CEO Guide to the States

#5

North Carolina

CEO Rank on Best & Worst States for Business

CONTINUING MOMENTUM IN TECH

With tech assets in the Research Triangle and the growing life sciences sector, the Tar Heel State has been on a roll in the past year. Thermo Fisher Scientific announced in December 2020 a $500 million investment and 500 new jobs in Greenville. Fintech company Robinhood added in March nearly 400 new jobs in Mecklenburg County. And in April 2021, Apple announced a $1 billion R&D campus in Wake County that will create 3,000 jobs by 2032. According to a recent survey and a white paper by the Tax Foundation and KPMC, the state now has one of the most competitive tax structures for business in the U.S.

“North Carolina is the ideal place for technology companies to do business, thanks to our tech-savvy talent, resilient economy and great quality of life.”
Roy Cooper
Governor

TAXES

0 %

top corporate income tax

# 0

on the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index ranking

EDUCATION

0 %

of students graduated high school in 2019

0 %

of adults age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

0 %

RIGHT TO WORK STATE

Yes

QUALITY OF LIFE

# 0

POPULATION GROWTH

0 %

increase between 2010 and 2020

KEY INCENTIVES

Job Development Investment Grant: A perfor- mance-based, discretionary incentive program that offers cash grants to new and expanding companies based on a percentage of personal income tax with- holdings associated with new jobs created.

One North Carolina Fund: A discretionary cash grant program that enables the governor to quickly respond to job-creating competitive projects considering loca- tions outside of North Carolina.

JDIG for High-Yield Projects: Offers a JDIG grant worth up to 90% of personal income withholdings for up to 20 years for a company that creates 1,750 jobs and invests at least $500 million in a project.

JDIG for a Transformative Project: Offers up to 90% of personal income withholdings for up to 30 years for a company that creates 3,000 jobs at invests at least $1 billion.

EDCs

Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

edpnc.com

North Carolina Department of Commerce

nccommerce.com

Raleigh Office of Economic Development

raleighnc.gov/business

Charlotte Regional Business Alliance

charlotteregion.com

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAM OR INITIATIVE

The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina’s Small Business Advisor program offers free one- on-one guidance to entrepreneurs and startups on the licensing and permitting requirements in the state. They can also refer to programs that help with mentoring, grants, alternative lending and other resources.

BIG DEALS

  • Software-as-a-service provider Vantaca announced in September 2021 a $4.9 million expansion in New Hanover County that will create 104 jobs.
  • Corning Optical Communications announced in Sep- tember 2021 a $150 million investment that will create 200 jobs in Hickory.
  • Thermo Fisher announced in September 2020 a $154 million expansion and 290 new jobs in Pitt County.
  • Amgen announced in August 2021 it will build a $550 million biologics manufacturing operation in Holly Springs and create 355 new jobs.
  • Roseburg Forest Products announced in July 2021 it will develop a $200 million sawmill operation and create 137 jobs in Halifax County.
  • Credit Karma announced in May 2021 it will invest $13 million and create 600 jobs to expand its presence in Charlotte with a new high tech manufacturing hub.
  • Apple announced in April 2021 it will invest $1 billion and create more than 3,000 jobs at its newest research and development campus in Wake County.
  • Fujifilm announced it will invest $2 billion to build North America’s largest end-to-end biopharmaceutical manu- facturing facility in Holly Springs and create 725 jobs.

BIG COMPANIES

13 Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the state, including:

  • Bank of America
  • Lowe’s
  • Nucor
  • Duke Energy
  • BB&T
  • Honeywell
  • Laboratory Corp. of America IQVIA Holdings
  • Sonic Automotive
  • Advanced Auto Parts