North Carolina ranked as the #1 state for business in the U.S. — again

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – Even as it ranked North Carolina as America’s top state for business for the second year in a row and as state leaders celebrated that ranking, CNBC’s announcement included caution about how evolving cultural issues could change that landscape.

Indeed North Carolina nosed out Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Minnesota to claim the top spot, based on CNBC’s evaluation of 50 metrics in 10 broad categories, and Gov. Roy Cooper referred to that accomplishment on Tuesday in announcing two more pieces of big economic news: HondaJet’s plans to expand in Greensboro and TTX’s relocation of its headquarters to Charlotte.

Josh Wright, an executive vice president with labor market analytics firm Lightcast, told CNBC that North Carolina “is a leader in attracting and retaining talent across a range of industries.”

Wright told CNBC that “Charlotte is seeing a lot of growth in the financial sector, but it’s not just a one-trick pony. You’ve got the Raleigh-Durham area. You’ve got massive, major, internationally well-known universities driving growth.

“You have one of the most competitive community college systems in America as well in North Carolina, that is attuned to the needs of their industry.”

CNBC cited the new development projects in the past year – including Pro Kidney’s planned expansion in Greensboro – which followed on the announcements in the past 18 months by Toyota, Boom Supersonic, EV manufacturer VinFast and semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed, among numerous others.

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