51 counties · Boom Town Index

North Carolina

Avg BTI Score
48 / 100
Population
9.5M
+1.3% avg growth
National Rank
#31 of 51

State Overview

North Carolina's economy continues a growth trajectory into 2025 and 2026, marked by significant job creation and capital investment across diverse sectors. The state was recognized as Business Facilities magazine's "State of the Year" for economic development in 2025, a third such designation in six years. This growth is fueled by major investments in technology, biotech, and advanced manufacturing, particularly in the Raleigh-Durham "Research Triangle" area and the Piedmont Triad. Companies like Apple, Genentech, and Vulcan Elements are expanding or establishing new facilities, contributing to thousands of new jobs.

The housing market is experiencing stabilization rather than a downturn, with average home values seeing a minor decrease of 0.7% in the past year, reaching $332,681 as of September 2025. While sales are steady, buyers have increased negotiation power, with nearly 60% of sales closing below list price in August 2025. Population growth, driven by domestic migration, continues to exert pressure on housing supply, especially in popular metropolitan areas like Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham, and their surrounding suburbs such as Apex and Fuquay-Varina.

Median Household Income
$65,873
State median across 51 counties
Median Home Value
$242,400
Income-to-home ratio: 0.27
Building Permits
80,491
Total residential permits
Natural Amenity
6.1 / 10
#26 of 49 · USDA scale

