

2024* 51.0 14.5 4.4% $45.9

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

80.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Southeastern Community College

For sources and notes, see page 92

C RAVEN

CUMB ERL A N D

Craven 100 Alliance 252-633-5300 cravenbusiness.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Fayetteville Cumberland

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

910-500-6464 fcedc.com

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Healthcare: 18.4% Government: 17.3%

Economic Development Corp.

BSH Home Appliances

Walmart

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Fayetteville: population 211,756

New Bern: population 35,266 POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 103.2 39.1 7.3% $39.2

2024* 103.2 40.9 3.7% $58.1

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

44.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Craven Community College

CU RRI TU CK Currituck County Economic Development 252-232-0719 currituckcountync.gov

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 330.0 119.6 7.4% $34.8

2024* 338.0 123.0 4.5% $48.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 18.9% Hospitality: 12.7%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce 252-441-8144 outerbankschamber.com

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Kill Devil Hills: population 7,936

62.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

College of The Albemarle

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 34.9 19.0 7.8% $47.8

2024* 38.1 20.4 4.1% $79.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 22.0% Retail: 11.4%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Davie County Economic Development Commission 336-751-2714 daviecountyedc.com

College of The Albemarle

54.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Davidson County Community College

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 25.5% Healthcare: 12.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Mocksville: population 6,506

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

D U PLI N

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 41.0 10.8 5.6% $41.5

2024* 44.8 13.9 3.3% $63.3

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

64.9 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Davidson County Community College

DURH A M

Duplin County Economic Development Commission 910-296-2180 duplinedc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 34.6% Retail: 9.4%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Durham Economic Development

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

919-328-8750 durhameconomicdevelopment.com

Butterball

2024* 49.8 19.4 3.3% $53.7

HIGHER EDUCATION

James Sprunt Community College

Duke University

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

58.0 cents per $100 value

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Durham (part): population 300,467

Wallace (part): population 3,495 2014 55.0 20.0 6.9% $36.2

Healthcare: 18.6% Professional services: 14.5%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Thomasville (part): population 27,474 2024* 178.6 46.6 3.7% $51.4

26.3 cents per $100 value

Ashley Furniture Industries

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 163.3 41.3 6.5% $34.0

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

DAVI E

Old Dominion Freight Line

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Methodist University; Fayetteville State University; Fayetteville Technical Community College

Food Lion

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

DAVIDS O N Davidson County Economic Development Commission 336-236-3233 davidsoncountyedc.com

HIGHER EDUCATION

Hospitality: 22.7% Retail: 19.9%

Myock, unincorporated 2024* 32.1 7.5 2.8% $63.8

49.9 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 24.7 6.5 5.3% $40.9

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

DA RE

Food Lion

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Healthcare: 19.9% Retail: 13.5%

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 294.5 188.9 5.2% $43.1

2024* 340.7 236.7 3.2% $64.1

55.4 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Duke University; NC Central University; Durham Technical Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

83

AROUND THE STATE | COUNTY BY COUNTY

E D GECO MB E Carolinas Gateway Partnership 252-442-0114 econdev.org

FO RSYT H EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 21.2% Government: 14.7%

Greater Winston-Salem Inc. 336-728-9200 winstonsalem.com

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Sara Lee

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Winston-Salem: population 259,045

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Rocky Mount (part): population 15,375 POPULATION (000S) MPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2024* 48.5 15.3 5.2% $47.2

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

89.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Edgecombe Community College

F R A N KLI N

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 364.2 177.8 6.0% $42.5

2024* 395.6 192.6 3.8% $60.5

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 18.9% Construction: 11.5%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Gaston County Economic Development Commission 704-825-4046 gaston.org

Novozymes North America

2024* 80.4 13.7 3.3% $49.7

50.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Louisburg College; Vance-Granville Community College

Manufacturing: 17.7% Healthcare: 17.5%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 211.6 68.4 6.4% $35.8

2024* 244.1 79.5 3.7% $52.4

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

59.9 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Belmont Abbey College; Gaston College

G RA H A M

Gates County Chamber of Commerce 252-435-4603 gateschambernc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 13.2% Government: 12.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Graham County Planning and Economic Development 828-479-7984 grahamcounty.org

Ashton Lewis Lumber

2024* 10.3 1.4 3.4% $52.9

HIGHER EDUCATION

College of The Albemarle

G R A NVILLE Granville County Economic Development 919-693-5911 granvillecounty.org

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 8.5 2.0 12.0% $29.6

2024* 8.0 2.0 3.6% $44.4

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 22.3% Manufacturing: 18.4%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

