North Carolina has been named Business Facilities’ 2022 State of the Year, marking the second time the state is recognized for this top honor from the publication. The Tar Heel State was recognized previously by Business Facilities as its 2020 State of the Year.
“A succinct regional economic development strategy in recent years has propelled North Carolina, and 2022 was another banner year for the state in capital investment and jobs creation,” Business Facilities Editorial Director Anne Cosgrove said. “Paired with world-class education and R&D resources, the support of incentives and programs from organizations at all levels for a variety of industries, including high-growth sectors such as electric vehicles, made the state our choice for top recognition this year.”
In Business Facilities’ 2022 Annual State Rankings Report, North Carolina topped the list for Best Business Climate. The state also ranked in the Top 5 for Tech Talent Pipeline and Foreign Direct Investment/Capital Investment.
Bipartisan efforts in North Carolina toward fostering a business-friendly environment for a diversity of industries made a strong showing over the past year where a steady stream of relocation and expansions were announced across the state. New investment from economic development projects in 2022 totaled $19.3 billion, representing a significant increase compared to $10.1 billion of new investment in 2021.
Job creation has accompanied these investments. In December, Governor Roy Cooper’s office announced 28,300 new jobs in 2022 — setting a new record for the state. Last year, the top five North Carolina project announcements for job creation were Vinfast (7,500), Macy’s (2,800), Wolfspeed (1,800), Boom Supersonic (1,760), and Eli Lilly and Company (nearly 600).
2022 Regional Runners-Up
The dynamic nature of site selection and economic development over the last year spurred editors to recognize five states as regional runners-up in the 2022 State of the Year lineup.
“Business costs and workforce availability continue to lead decision-making for companies,” Cosgrove said. “As the factors for site selection evolve, we wanted to highlight states that are showing strong progress in their regions.”
The regional recipients are New York, Florida, Ohio, Texas, and Arizona.
Full coverage of the 2022 State of the Year and regional runners-up will be featured in the January/February issue of Business Facilities. Business Facilities is a national publication that has been the leading location source for corporate site selectors and economic development professionals for more than 50 years.