North Carolina Counties

51 counties
Rank County BTI Score Safety Proj. Growth GDP Pop Growth Income Ratio Home Price Climate P/R
01 Watauga County 95 B- +1.2% — +0.9% +0.6% 15.7x +1.0% 1.8 26x
02 Surry County 94 C+ +2.0% — +0.0% -0.8% 8.6x +5.1% 1.2 19x
03 Franklin County 93 C +0.3% — +3.4% +4.0% 24.9x -0.1% -1.4 14x
04 Randolph County 92 B- +1.3% — +0.7% +3.3% 11.9x +3.1% -0.0 14x
05 Carteret County 90 B +0.1% — +0.7% +3.0% 18.8x +3.1% 1.2 16x
06 Lenoir County 85 F +1.9% — 0.0% +0.8% 4.2x +6.3% -1.7 12x
07 Sampson County 84 D +1.3% — +0.4% -1.4% 10.1x +3.3% -1.6 15x
08 Stanly County 83 C+ +1.0% — +1.7% -1.5% 13.8x +2.6% 0.7 14x
09 Wilkes County 81 C+ +2.1% — -0.1% +2.5% 11.3x +5.0% 1.9 20x
10 Nash County 81 D +0.6% — +0.8% +2.8% 8.2x +1.6% -1.4 11x
11 Pender County 81 C+ +0.8% — +3.3% +4.6% 24.4x +0.2% 0.5 12x
12 Robeson County 79 F +0.9% — +0.0% +4.1% 6.3x +1.5% -1.5 10x
13 Rockingham County 77 D -0.1% — +0.6% +2.2% 13.5x +1.0% 0.1 12x
14 Burke County 75 C+ +0.2% — -0.1% +5.2% 10.7x +1.8% 1.8 18x
15 Onslow County 74 B- +1.9% — -0.3% +5.5% 18.6x +3.3% 0.7 12x
16 Lincoln County 72 B +1.2% — +2.6% +1.9% 18.2x +1.8% 1.5 16x
17 Craven County 72 C +1.4% — +1.5% +1.9% 10.3x +2.2% 0.2 12x
18 Hoke County 71 F +0.4% — +1.4% +8.0% 26.5x -0.1% -1.3 10x
19 Harnett County 68 C -0.5% — +1.9% +3.3% 23.3x +0.5% -0.5 11x
20 Granville County 67 C+ +0.0% — -0.9% +0.2% 11.5x +0.1% -0.9 20x
21 Davidson County 66 B- +0.9% — +1.1% +2.8% 14.9x +3.3% -0.1 13x
22 Haywood County 61 B- -0.3% — +0.4% +1.5% 20.3x -3.1% 2.2 14x
23 Catawba County 60 C +0.8% — +0.9% +5.1% 7.5x +1.3% 1.3 12x
24 Wilson County 57 D -0.5% — +0.8% +9.8% 7.7x -0.1% -1.2 11x
25 Henderson County 52 B -1.2% — +0.9% +0.8% 16.8x -1.7% 2.0 16x
26 Brunswick County 51 B- -0.1% — +4.6% +4.0% 22.7x +0.6% 1.1 17x
27 Lee County 41 D -1.0% — +1.9% +3.7% 9.6x +0.1% -0.7 12x
28 New Hanover County 41 C +0.7% — +1.7% +3.1% 10.6x +0.4% 1.2 19x
29 Forsyth County 40 D -0.1% — +0.8% +2.5% 7.4x +0.6% -1.1 13x
30 Johnston County 37 B- -1.1% — +3.4% +4.4% 19.5x -0.5% -1.2 14x
31 Pitt County 35 C +0.6% — +2.9% -1.1% 7.2x +1.4% -1.7 12x
32 Union County 34 B +0.0% — +2.4% +3.7% 20.5x -0.5% -0.3 16x
33 Cabarrus County 32 B- -0.5% — +2.1% +3.4% 15.8x -0.3% -1.1 16x
34 Columbus County 25 F -0.9% — -0.6% +2.6% 10.4x +5.8% -0.4 15x
35 Buncombe County 24 B- -2.7% — +0.9% +5.5% 13.0x -4.3% 2.2 19x
36 Gaston County 20 C -0.4% — +1.5% +3.1% 13.5x +0.3% 0.4 13x
37 Guilford County 20 D -0.4% — +0.9% +4.0% 7.6x +0.4% -0.8 15x
38 Caldwell County 19 C+ +0.1% — -0.1% +1.9% 11.8x +1.5% 1.5 22x
39 Rutherford County 18 B- -0.1% — +0.1% +3.3% 14.7x +3.8% 0.5 22x
40 Iredell County 16 B- -0.3% — +2.5% +3.5% 11.9x +0.8% 1.3 16x
41 Moore County 16 B- -0.2% — +2.0% +3.9% 15.3x +1.0% 0.1 15x
42 Mecklenburg County 14 D -0.9% — +2.1% +3.9% 6.5x -0.7% 0.8 19x
43 Alamance County 13 C -1.3% — +1.5% +1.9% 11.9x +1.4% -1.0 15x
44 Rowan County 12 D -0.4% — +0.9% +4.0% 11.5x +0.4% -0.1 14x
45 Wake County 10 B -1.3% — +2.4% +3.9% 10.1x -1.7% 0.2 23x
46 Orange County 10 B- -0.4% — +1.6% +1.7% 10.8x -1.7% -1.4 24x
47 Wayne County 8 D -1.4% — +0.9% +2.8% 10.3x +0.2% -1.4 10x
48 Cumberland County 6 D -0.5% — +0.5% +4.3% 9.6x +0.5% -0.7 12x
49 Cleveland County 4 C -2.5% — +0.8% +5.0% 10.4x -0.0% 0.8 14x
50 Chatham County 4 B -0.0% — +2.3% +6.5% 31.2x +0.3% 0.4 20x
51 Durham County 3 D -1.2% — +0.9% +3.5% 5.3x -3.4% -0.3 20x

Capital Investment in North Carolina

Tracked Projects · Public Records
$116.9B
Total tracked investment
35,618
Jobs announced
202
Projects across 45 counties

Where the money is going

Manufacturing $45.0B 38%
Data Centers $37.9B 32%
Energy $12.8B 11%
Commercial/Residential $9.9B 8%
Infrastructure $8.2B 7%
Industrial/Logistics $1.2B 1%
Other $915M 1%
Education $706M 1%

Top counties by investment

  1. 01 Harnett County $19.4B
    5 projects · 1,000 jobs
  2. 02 Randolph County $14.4B
    3 projects · 5,218 jobs
  3. 03 Chatham County $14.1B
    5 projects · 9,300 jobs
  4. 04 Catawba County $7.7B
    6 projects · 850 jobs
  5. 05 Cumberland County $7.6B
    6 projects · 1,119 jobs
  6. 06 Durham County $7.2B
    6 projects