North Carolina Global TransPark Economic Development Region 252-775-6180 ncgtpedr.com

59.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Tri-County Community College

Vance-Granville Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Snow Hill: population 1,574

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

HIGHER EDUCATION

Government: 26.8% Healthcare: 11.6%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Oxford: population 8,895 63.1 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

H&T Transit

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2024* 62.4 20.3 3.5% $49.9

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

G REEN E

Food Lion

2014 55.7 20.0 6.7% $33.2

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Robbinsville: population 569

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

67.0 cents per $100 value

Construction: 22.6% Hospitality: 13.8%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Gatesville: population 257 2014 11.4 1.4 6.6% $35.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Crisp & Crisp

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

84

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Gastonia: population 85,636

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

G ATES

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Wake Forest University; Salem College; WinstonSalem State University; UNC School of the Arts; Forsyth Technical Community College

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Louisburg: population 3,329

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

CaroMont Health

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 62.0 11.2 5.8% $31.8

53.5 cents per $100 value

G A STO N

Franklin County Economic Development 919-554-1863 discoverfranklincountync.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Healthcare: 22.6% Retail: 11.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

2014 53.8 17.7 10.9% $31.6

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 20.8 4.0 6.6% $30.6

2024* 20.2 4.5 3.2% $40.3

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

78.6 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Lenoir Community College

For sources and notes, see page 92

G UI LFO R D Greensboro Chamber of Commerce 336-387-8310, greensboro.org High Point Economic Development Corp.

336-883-3116, highpointnc.gov

H A L I FAX EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 13.5% Retail: 11.1%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Cone Health

Halifax County Economic Development Commission 252-519-2630 halifaxdevelopment.com

Greensboro: population 306,762

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Roanoke Rapids: population 14,592

73.1 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Bennett, Guilford and Greensboro colleges; High Point and NC A&T State universities; UNC Greensboro; Guilford Technical Community College

H AR NET T

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 51.9 16.0 9.6% $31.9

2024* 46.2 15.2 5.2% $46.9

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 17.5% Healthcare: 13.1%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Haywood County Community and Economic Development 828-356-2638 haywoodcountync.gov

Food Lion

Dunn: population 8,642 2024* 144.9 28.1 3.8% $47.5

Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development 828-692-6373 gohendersoncountync.org

59.1 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Campbell University; Central Carolina Community College

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 59.3 16.6 5.3% $34.8

2024* 64.4 17.5 3.6% $53.8

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 19.0% Manufacturing: 13.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Hertford County Economic Development 252-358-7801 hertfordcountync.gov

2024* 122.1 44.2 3.2% $59.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 18.5% Hospitality: 15.1%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Waynesville: population 10,633 COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

55.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Haywood Community College

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthc are: 26.0% Retail: 18.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Jernigan Oil

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Ahoskie: population 4,639

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Hendersonville: population 17,149 COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

43.1 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Blue Ridge Community College

H OKE

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 23.7 9.0 7.5% $29.0

2024* 18.5 8.6 4.3% $46.1

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

84.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Chowan University; Roanoke-Chowan Community College

H YDE

Raeford Hoke Economic Development Commission 910-875-6113 hokecounty.net

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthc are: 22.0% Manufacturing: 17.4%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Butterball

Hyde County Office of Planning and Economic Development 252-926-4178 hydecountync.gov

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Halifax Community College

H ERTFO RD

AdventHealth Hendersonville

2014 109.8 35.0 4.8% $37.4

HIGHER EDUCATION

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

H ENDERSON

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

70.0 cents per $100 value

Haywood Regional Medical Center

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

H AYWO O D

Harnett County Economic Development 910-893-7524 harnettedc.org

2014 124.5 22.9 7.2% $31.4

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

2024* 554.8 288.0 4.1% $59.2

Healthcare: 17.0% Manufacturing: 14.3% Resers Fine Foods

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 512.6 269.3 6.6% $40.2

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

2014 50.0 8.2 6.7% $29.6

2024* 55.6 9.0 4.3% $43.2

73.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Sandhills Community College

Government: 19.7% Hospitality: 15.9%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Illinois Tool Works

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Raeford: population 4,738 COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 5.4 2.2 7.9% $33.7

2024* 4.6 1.8 5.7% $52.3

Swan Quarter, unincorporated COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

92.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Beaufort County Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

85

AROUND THE STATE | COUNTY BY COUNTY

I R E DELL

JAC KSO N

Iredell Economic Development Corp.

