Why Does North Carolina Flourish?

[vulfpeck]

"With a GDP of $139 billion in 2013, the Charlotte metropolitan region accounted for 34% of all metropolitan economic activity in the state and just under 30% of the state’s total GDP. Nationally, Charlotte is the 22nd largest MSA by GDP and has economic output slightly greater than the country of Hungary. It would be the world’s 60th largest economy.

Raleigh was the 47th largest metro economy in the nation and produced $67 billion in GDP in 2013, roughly equivalent to the economy of Sudan.

Durham-Chapel Hill, with $42 billion in GDP, was the 63rd largest metro economy in the U.S. in 2013 and had about the same economic output as Panama.

Greensboro-High Point had $38 billion in GDP, making it the 67th largest metro economy in the United States. Its output was greater than that of the Republic of Yemen in 2013.

Winston-Salem was the 90th largest metro economy in 2013 and produced $27 billion in GDP, slightly more than Zambia.

Metropolitan Area Economic Output, 2013 | Carolina Demography

[vulfpeck]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

The only reason? Are you trying to be serious? There are MANY reasons NC has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of decades - from a sleepy, afterthought of a place to one that is in the top 10 states in most any category. It's ridiculous to say that there is ONE reason for a state's growth over a 25-30 year period.

Why does any city or state flourish? Because it has something to offer people who want to relocate...and NC excels in that area.

This.

RTP ≠ The Triangle

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe RTP itself only employees about 40,000 of the 5,000,000 people working in NC. Saying it is mostly responsible for our success is like saying Connecticut is the primary reason for the success of the United States...

[vulfpeck]

NC must be an epicenter of human flourishing (also known as "eudaimonia"). Wake Forest University just got $4.2 million in charitable research funding to study it!

WFU Receives $4.2 Million to Further Study of Human Flourishing

[Semperparatus!]

According to Brent Lane, Director of the UNC Center for Competitive Economies at UNC-Chapel Hill:

Over the past three years (which encompasses NC’s 10 quarters of superior per capita income growth) NC recorded the highest (#1) median household income growth in the US.

NC’s median household income grew 18.42% since the beginning of 2013. The US figure grew 7.31% over the same period.

In contrast, since reaching its highest comparative level in 1997, between 1997 and 2012 NC’s median household income growth rate of -18.74% was 49th in the US. In the past year US median household income grew 5.21%, while NC’s grew 8.45% (ranked 8th).

In 2012 NC’s median household income ranked 46th in the US. In 2015 NC ranked 37th. NC median household income in 2015 is still $6k behind the US. But the gap is closing. In 2012 the gap was $10k.

[Kyle Scot]

NC has it all, from mountains to beaches, city life to clean suburbs. Cost of living isn't that high. The south in general has a certain hospitality, and GREAT food. Great place in general.