(The Center Square) – “Widespread improvement” statewide is evident in North Carolina’s index measuring the economic health of its 100 counties.
Ninety of the 100 counties have performed better economically than the United States as a whole since 2010, according to the Department of Commerce index.
The state calculates the index using median household income, average wages, unemployment rates, and educational attainment.
In 2024, alone, 11 counties, largely in the metro areas of the Triangle and Charlotte and extending from Virginia Beach, outperformed the U.S., the index shows.
Seven counties – Moore, Cabarrus, Lincoln, Henderson, Davie, Franklin, and Pender – are “closing in” on the national score.
The reverse is true for metro areas in Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Rocky Mount and Greenville. Those are “are barely keeping up or falling behind the U.S. – Fayetteville, the Triad, Goldsboro,” the index found.
It also reflected the impact of Hurricane Helene in the fall of 2024.
“Eight counties in Western NC had the largest single year decline with Buncombe showing the steepest drop from 2023 to 2024,” the state said.
The state’s growth has been “broad but uneven,” the Department of Commerce said.
“Much of the improvement across counties has been driven by a tightening labor market and increasing high school graduation,” the Department of Commerce said. “At the same time, persistent gaps in wages and household income continue to constrain performance in many rural and smaller metro counties.”
Wake County, in the Triangle, had the highest score on the index at 117.1. Robeson County, along the South Carolina border on Interstate 95, had the lowest at 71.2.
A score above 100 means that the county outperformed the U.S. and below 100 means that it was lower than the U.S. The state’s overall score was 98.4, the highest score since at least 2010.
With economic success usually comes population growth. Twenty-eight of the 29 counties with top scores increased in population from 2010 to 2024; each of the 30 lowest decreased.
“Persistent gaps in wages and household income continue to constrain performance in many rural and smaller metro counties,” the state said. “Understanding both the sources of recent gains and the barriers to further progress will be essential for shaping policies that sustain growth and expand economic opportunity statewide.”
Lower unemployment rates and higher high school graduation rates have been the most significant contributors to counties’ economic success, the state said.
“Wage and incomes weigh heavily on lower county performance,” it concluded.