704-663-1898 iredelledc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 15.2% Manufacturing: 14.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Lowe’s

Jackson County Office of Economic Development, 828-631-2240 jacksonthrive.jacksonnc.org Jackson County Chamber of Commerce 828-586-2155, mountainlovers.com

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2024* 206.1 81.2 3.3% $66.8

HIGHER EDUCATION

Mitchell Community College

JO HNSTO N Johnston County Economic Development 919-205-1232 growwithjoco.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 40.8 12.8 5.6% $28.9

2024* 44.7 14.5 3.6% $46.6

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 13.4% Retail: 13.2%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Jones County Economic Development 252-448-1315 jonescountync.gov

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Maysville: population 839

52.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Johnston Community College

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 9.9 1.6 7.3% $39.0

2024* 9.3 1.7 3.6% $49.6

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 30.2% Retail: 11.9%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

North Carolina Global TransPark Economic Development Region 252-775-6180 ncgtpedr.com

Caterpillar

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

74.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Lenoir Community College

2024* 68.8 27.7 3.5% $53.3

HIGHER EDUCATION

Central Carolina Community College

LI NCO LN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 57.7 27.6 7.1% $35.4

2024* 54.0 29.1 3.9% $53.5

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

67.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Lenoir Community College

MACO N

Lincoln Economic Development Association 704-732-1511 lincolneda.org

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 17.4% Retail: 13.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Macon County Economic Development Commission 828-349-2025 maconedc.com

Walmart

HIGHER EDUCATION

Gaston College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Franklin: population 4,325

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

49.9 cents per $100 value

Retail: 18.1% Hospitality: 15.7%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Lincolnton: population 11,927 2024* 97.2 28.1 3.3% $61.9

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Ingles Markets

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 79.2 21.1 6.1% $38.7

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Kinston: population 19,490

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

65.0 cents per $100 value

Manufacturing: 27.2% Healthcare: 17.1%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Sanford: population 32,813 2014 59.5 23.7 8.1% $34.6

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Sanderson Farms

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

86

Western Carolina University; Southwestern Community College

L EN O I R

Sanford Area Growth Alliance 919-774-8439 growsanfordnc.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

Brookstone Living Center

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

LE E

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

31.0 cents per $100 value

Healthcare: 21.2% Government: 13.0%

Clayton (part): population 31,312 2024* 248.9 61.0 3.1% $52.8

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 181.5 44.2 5.5% $35.1

Harris Regional Hospital

JO N ES

Novo Nordisk

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Sylva: population 2,543

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

50.0 cents per $100 value

Education: 21.3% Hospitality: 17.3%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Mooresville: population 59,494 2014 168.1 67.7 6.0% $43.7

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 34.6 10.7 6.6% $33.9

2024* 38.5 12.3 3.3% $52.8

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

27.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Southwestern Community College

For sources and notes, see page 92

M A DI S O N

MA RT I N

Madison County Economic Development 828-649-3766 madisoncountync.gov

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 13.4% Retail: 12.3%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Martin County Economic Development Corp.

252-789-4904 martincountyedc.com

Ingles Markets

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

Mars Hill College; Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

M CDOWELL McDowell Economic Development Association Inc. 828-652-9391 mcdowellgov.com

Williamston: population 5,067

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

36.0 cents per $100 value

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 23.3 7.1 7.3% $32.0

2024* 21.0 6.2 4.1% $44.4

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 32.3% Retail: 15.3%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Charlotte Regional Business Alliance 704-378-1300 charlotteregion.com

Baxter Healthcare

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

56.8 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

McDowell Technical Community College

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 12.3% Finance and insurance: 11.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Charlotte: population 944,742

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 1,011.7 610.2 6.4% $51.0

2024* 1,180.0 788.4 3.7% $82.5

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 17.0% Retail: 14.9%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Montgomery County Economic Development 910-576-4221, ext. 1308 montgomerycountync.gov

Sibelco North America

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

49.3 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Davidson College; Johnson C Smith, Johnson & Wales, Pfeiffer and Queens universities; UNC Charlotte; Central Piedmont Community College

HIGHER EDUCATION

Mayland Community College

M O O RE

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Troy: population 3,145

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

56.0 cents per $100 value

Manufacturing: 30.0% Healthcare: 11.9%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Spruce Pine: population 2,192 2024* 14.7 5.1 4.4% $47.0

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

NIPCAM Services of North Carolina

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 26.6 9.0 6.9% $31.4

2024* 26.0 8.9 3.9% $48.1

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

61.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Montgomery Community College

