51 counties · Boom Town Index

North Carolina

Avg BTI Score
48 / 100
Population
9.2M
+0.9% avg growth
National Rank
#26 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
$60,941
State median across 51 counties
Median Home Value
$196,800
Income-to-home ratio: 0.32
Building Permits
89,387
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 Lenoir County 98 F +3.3% +2.0% -0.5% +4.8% 2.0x +2.4% -1.7 11x
02 Wilson County 98 D +1.1% +2.6% -0.2% +5.2% 3.0x +0.3% -1.2 9x
03 Rockingham County 97 D +2.1% +3.6% +0.3% +8.0% 4.4x -1.2% 0.1 10x
04 Stanly County 96 C+ +2.6% +3.4% +0.9% +7.4% 5.7x +0.9% 0.7 10x
05 Lee County 96 D +1.0% +10.4% +1.4% +5.7% 3.6x +0.3% -0.7 9x
06 Robeson County 90 F -0.5% +0.2% -1.1% +7.2% 2.6x -2.7% -1.5 7x
07 Wayne County 88 D -0.1% +2.8% -0.2% +9.8% 3.4x -1.6% -1.4 9x
08 Columbus County 86 F +3.1% -1.0% -1.3% +6.5% 4.1x +2.6% -0.4 14x
09 Davidson County 83 B- +1.4% +2.9% +0.9% +10.2% 5.8x +4.0% -0.1 11x
10 Alamance County 81 C +0.3% +1.8% +1.5% +10.5% 4.8x +0.9% -1.0 12x
11 Pitt County 81 C +0.7% +3.2% +0.3% +8.9% 3.1x +1.5% -1.7 11x
12 Randolph County 76 B- +2.3% +7.6% +0.5% +9.3% 5.1x +2.9% -0.0 13x
13 Granville County 71 C+ +1.2% +2.9% +0.5% +12.3% 3.4x -0.3% -0.9 19x
14 Rutherford County 70 B- +0.9% +1.5% +0.1% +11.0% 5.3x +1.3% 0.5 18x
15 Franklin County 68 C +0.5% +7.9% +3.1% +13.1% 6.6x -0.4% -1.4 10x
16 Carteret County 68 B +1.0% +4.0% +0.6% +8.3% 6.6x +1.3% 1.2 12x
17 Nash County 68 D +0.3% +4.0% +0.4% +7.4% 2.8x -0.8% -1.4 10x
18 Forsyth County 64 D +0.5% +0.3% +0.8% +7.7% 2.9x +1.0% -1.1 12x
19 Harnett County 64 C +1.1% +4.0% +1.2% +8.9% 8.7x +0.7% -0.5 9x
20 Cumberland County 63 D +1.0% +2.3% +0.5% +9.5% 2.9x +0.2% -0.7 10x
21 Cleveland County 62 C -0.5% +1.8% +0.6% +11.1% 3.3x -3.5% 0.8 10x
22 Wilkes County 58 C+ +2.3% +4.8% -0.3% +6.6% 3.8x +2.5% 1.9 17x
23 Onslow County 57 B- +0.8% +3.0% +1.0% +9.6% 4.1x +3.1% 0.7 11x
24 Guilford County 56 D +0.5% +2.6% +0.5% +7.2% 3.2x +0.0% -0.8 13x
25 Caldwell County 56 C+ +0.8% +2.5% +0.0% +7.8% 5.1x -1.7% 1.5 18x
26 Catawba County 52 C +0.6% +2.0% +0.7% +7.3% 3.3x +1.0% 1.3 11x
27 Burke County 50 C+ +1.1% +3.6% -0.0% +11.6% 4.7x +0.4% 1.8 17x
28 Rowan County 47 D +0.6% +2.0% +0.9% +11.4% 4.5x +0.9% -0.1 11x
29 Sampson County 45 D +0.0% +7.7% -0.2% +10.7% 3.6x +2.2% -1.6 13x
30 Watauga County 43 B- -0.3% +1.1% +0.9% +2.6% 6.2x -0.3% 1.8 22x
31 Craven County 43 C +1.7% +3.3% -0.3% +9.5% 3.7x +2.5% 0.2 10x
32 Iredell County 35 B- -0.6% -0.6% +2.1% +9.4% 4.5x +1.0% 1.3 13x
33 Brunswick County 31 B- -0.3% +1.8% +4.4% +10.6% 6.4x -0.3% 1.1 13x
34 Surry County 28 C+ +1.2% +2.2% -0.0% +3.7% 4.1x -0.8% 1.2 18x
35 Henderson County 27 B -0.5% +3.8% +0.7% +9.3% 6.9x -2.8% 2.0 12x
36 Hoke County 27 F +0.1% +7.9% +0.8% +6.9% 7.1x +0.2% -1.3 9x
37 Johnston County 26 B- -0.1% +8.2% +3.6% +14.0% 5.9x -1.4% -1.2 11x
38 Moore County 17 B- +0.3% +3.5% +2.2% +15.6% 6.4x +0.3% 0.1 13x
39 Cabarrus County 16 B- +0.0% +6.6% +2.4% +10.6% 6.4x -1.9% -1.1 13x
40 Union County 14 B -0.0% +5.6% +1.9% +8.0% 8.1x -0.3% -0.3 14x
41 Gaston County 13 C +0.2% +4.1% +1.3% +10.2% 5.4x +1.0% 0.4 10x
42 Lincoln County 10 B +0.2% +6.8% +2.6% +15.7% 5.9x +2.4% 1.5 12x
43 Orange County 9 B- -1.0% +2.1% -1.0% +8.3% 5.6x -1.4% -1.4 19x
44 Mecklenburg County 8 D -1.3% +3.4% +1.3% +8.4% 2.6x -0.9% 0.8 16x
45 New Hanover County 8 C -0.5% +2.8% +1.3% +8.3% 4.4x -1.2% 1.2 16x
46 Pender County 6 C+ -0.1% +5.4% +2.7% +13.5% 7.8x -0.7% 0.5 10x
47 Haywood County 5 B- -1.1% +1.3% +0.7% +8.7% 7.0x -4.7% 2.2 11x
48 Durham County 5 D -1.5% +5.9% +1.6% +11.8% 2.3x -2.4% -0.3 16x
49 Wake County 5 B -1.2% +3.3% +1.7% +9.3% 4.2x -2.4% 0.2 20x
50 Chatham County 0 B -0.6% +1.3% +2.2% +9.7% 12.9x +0.3% 0.4 16x
51 Buncombe County 0 B- -3.4% +2.7% +0.9% +11.4% 5.4x -4.6% 2.2 16x

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
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