Sharing a similar climate and favorable soil conditions, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina nonetheless boast distinct economic backgrounds and histories. Historically, South Carolina was known for its agricultural products such as cotton, and this later shifted to manufacturing—of textiles in particular. North Carolina, meanwhile, was and remains the leading tobacco producer in the United States, with an estimated production volume of 260.1 million pounds.
In the 1920s, North Carolina’s industries expanded to include production of furniture, textiles, chemicals, and other manufactured goods, and these sectors soon surpassed farming. By the late 1990s, other sectors emerged including tourism, government, commercial and financial services, and handicrafts and pottery, especially in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont regions of the state. For years, other key industries in the state have included farming (chickens and hogs in particular), and growing peanuts, corn, soybeans, and potatoes. These sectors, along with fishing, mining, forestry, and manufacturing, have helped support North Carolina’s economy for decades. North Carolina was nicknamed the Tar Heel State, an expression that refers to the pitch and tar used to coat the hulls of wooden ships, and today, the area’s manufacturing tradition remains as strong as ever.
South Carolina emerged as a prominent manufacturer of nondurable goods and became home to U.S. military facilities, including Shaw Air Force Base and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) at Parris Island. Like North Carolina, the state also has an active fisheries industry, along with forestry, tourism, transportation, mining, and manufacturing.
While many of North and South Carolina’s long-time industries remain, others have joined them over the years, including aerospace, biotechnology, transportation, information technology (IT), business and financial services, and many others.
According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, “Many of the world’s best-known brands across a range of future-focused industries call North Carolina home.” While mindful of the state’s legacy industries such as tobacco, textiles, and furniture, North Carolina is fast becoming home to the next generation of industries, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, energy, plastics, and chemicals.
With an estimated population of about 11 million, a median age of 39, and an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, North Carolina is increasingly attractive to a range of business sectors, both established and emerging. A few years ago, the Department of Commerce issued its Strategic Economic Development Plan for the State of North Carolina: Goals, Strategies, and Tactics for the New Economic Landscape. A comprehensive, 19-page document, the Plan outlined critical areas in the realms of workforce recruitment, supporting local businesses and industries, and building vibrant communities, including decreasing childcare costs for working families and ensuring that North Carolinians possess high-quality post-secondary credentials. Realizing the vital importance of education to the future workforce, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced an $805 million investment in early childhood education and childcare programs through North Carolina Child Care Stabilization Grants, and proposed significant pay increases for teachers.
Since 2018, North Carolina has seen over 73,000 new jobs created and has attracted more than $19 billion USD in private business investment. “North Carolina is now in a solid position to remain competitive for economic development opportunities in our key targeted industry sectors—aerospace, automotive, clean energy, information technology, and life sciences,” states the Plan.
This fall, North Carolina State University Professor Emeritus Mike Walden called North Carolina’s economy “a powerhouse of growth in recent decades.” Not to be outdone, South Carolina is also experiencing considerable growth. As of this year, South Carolina’s gross state product (GSP) achieved an impressive $271.8 billion, with 2.7 percent growth over the five years prior to 2024, with leading sectors including real estate and rental and leasing, manufacturing, and retail trade.
For decades, the Carolinas have built a reputation for their strong manufacturing base. In South Carolina, manufacturing chemical goods—such as agricultural fertilizers, synthetic fibers, pharmaceutical chemicals, and industrial chemicals—earned the state greater revenue than its historic textile sector. Still, the state’s textile industry remains strong, producing goods made from both cotton and synthetics.
In the late 1990s, other types of manufacturing moved or expanded to South Carolina, including paper and paperboard, electronics, plastic and rubber products, and motor vehicle parts and accessories. Today, the state is renowned for its ability to attract both small enterprises and Fortune 500 companies.
A key player in the automotive sector, South Carolina is becoming popular with electric vehicle (EV) companies for many reasons, including an available and skilled workforce and competitive tax rates. These factors and others have resulted in the state seeing increased manufacturing interest in communication and critical data centers, refrigeration companies, payment solution businesses, and lithium-ion cell makers. At present, the state is home to approximately 3,850 manufacturing companies employing almost 280,000 workers, and boasts the presence of companies such as Volvo, The Kraft Heinz Company, BMW, and Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Similarly, North Carolina continues to draw a diverse range of manufacturers and service-oriented businesses, including Honeywell International, Lowe’s, the Bank of America, Duke Energy, and Coca-Cola Consolidated. According to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the state was ranked America’s Top State for Business for the second year in a row by CNBC, as of 2023. The CNBC study examined 86 metrics in 10 categories of competitiveness, and North Carolina emerged as number one in Workforce and “highly in the Economy, Technology and Innovation, and Access to Capital categories,” stated the study.
In fact, in less than a decade, North Carolina has seen well over 100,000 well-paying new jobs for companies including Apple, Boom Supersonic, and Toyota in both urban and rural areas of the state. Other investments in the state in recent years include Bosch allocating $130 million to expand its Lincolnton facility and ProKidney dedicating $458 million to a Greensboro biomanufacturing facility.
The Carolinas’ long-standing legacy in manufacturing continues to be a cornerstone of their economic success, driving growth and innovation across diverse industries. From textiles and furniture to advanced technologies like aerospace and biotechnology, the manufacturing sector in both states has adapted to meet evolving global demands. Recent investments, such as Google’s expansion in South Carolina, underscore the region’s ability to attract world-class companies, further solidifying its manufacturing prowess. To sustain this momentum, prioritizing workforce development and integrating advanced manufacturing technologies will be essential. By leveraging their rich industrial heritage and embracing innovation, the Carolinas are well-positioned to remain leaders in U.S. manufacturing for decades to come.