N A SH

Moore County Economic Development Partnership 910-246-0311 moorecountyedp.org

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 24.8% Hospitality: 15.4%

Nash County Economic Development 252-462-2737, selectnashnc.com

2024* 110.5 40.1 3.5% $68.2

Manufacturing: 20.3% Healthcare: 14.4%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Hospira

Pinehurst: population 19,364 2014 91.6 32.9 6.0% $46.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

FirstHealth of the Carolinas

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

Martin Community College

MO N TG O MERY

Mitchell County Economic Development Commission 828-592-1029 mitchellcountyedc.org

2014 15.2 5.0 7.5% $31.6

HIGHER EDUCATION

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

M I TCHELL

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

72.0 cents per $100 value

Wells Fargo Bank

Marion: population 7,662 2024* 44.7 15.4 4.0% $47.1

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

MECK L EN B URG

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 44.5 15.7 6.8% $29.5

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Mars Hill: population 2,349 2024* 21.8 4.3 3.9% $47.8

Retail: 16.7% Healthcare: 13.8% Flagstone Foods

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 21.1 3.8 5.2% $29.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Rocky Mount (part): population 40,655

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

29.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Sandhills Community College

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 93.8 38.8 8.3% $36.8

2024* 98.5 39.5 4.5% $53.4

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

63.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

N.C. Wesleyan College; Nash Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

87

AROUND THE STATE | COUNTY BY COUNTY

N EW H A NOVER

N O RT H A MPTO N

Wilmington Business Development 910-763-8414

Northampton County Economic Development Commission 252-534-1092 northamptonnc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare:17.5% Hospitality: 13.1%

wilmingtonbusinessdevelopment.com

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

30.6 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

UNC Wilmington; Cape Fear Community College

O N SLOW

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 20.1 5.3 8.1% $31.5

2024* 16.4 4.9 4.5% $49.5

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 19.3% Hospitality: 16.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Orange County Economic Development 919-245-2326 orangecountync.gov

Walmart

2024* 215.9 54.1 3.7% $53.6

HIGHER EDUCATION

Halifax Community College; Roanoke-Chowan Community College

65.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Coastal Carolina Community College

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Education: 29.2% Healthcare: 24.1%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Chapel Hill (part): population 61,827

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

PAMLI CO

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 140.6 65.6 4.5% $54.2

2024* 152.4 78.4 3.2% $82.5

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

63.8 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

UNC Chapel Hill; Durham Technical Community College

PA SQ UOTA N K

Pamlico County Office of Economic Development 252-745-3081 pamlicocounty.org

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 13.9% Healthcare: 13.9%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

YMCA of the Triangle

Elizabeth City Pasquotank County Economic Development Commission

252-338-0169 elizabethcitypasquotankedc.com

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2024* 12.7 3.7 3.9% $56.7

HIGHER EDUCATION

Pamlico Community College

PE N D E R

Healthcare: 19.0% Retail: 15.4%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Sentara Healthcare

Elizabeth City (part): population 19,766

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

64.5 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Bayboro: population 1,248 2014 12.7 3.4 7.0% $37.4

82.5 cents per $100 value

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Jacksonville: population 73,494

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

Sports Endeavor

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 192.4 49.3 6.5% $42.2

Meherrin Agricultural & Chemical

O RA N G E

Jacksonville Onslow Economic Development 910-330-6329 joednc.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Gaston: population 958

Wilmington: population 126,256 2024* 242.8 130.5 3.3% $64.8

Wholesale: 17.4% Retail: 16.9%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 213.6 102.7 6.0% $40.5

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 39.5 15.3 8.7% $34.5

2024* 41.4 16.0 3.8% $51.0

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

62.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Elizabeth City State University; College of The Albemarle

PERQ UI MA N S

Wilmington Business Development 910-763-8414

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 14.4% Healthcare: 12.9%

wilmingtonbusinessdevelopment.com

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Perquimans County Economic Development 252-426-8484 perquimansecon.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Government: 14.8% Retail: 11.9%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Walmart

Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Surf City (part): population 4,608 POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

88

2014 54.9 10.6 6.9% $35.2

2024* 69.4 14.7 3.3% $53.4

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

73.8 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Cape Fear Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 13.4 1.9 7.7% $36.1

2024* 13.4 2.4 3.8% $56.5

Hertford: population 2,012 COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

52.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

College of The Albemarle

For sources and notes, see page 92

PE RS O N

PI T T

Person County Economic Development Commission 336-597-1752 personcountyedc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 17.4% Healthcare: 13.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Pitt County Economic Development 252-902-2079 pittcountync.gov

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 24.1% Education: 12.9%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Patheon Manufacturing Services

Poly Wood

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Greenville: population 96,985

Roxboro: population 8,129 POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 38.7 9.6 6.3% $34.1

2024* 39.7 9.3 3.4% $48.9

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

63.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Piedmont Community College

P O LK

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 169.4 73.8 6.4% $37.3

2024* 175.3 81.4 4.0% $57.0

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 25.7% Hospitality: 9.5%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Randolph County Economic Development Corp.

