NORTH CAROLINA — Gov. Josh Stein and a national media outlet appeared at the Battleship North Carolina Thursday morning to make the announcement that the Tar Heel State ranked on a popular poll as the top place to do business nationwide.
CNBC’s annual “America’s Top State for Business” study nods to the state’s economy and workforce opportunities. This recognition is a national title CNBC has awarded since 2007. During that year, North Carolina ranked fifth and has since appeared in the top 20.
However, the state has come in the top slot for the third time in the last four years, ticking up from second place since 2024 when Virginia came out on top.
At the Cotton Exchange after the announcement, Stein met with the media and called it a “great day for North Carolina,” adding: “We have been first in flight, now we are first in business.”
According to the CNBC study, the state’s biggest strengths this year are its economy, workforce and business friendliness.
The CNBC study is not opinion-based but rather assesses data on a state’s performance within each metric. It measures states across 10 categories of competitiveness — the factors companies consider when making site selection decisions. They include:
- Economy: 445 points
- Infrastructure: 405 points
- Workforce: 335 points
- Cost of doing business: 295 points
- Business friendliness: 270 points
- Quality of life: 265 points
- Technology & innovation: 255 points
- Education: 110 points
- Access to capital: 60 points
- Cost of living: 60 points
North Carolina came in third place for its economy, behind Florida and Texas. It was fourth in workforce, behind Texas, Florida and Georgia and fourth in business friendliness, behind North and South Dakota and Tennessee.
States can earn a maximum of 2,500 points across the categories. This year North Carolina scored 1,614. In 2024, the state missed the top spot by three points to Virginia.
North Carolina’s rankings and scores included:
- Economy: 3rd – 322 points
- Infrastructure: 11th – 240 points
- Workforce: 4th – 243 points
- Cost of doing business: 21st – 167 points
- Business friendliness: 4th – 195 points
- Quality of life: 29th – 136 points
- Technology & innovation: 13th – 159 points
- Education: 6th – 70 points
- Access to capital: 8th – 49 points
- Cost of living: 23rd – 33 points
CNBC analyzes states’ economic development marketing pitches to determine the weight for each category. The more a particular category is mentioned, the more weight it carries in the rankings.
“In 2025, amid recession fears, more states than ever are touting their economic strengths,” according to reporting from CNBC. “That makes Economy this year’s most important category.”
During his press conference — Port City Daily couldn’t attend, but WHQR shared the audio from it — Stein spoke about the factors that earned North Carolina this distinction. He cited strong infrastructure, a skilled workforce, sound fiscal management, and a growing reputation for innovation and opportunity as key determinants.
“But it all starts with our people,” Stein said. “We have a talented workforce from the folks working on the line at advanced manufacturing facilities to the scientists and engineers designing new products that change the world. It’s all happening here in North Carolina and we’re really proud to be recognized for the great opportunity that exists in North Carolina.”
Due to North Carolina’s business climate and workforce quality, Amazon and JetZero recently announced new investments totaling more than $20 billion and bringing over 24,000 new jobs to the state.
Amazon is opening a facility on Highway 421 on the New Hanover and Pender counties line. While the initial investment in the region taps out at $350 million, a study conducted at UNCW noted Amazon will have $163 million in ongoing fiscal impact. Once open, it will bring 1,000 jobs paying between $18 to $22 an hour to the coastal region.
Labor commissioner Luke Farley said in a press release the CNBC ranking is a reflection of how “sound labor policy” contributes directly to economic success.
“This recognition validates what we see on the ground every day: common-sense regulation promotes job growth, while burdensome red tape drives jobs away,” he explained. “The NC Department of Labor is proud to be our state’s secret weapon for economic development — helping job creators thrive by ensuring safety, fairness and predictability in the workplace.”
Stein added communities like Wilmington play a large role in the state’s economic plan. He noted the pharmaceutical industry, like Thermo Fisher, the film industry, the ports and the coastal region’s tourism all as drivers to help North Carolina succeed.
“The Cape Fear region is a critical part of North Carolina’s economy,” Stein said. “You just have to walk down the streets and you will see the dynamism that is here.”
Wilmington council member Salette Andrews and other city council members, including David Joyner, Clifford Barnett, and Kevin Spears, and Mayor Bill Saffo met with Stein for a photo op after the announcement. In an email to Port City Daily, Andrews called the ranking more than a point of pride for the state but also a signal to investors, entrepreneurs and workers that North Carolina is a place where “good ideas and hard work can flourish.”
“For Wilmington and the surrounding region, it reaffirms the value of the strategic investments we’ve made in workforce development, infrastructure and quality of life,” she said.
During the media conference, Stein addressed how the state also didn’t do as well on scores for quality of life and cost of living.
“We can do better by our workers by helping them earn a better living. So what we’re trying to do is recruit businesses that pay a higher wage. If people have more money in their pocket they can afford a home, they can take a vacation with their family, they can securely retire, that’s the future we want for North Carolina,” he said. “More good paying jobs, more opportunity of a better quality of life.”
To determine this ranking, CNBC said it rates states on livability factors, such as per capita crime rates, environmental quality and health care. To further analyze, they also look at wage and discrimination policies and voting and reproductive rights.
The most recent information from the nonpartisan nonprofit Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center — which works with state officials in all three branches of government — had North Carolina 5 percent higher than the United States average in violent crime.
In health care, a Forbes ranking scored North Carolina 71.9 out of 100 in 2024, noting a multitude of problem areas, such as being the fifth-lowest for nurse practitioners per 10,000 residents and the 10th-highest percentage of residents who lack health insurance coverage.
CNBC also added childcare as one of the main obstacles to employees entering the workforce. It considers the availability and affordability of qualified facilities of each state when deciding the quality of life ranking.
The NC Task Force on Child Care and Early Education recently put forth six suggestions to address child care challenges in the state, including making high-quality child care more accessible, affordable, and sustainable. Stein’s office has noted the average cost of infant care statewide is more costly than in-state college tuition. This means people with young children often leave the workforce due to lack of care.
“We need to help parents afford the cost of raising their children,” Stein said, noting he has proposed increasing the child tax credit among other changes to provide financial relief to working families. “Estimates are: The lack of childcare in North Carolina is costing the economy over $5 billion a year because there are so many people who want to work, but honestly they can’t afford to.”
He said regardless of CNBC’s rankings, work still needs to be done to ensure North Carolina is thriving long into the future.
“We did not get a perfect score so we will constantly ask ourselves: ‘What can we do better?’ Other states want what we have here in North Carolina. We’ve got to stay aggressive to make sure we’re making the right investments in our people and our infrastructure so that we remain on top.”
Have tips or suggestions for Sophia Walsh? Email [email protected]
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