Largest projects in North Carolina

Project County Amount Status
Fayetteville Data Center Campus
Energy Storage Solutions · Data Centers · 1,000 jobs
 Harnett County $19.2B Planned
Toyota Battery Manufacturing Plant
Toyota · Manufacturing · 5,100 jobs
 Randolph County $13.9B Under Construction
Fayetteville Data Center Project (Dunn Road)
Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) · Data Centers
 Cumberland County $6.4B Proposed
Corning Cable Manufacturing Expansion
Corning and Meta · Manufacturing
 Catawba County $6.0B Under Construction
John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide
Wolfspeed · Manufacturing · 1,800 jobs
 Chatham County $5.0B Under Construction
Chatham Park (Master-Planned Community)
Preston Development Company · Commercial/Residential
 Chatham County $5.0B Under Construction
Novo Nordisk Biomanufacturing Campus Expansion
Novo Nordisk · Manufacturing · 1,000 jobs
 Johnston County $4.1B Under Construction
VinFast Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Plant
VinFast · Manufacturing · 7,500 jobs
 Chatham County $4.0B Under Construction
→ Methodology · How We Tracked $4T Across 858 Counties

Source: public records, corporate announcements, state EDC filings. Tracking projects with $25M+ in announced investment or 500+ jobs. Some figures are estimates where exact totals weren't disclosed.

North Carolina shaded relief terrain map
SRTM 30m shaded relief
State Spotlight · 2026-04-29

North Carolina sustains growth with tech and manufacturing investments

Driving economic expansion

North Carolina's economic growth is largely concentrated in the "Research Triangle" (Raleigh-Durham) and the Piedmont Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point). Apple's campus expansion in the Research Triangle and JetZero's new manufacturing facility in Greensboro highlight the state's appeal to technology and aerospace industries. The state recorded over $24 billion in capital investment from new and expanding companies in 2025.

Current housing market

The North Carolina housing market is stabilizing, with the average home value at $332,681 as of September 2025, a slight decrease of 0.7% year-over-year. Homes are typically going under contract in about 30 days, but nearly 60% of sales in August 2025 closed below the list price, indicating increased buyer negotiation. Inventory levels are increasing, with 49,179 homes for sale as of September 2025.

Migration patterns

North Carolina continues to be a top destination for movers, ranking third nationally for inbound migration in 2025 according to U-Haul data. Between July 2024 and July 2025, the state experienced the largest net gain in state-to-state migrants among all U.S. states, with 84,000 more people moving in than moving out. Charlotte and Raleigh remain popular metro areas for relocation.

Economic challenges

Despite overall growth, some areas face challenges. Western North Carolina is experiencing a slow recovery from Hurricane Helene, impacting the state's economy. Additionally, the state's unemployment rate is projected to increase to 4.1% by December 2026, up from 3.7% in August 2025. Rising costs for essentials like housing, childcare, and food have outpaced wage growth for many workers.

Key facts

  • North Carolina was named Business Facilities magazine's 2025 State of the Year for economic development. (Business Facilities, January/February 2026)
  • The state saw over $24 billion in capital investment from new and expanding companies in 2025. (NC Commerce, January 2026)
  • North Carolina added 64,400 jobs in the year leading up to March 2025, a 1.3% increase. (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, April 2025)
  • The average North Carolina home value was $332,681 as of September 30, 2025, a 0.7% decrease from the previous year. (Zillow, November 2025)
  • North Carolina issued 11.8% more residential permits in February 2025 than in January 2025, though permits decreased by 4.1% year-over-year in February 2025. (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, April 2025)
Updated 2026-04-29 · grounded research
20 sources
  1. nc.gov
  2. carolinaleader.com
  3. carolinajournal.com
  4. chathamedc.org
  5. whky.com
  6. caldwelledc.org
  7. jrhengineering.net
  8. businessnc.com
  9. sedc.org
  10. wral.com
  11. noradarealestate.com
  12. robuckhomes.com
  13. quickshiftmovinginc.com
  14. consumeraffairs.com
  15. carolinajournal.com
  16. nc.gov
  17. nc.gov
  18. charlotte.edu
  19. ncbudget.org
  20. ncchamber.com

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