336-626-2233 rcedc.com

AdventHealth Polk

East Carolina University; Pitt Community College

2014 19.8 4.8 4.7% $40.4

2024* 19.8 5.4 3.3% $67.6

HIGHER EDUCATION

Isothermal Community College

R I C HMO ND Richmond County Economic Development Corp.

910-997-8190 richmondnced.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 142.3 43.9 5.9% $32.8

2024* 147.8 44.1 3.5% $49.0

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 24.5% Healthcare: 14.5%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Robeson County Office of Economic Development 910-739-7584 robesoncountyoed.org

73.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Richmond Community College

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 127.4 38.5 9.1% $28.0

2024* 116.3 38.5 5.0% $43.6

Randolph Community College

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 20.3% Manufacturing: 19.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

75.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

UNC Pembroke; Robeson Community College

ROWA N EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 20.5% Retail: 15.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Rowan EDC Partnership for Economic Development 704-637-5526 rowanedc.com

Walmart

Rockingham Community College

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Salisbury: population 38,206

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

HIGHER EDUCATION

Healthcare: 16.0% Manufacturing: 13.5%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Eden: populaton 15,443 58.0 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Food Lion

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2024* 92.4 24.9 3.9% $48.6

HIGHER EDUCATION

Lumberton: population 19,451

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

R O CKINGHAM

2014 92.0 26.1 7.1% $33.0

50.0 cents per $100 value

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Rockingham: population 9,074

Rockingham County Center for Economic Development, Small Business & Tourism 336-342-8138 rockinghamcountync.gov

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

Mountaire Farms

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2024* 41.7 14.0 4.1% $47.4

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

RO B ESO N

Perdue Farms

2014 44.7 13.3 8.2% $31.4

Manufacturing: 26.5% Retail: 10.4%

Asheboro: population 28,051

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

42.8 cents per $100 value

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Tryon: population 1,565

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

Toyota

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

56.6 cents per $100 value

RA N DO L PH

Polk County Office of Economic Development 828-894-2895 polkedc.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 140.3 44.7 6.3% $32.8

2024* 153.7 50.6 3.5% $49.0

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

58.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Catawba College; Livingstone College; Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

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AROUND THE STATE | COUNTY BY COUNTY

R UTHERFORD Rutherford County Economic Development 828-287-6200 rutherfordncedc.com

SA MP SO N EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 15.3% Manufacturing: 14.2%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Sampson County Economic Development 910-592-8921 sampsonedc.com

American Greetings

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

Isothermal Community College

S COTL A N D Scotland County Economic Development Corp.

910-266-4326 scotlandcountyedc.org

Clinton: population 8,488

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

45.4 cents per $100 value

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 62.1 18.5 6.0% $35.2

2024* 60.2 17.1 4.0% $46.7

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 19.8% Manufacturing: 19.5%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Stanly County Economic Development Commission 704-986-3682 stanlyedc.com

99.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

St. Andrews University; Richmond Community College

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 14.3% Retail: 12.1%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 60.3 18.7 5.7% $33.3

2024* 65.3 23.1 3.1% $50.4

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

51.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Pfeiffer University; Stanly Community College

SURRY

Stokes County Economic Development 336-593-2496 stokesedc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 17.3% Hospitality: 14.5%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Surry County Economic Development Partnership 336-401-9900 surryedp.com

Walmart

2024* 45.7 7.7 3.4% $49.7

HIGHER EDUCATION

Forsyth Technical Community College

S WA IN

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Mount Airy: population 10,638

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

62.5 cents per $100 value

Healthcare: 14.8% Retail: 14.2%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

King (part): population 7,134 2014 45.7 6.9 5.5% $32.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Pike Electric

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 72.4 27.6 6.5% $33.5

2024* 71.8 29.1 3.3% $51.2

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

51.3 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Surry Community College

TRA N SYLVA N I A

Swain County Economic Development 828-488-9273 swaincountync.gov

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Arts & Entertainment: 40.9% Government: 23.0%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Transylvania Economic Alliance 828-393-4130 transylvanianc.org

