Business Facilities magazine has named North Carolina the 2025 state of the year for economic development, according to a news release from the NC Department of Commerce.
The ranking is based on the state’s overall business climate and economic development growth in the previous year, including education and workforce opportunities, business incentives, infrastructure, quality of life, and business attraction and retention investments.
This is the third time in the last six years that NC has won the top spot — it did so in 2020 and 2022 as well.
“This recognition underscores the progress North Carolina is making to build a strong, resilient economy that works for all parts of our state,” said Gov. Josh Stein in a statement. “Last year, we had the best year in state history for job announcements and capital investments. We’re the number one state for business in the country and the top state for workforce development. We’ve got to keep our foot on the gas to make sure that everyone benefits from expanding growth and opportunity.”
The Commerce Department reported more than 35,000 job commitments and more than $24 billion in capital investments from new and expanding companies in 2025 — a record-breaking year. Those project announcements covered 56 NC counties across a range of industries, including aerospace, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and supply chain operations.
Brian Balfour, senior vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, said that it’s an honor for the Tar Heel State to receive the designation, but that “this one is a bit of a mixed bag.”
“Because it includes economic incentives as a positive measure, this ranking is clouded a bit by the crony capitalism metric,” Balfour said. “The 35,000 job announcements being crowed about by Gov. Stein’s administration are premature, because job announcements are not jobs. History has shown that roughly half of North Carolina’s corporate incentive programs are terminated without living up to their promise.”
Recent additional announcements include JetZero’s choice of Greensboro for its first commercial airplane manufacturing plant at Piedmont Triad International Airport — expected to bring around 14,500 jobs to the area with an investment of $4 billion in Guilford County. Genentech is also expanding its manufacturing footprint in Wake County and Vulcan Elements has proposed rare-earth magnet facility in in Johnston County.
An additional 5,000 jobs have been promised to rural areas of the state, along with $12.5 billion in investments.
“North Carolina’s continued success is rooted in strong partnerships and a focus on long-term growth,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley in a statement.“Strategic investments in workforce development, infrastructure, and site readiness — combined with close collaboration with local communities and industry partners — are helping businesses grow while creating good jobs across the state.”
NC was joined by seven other states in the South who were ranked as “opportunity-rich” by Business Facilities magazine — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.