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North Carolina’s economy was based mainly on the growing of tobacco in the 1700s and 1800s and on the manufacture of tobacco products and textiles in the early 1900s. While these activities remain important segments of the state’s economy, they have largely been overshadowed by other industries and services. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries North Carolina’s economy generated jobs at a higher rate than the national average in many areas.
Agriculture and forestry
Agriculture remains a small but important component of the state’s economy, although the number of people it employs continues to decline. There are nearly 50,000 farms in the state; the great majority are relatively small—about 180 acres (75 hectares) or less—and most are operated by people who earn much of their income from farming. North Carolina is a national leader in the production of sweet potatoes, dry beans, tobacco, pigs, broilers (chickens), and turkeys. Other principal agricultural products include eggs, soybeans, and cotton. Farm income tends to be greatest in the central and southern counties of the Coastal Plain.
With its abundance of forests, North Carolina has long been a leader in the production of lumber, wood for furniture, Christmas trees, pulp for paper, and other wood products. The principal trees are pines, largely harvested in the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont region. Hardwoods such as oak, hickory, ash, and poplar are drawn primarily from the Appalachian Mountains and parts of the Piedmont. Several active reforestation and forest sustainability programs have resulted in a growth of forest reserves, for both commercial and private or otherwise nonindustrial use.
Resources and power
In addition to its forest resources, North Carolina has large reserves of nonmetallic rocks and minerals. The state is a leader in the production of phosphate rock, lithium minerals, feldspar, olivine, mica, and pyrophillite. Many of these resources are used in the construction industry, along with dimension and building stone, crushed granite, common clay (for bricks), gravel, and sand. Various gemstones are also found in the state.
North Carolina’s electric power is generated mainly by coal-fired thermal plants, with several nuclear stations supplying nearly one-third of the total. Most of the remainder is produced by the state’s numerous hydroelectric dams.
Manufacturing
For nearly a century North Carolina has remained the most successful manufacturing state in the South and one of the top manufacturing states in the country. Aside from developing solid tobacco and textile industries in the 20th century, the state also emerged as a major centre for furniture making. Throughout the first half of the century, nearly half of the state’s nonfarm workforce was employed in those three industries, but since the 1970s the state has steadily lost textile jobs. By the early 21st century, manufacturing accounted for less than one-fifth of all employment and for roughly one-fifth of the gross domestic product (GDP). The industrial base had become more diversified, with especially strong growth in computers, electronic communications equipment, chemicals, and machinery. Production of processed foods, particularly for domestic consumption, also has commanded a significant share of the sector.
Services
Since 1950, North Carolina’s service activities have expanded rapidly. Major military installations, as well as a diverse tourism sector, have become important contributors to the state’s economy. In the 1980s and ’90s Charlotte became both a regional and national centre for banking operations. In addition, the Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill area (dubbed the Research Triangle) has grown to encompass a wide variety of research and development activities and has spurred much new job growth, mainly in technology-based manufacturing and services. The service sector, including hospitality (restaurants and accommodations) as well as professional, scientific, technical, health care, and social services, constitutes a major portion of the state’s GDP.
Transportation
Geographically, North Carolina is one day’s trucking time both north to New York City and south to the rapidly expanding Florida market. The vast majority of freight is transported by road using the state’s highway system; most of the remainder is carried by rail. The state has several commercial airports, although only two—at Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte—offer international passenger service. Those two facilities serve as hubs for national airlines, providing direct flights to many domestic destinations. A number of regional airports offer short flights to larger connecting cities. Deepwater ports at Wilmington and Morehead City are North Carolina’s two Atlantic gateways to world markets and are equipped to handle any type of cargo. The Intracoastal Waterway threads its way between the Outer Banks and the mainland from New Jersey to the Gulf of Mexico.