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Retail: 16.1% Healthcare: 15.2%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Cherokee Boys Club

Ingles Markets

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Bryson City: population 1,496

90

Sampson Community College

Albemarle: population 17,414

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

STO KE S

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

HIGHER EDUCATION

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Laurinburg: population 14,650

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

68.5 cents per $100 value

ESS Southeast

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 2024* 35.4 33.4 11.8 12.0 11.8% 5.2% $29.2 $42.8

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

STA N LY

Scotland Memorial Hospital

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Forest City: population 7,373 2024* 65.1 18.0 4.4% $44.1

Manufacturing: 16.6% Retail: 13.3% Smithfield Foods

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 65.7 18.3 8.4% $29.5

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

2014 14.6 8.9 8.2% $33.3

2024* 13.7 11.3 3.5% $55.3

Brevard: population 8,059

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

41.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Southwestern Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 32.6 8.3 6.4% $35.1

2024* 33.4 9.8 3.5% $60.2

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

41.1 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Brevard College; Blue Ridge Community College

For sources and notes, see page 92

TYRR ELL

UN I O N

Tyrrell County Economic Development 252-796-1371 tyrrellcounty.org

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Government: 20.8% Retail: 14.1%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Capt. Charlie’s Seafood

Union County Economic Development 980-476-5279 | unioncountync.gov City of Monroe Economic Development 704-282-4526 | developmonroe.com

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2024* 3.5 1.0 4.9% $46.2

HIGHER EDUCATION

Beaufort County Community College

VA NCE

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 215.2 57.6 5.4% $44.1

2024* 265.7 74.3 3.2% $72.6

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 15.6% Retail: 14.5%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Wake County Economic Development 919-664-7000 raleigh-wake.org

43.4 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Wingate University; South Piedmont Community College

Healthcare: 12.4% Professional Services: 11.7%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

UNC Health Rex

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Raleigh (part): population 498,975

Henderson: population 14,703 2014 43.7 14.8 9.1% $31.5

2024* 41.2 14.1 4.4% $45.8

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

71.3 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Vance-Granville Community College

WA R REN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 995.5 490.6 4.9% $50.6

2024* 1,216.3 653.2 3.1% $81.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Government: 21.4% Education: 14.8%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Glen Raven

Washington County Economic Development 252-793-5823 washconc.org/economic-development

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2024* 18.7 2.9 4.7% $39.0

HIGHER EDUCATION

Meredith College; William Peace University; St. Augustine’s University; Shaw University; N.C. State University; Wake Technical Community College

58.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Vance-Granville Community College

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 20.7% Healthcare: 15.4%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Domtar Paper

Plymouth: population 3,136

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

WATAU GA

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 12.1 3.5 7.4% $32.6

2024* 10.4 3.1 4.5% $48.8

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

85.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Beaufort County Community College; Martin Community College

WAYN E

Watauga Economic Development Commission 828-264-2225 boonechamber.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Education: 19.6% Hospitality: 16.6%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Appalachian Regional Healthcare System

North Carolina Global TransPark Economic Development Region 252-775-6180 ncgtpedr.com

HIGHER EDUCATION

Appalachian State University - Boone and Hickory; Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Goldsboro: population 35,207

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

31.8 cents per $100 value

Healthcare: 16.9% Retail: 15.1%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Boone: population 20,589 2024* 55.0 25.1 3.5% $53.0

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

UNC Health Wayne

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

2014 51.8 21.8 5.8% $31.9

51.7 cents per $100 value

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Norlina: population 938 2014 20.1 3.4 8.8% $27.7

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

WA SH I N G TO N

Warren County Economic Development 252-257-3115 warrencountync.org

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Walmart

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

ATI Specialty Materials

WA K E

Henderson-Vance County Economic Development Corp.

252-492-2094 vancecountyedc.com

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Indian Trail: population 45,045

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

87.0 cents per $100 value

Manufacturing: 16.5% Construction: 13.4%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Columbia: population 592 2014 4.0 1.2 7.0% $31.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 122.1 42.5 6.5% $35.0

2024* 118.7 41.9 3.7% $50.7

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

62.6 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

University of Mount Olive Wayne Community College

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

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AROUND THE STATE | COUNTY BY COUNTY

WI L KES

WI LSO N

Wilkes Economic Development Corp.

