North Carolina is 4th Best State for Business 2014

Taxations & Regulations

Workforce Quality

Living Environment

Key Metrics
State GDP % Growth ’12-’13: 2.3 % Growth ’11-’12 v. Nat’l Avg. (2.5%): 0.2 Unemployment Unemployment Rate Dec. 2013 %: 6.9 Comparison with Nat’l Rate (6.70%): 0.2 Domestic Migration Domestic Net Migration 2013: 37,240 Rank: 3 State Government State Debt per Capita Fiscal Year ’13 ($): 2,005 State & Local Gov’t Employees per 10k Residents: 599.7 State-Local Tax Burden Rate (%): 9.9% Compared to Nat’l Avg. (9.9%): 0.05%

Key Metrics

State GDP

Unemployment

Domestic Migration

State Government

State-Local Tax Burden

Key Companies
Bank of America Corporation Lowe’s Companies Inc. Duke Energy Corporation Niuco, Progress Energy Reynolds American VF Corp. Goodrich

Development Trend Indicator: Positive
Passes tax-reform package hailed as by some as any state’s best in two decades.

CEO Comments
“Areas in North Carolina like Raleigh, Charlotte, Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham have been great places for technology companies. The workforce in these areas have very talented candidates. The western part of the state does not fair as well.”

Based on CEO Survey by ChiefExecutive.net

Sources:
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Bureau of Labor Statistics
NewGeography.com
The Tax Foundation

J.P. Donlon

J.P. Donlon is Editor Emeritus of Chief Executive magazine.