336-838-1501 wilkesedc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Healthcare: 17.2% Manufacturing: 16.3%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Wilson Economic Development Council 252-237-1115 wilsonedc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 19.1% Healthcare: 12.8%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Tyson Farms

Bridgestone Americas

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

North Wilkesboro: population 4,453 POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 67.7 20.9 7.0% $32.1

2024* 66.3 18.9 3.8% $49.4

Wilson: population 49,670

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

42.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Wilkes Community College

YA D KI N

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 79.2 38.0 9.0% $35.9

2024* 78.9 35.1 5.1% $52.6

59.5 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Barton College; Wilson Technical Community College

YA N C EY

Yadkin County Economic Development Council 336-679-2200 yadkinedc.com

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Manufacturing: 24.5% Construction: 10.2%

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Yancey County Economic Development Commission 828-682-7722 yanceycountync.gov/

Unifi Manufacturing

2024* 37.7 10.1 3.1% $49.9

HIGHER EDUCATION

Surry Community College

LARGEST PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYER

Burnsville: population 1,636

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

65.0 cents per $100 value

Manufacturing: 28.1% Retail: 13.9%

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

Yadkinville: population 3,063 2014 37.5 9.6 5.1% $33.3

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Altec Industries

LARGEST CITY/TOWN

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

POPULATION (000S) EMPLOYMENT (000S) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE PER CAPITA INCOME (000S)

2014 17.8 3.7 6.8% $31.2

2024* 18.6 4.6 4.1% $45.4

COUNTY PROPERTY TAX

52.0 cents per $100 value HIGHER EDUCATION

Mayland Community College

SOURCES

Population, counties, largest city/town, employment and unemployment rate: N.C. Office of State Budget and Management. Hyde and Currituck counties have no incorporated towns. Employment share by industry sector and largest private-sector employer: N.C. Department of Commerce Labor and Economic Analysis Division, as of fourth quarter of 2024. 2025-26 property-tax rate: N.C. Department of Revenue. Per capita income: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Community colleges are listed for every county in their designated service area. *Per capita income is for 2023, the most recent year available.

92

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

For sources and notes, see page 92

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

93

AROUND THE STATE | BY T H E N U M B E R S

TOP OF THE LIST

After being named the top state for business by CNBC for two consecutive years, North Carolina fell to No. 2 in 2023. However, the state continues to land companies investing millions and billions of dollars, and its education system, quality of life, business incentives and collaboration between government agencies score high in rankings

#1 #2 #2 #4 #4 #5 #7 94

LARGEST CITIES RANK

CITY

POPULATION

1

CHARLOTTE

944,742

2

RALEIGH

500,639

3

GREENSBORO

306,762

4

DURHAM

300,907 259,045

5

WINSTON-SALEM

6

FAYETTEVILLE

211,756

7

CARY

187,386

8

WILMINGTON

126,256

9

HIGH POINT

117,681

10

CONCORD

115,053

11

ASHEVILLE

9 8 , 2 70

12

GREENVILLE

96,985

13

GASTONIA

85,636

14

APEX

15

JACKSONVILLE

16

HUNTERSVILLE

66,955

17

CHAPEL HILL

64 ,785

18

BURLINGTON

61,729

19

MOORESVILLE

59,494

20

WAKE FOREST

59,205

21

KANNAPOLIS

58,783

BEST BUSINESS CLIMATE

22

ROCKY MOUNT

56,030

Business Facilities magazine

23

WILSON

49,670

24

HOLLY SPRINGS

49,056

25

HICKORY

46,026

26

INDIAN TRAIL

45,045

27

FUQUAY-VARINA

44,246

28

MONROE

39,256

29

GARNER

38,569

30

SALISBURY

38, 206

31

NEW BERN

35,266

32

GOLDSBORO

35,207

33

MORRISVILLE

34,021

34

LELAND

33,065

REGIONAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Site Selection magazine

AMERICA’S TOP STATE FOR BUSINESS CNBC cable business network

BEST BUSINESS TAX CLIMATE Business Facilities magazine

75,117 73,494

TOP U.S. BUSINESS CLIMATES

35

SANFORD

32 , 813

36

CORNELIUS

32,632

Site Selection magazine

37

CURRITUCK

32,545

38

STATESVILLE

31,537

39

CLAYTON

31, 312

40

MATTHEWS

30,761

41

MINT HILL

28,761

42

KERNERSVILLE

28,349

43

THOMASVILLE

28,082

44

ASHEBORO

28,051

45

WAXHAW

24,176

46

KNIGHTDALE

22,683

47

SHELBY

22,168

48

CLEMMONS

21,857

49

CARRBORO

21,494

50

HARRISBURG

21,358

BEST STATE TO START A BUSINESS Forbes magazine

TOP STATES FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TRAINING Area Development magazine

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

source: N.C. Office of State Budget and Management (Population as of July 1, 2023) For sources and notes, see page 92

AROUND THE STATE | FOR MORE INFORMATION

REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS CHARLOTTE REGIONAL BUSINESS ALLIANCE ROBERT MCCUTCHEON, CEO 330 S. Tryon Street Charlotte, NC 28202 charlotteregion.com | 704-378-1300

Serves Alexander, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly and Union counties in North Carolina and four South Carolina counties.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP OF NORTH CAROLINA CHRISTOPHER CHUNG, CEO clientservices@edpnc.com 150 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1200 Raleigh, NC 27601 edpnc.com | 919-447-7777

Serves the state, working with regional and local partners to help businesses relocate and grow.

MOUNTAIN WEST PARTNERSHIP JOSH CARPENTER, DIRECTOR josh@gownc.org 125 Bonnie Lane Sylva, NC 28779 gownc.org | 828-586-1962

Serves Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

NORTH CAROLINA GLOBAL TRANSPARK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGION MARK POPE, PRESIDENT mark.pope@ncgtpedr.com 2780 Jetport Road Kinston, NC 28504 ncgtpedr.com | 252-775-6180

Serves Greene, Lenoir, and Wayne counties and the North Carolina Global TransPark.

NCEAST ALLIANCE VANN ROGERSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO rogerson@nceast.org 209 E. Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 nceast.org | 252-482-4333

Serves Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Washington, Wayne and Wilson counties.

NORTH CAROLINA’S SOUTHEAST STEVE YOST, PRESIDENT locate@ncse.org 707 W. Broad Street, P.O. Box 2556 Elizabethtown, NC 28337 ncse.org | 910-862-8511

Serves Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Hoke, Lenoir, Montgomery, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland and Wayne counties.

PIEDMONT TRIAD PARTNERSHIP MIKE FOX, PRESIDENT AND CEO info@ptpnc.com 416 Gallimore Dairy Road, Suite M Greensboro, NC 27409 piedmonttriadnc.com | 336-668-4556

Serves Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP RYAN COMBS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR rcombs@researchtriangle.org P.O. Box 110351 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 researchtriangle.org | 919-670-2819

Serves Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Nash, Person, Wake, Warren and Wilson counties and Research Triangle Park.

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

95

AROUND THE STATE | FOR MORE INFORMATION

EDPNC BUSINESS / INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITMENT CLIENT SERVICES 919-447-7744 clientservices@edpnc.com edpnc.com

N.C. BOARD OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION John Hardin, executive director 919-814-4639 jhardin@nccommerce.com nccommerce.com/sti

NORTH CAROLINA INDEPENDENT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES A. Hope Williams, president 919-832-5817 williams@ncicu.org ncicu.org

EDPNC EXPORT ASSISTANCE Mike Hubbard, director of international trade 919-447-7757 mike.hubbard@edpnc.com edpnc.com/start-or-grow-a-business/ export-assistance

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION Liz Dobbins-Smith, managing director 888-246-2332 liz@nceda.org nceda.org

NORTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS Andrea Bushnell, CEO 336-294-1415 abushnell@ncrealtors.org ncrealtors.org

STATE LIBRARY OF NORTH CAROLINA Susan Forbes, assistant state librarian 919-814-6786 susan.forbes@ncdcr.gov statelibrary.ncdcr.gov

NORTH CAROLINA LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES Rose Vaughn Williams, executive director 919-715-3930 nclm.org

EDPNC TOURISM Wit Tuttell, vice president 919-447-7740 wit.tuttell@visitnc.com visitnc.com GOLDEN LEAF FOUNDATION Scott Hamilton, president 252-442-7474 shamilton@goldenleaf.org goldenleaf.org N.C. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Susan Fleetwood, executive director of economic development 919-814-4605 sfleetwood@nccommerce.com nccommerce.com

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UNC SYSTEM General administration 919-962-1000 northcarolina.edu N.C. COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM John Loyack, vice president of economic development 919-807-7150 loyackj@nccommunitycolleges.edu nccommunitycolleges.edu

NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

NORTH CAROLINA CHAMBER Gary Salamido, president and CEO 919-836-1403 gsalamido@ncchamber.com ncchamber.com N.C. STATE PORTS AUTHORITY Brian Clark, executive director 910-763-1621 brian.clark@ncports.com ncports.com