by Melissa Howsam | Jun 29, 2023 | Buzz, July/August 2023
From business and bourbon to mental health and median income to just plain ole random facts that’ll keep you looking smart at the bar and in the boardroom, Raleigh and NC are trending in all sectors.
- 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness
- 2nd Fastest-growing large metro in the U.S.
- 5th Least expensive state to start a business
- No. 4 Most affordable large U.S. city
- $6+ mill Dreamville’s direct economic impact on the City of Raleigh
- 4th Most hackable state, with findings showing about a third of NCers use default password for both accessing router and Wi-Fi
- No. 8 Rank among U.S. cities for youngest-looking based on seven factors—from binge drinking to obesity to stress to physical fitness
- 3rd Best place to live in the U.S
- 20+ million Italian and Japanese cuisines ranked most popular worldwide—racking up 20+ million tags each on Instagram—with pizza and BBQ bringing home the bacon for top trending meals.
- 53 Number of extra hours Raleigh commuters spend in rush hour traffic each year
- No. 1 Median household income ($72,996), adjusted for cost of living, among state capitals in 2023
- No. 4 U.S. city for work/life balance and mental health—the highest-ranking of the five largest NC cities
- Best Unemployment rate among state capitals in 2023
- 70%+ New U.S. grads are craving in-person connection post-Zoom-U and prefer a hybrid work arrangement. They’re also reportedly not “chasing big-name companies” in lieu of stability.
- 16 Developments under construction in DTR, with more residential units under construction or recently completed than any time in its history, serving up 2,032 residential units, 408 hotel rooms, 144,410 sq. ft. of office space and 206,542 sq. ft. of retail upon completion
- No. 10 Raleigh’s rank for large U.S. cities among grads looking to put down roots, while Durham and Cary ranked 3rd and 7th among midsize cities, respectively
- 18th Most sought-after renting city in April 2023—and 2nd in the state
- 69% Historic shift: America’s millennials rep the largest homeowner generation. But Raleigh bucks the national trend, despite a 73% rise in millennial ownership locally in the last five years. Why? Thanks to big siblings Gen X (aka the forgotten generation)—who is the largest generation of homeowners in Raleigh, with a 48% jump over the same timeframe, and a 69% increase in ownership.
by Melissa Howsam | Jan 9, 2023 | Buzz, December 2022/January 2023
Starting ’23 at the top! After another banner year for growth, job creation and investments, with a “succinct regional economic development strategy in recent years,” North Carolina has been named the 2022 “State of the Year” for economic development by leading industry magazine Business Facilities.
“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,” said Business Facilities Editorial Director Anne Cosgrove.
In 2022, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a record number of jobs (28,300+) being added across the state, and CNBC also ranked the Tar Heel State as the No. 1 state in the country for business—earning top spot based on what CNBC rated as “America’s strongest state economy, with robust job growth, solid public finances and a healthy housing market.”
Earning high marks in other categories: “As a major banking center, the state finishes second only to California in the list’s Access to Capital category, and the home of one of the nation’s oldest research and development hubs—the famed Research Triangle Park—finishes 5th for Technology & Innovation.”
Here are some of the big businesses that made major moves in NC:
- Amgen broke ground at its next major manufacturing facility in Holly Springs
- Wolfspeed announced plans for a ~$5 billion facility in Siler City
- Freedom Solar, the largest solar panel company in Texas, expanded to NC following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act
- Health start-up One Medical, which was recently acquired by Amazon, continues to expand its locations across the state
- European CRO TFS Health Sciences opened its first U.S. headquarters in RTP
by Cameron Rhinehardt | May 31, 2022 | Buzz, May 2022, Web Exclusive
Raleigh was chosen to host 26 European countries as a model for business best practices.
You know you’re one of the hottest locations in the country for business when the American Chambers of Commerce in Europe (AmCham EU) chooses you as the U.S. city to rep for its exclusive annual conference. It’s like being chosen for the Olympics—but better because the selection is based on a city with “strong ties to global industries, including health care, technology, education and more.”
Given Raleigh’s regular top 10 status across myriad lists running the gamut from tech to cost of living to the best place to start a business to best place to live, it’s not surprising the Research Triangle Regional Partnership (RTRP, an org committed to marketing central North Carolina’s 12 counties), chose Raleigh. (The other of its two annual conferences is always in DC.)
In mid-May countries (think Belgium, Bosnia, Finland, Greece, Sweden—to name a few) from 26 European Union countries descended on the City of Oaks for two days of meetings, during which time they connected with local leaders like Jim Goodnight, CEO and founder of SAS, and Drew Shoemaker, managing director at Credit Suisse, in addition to meeting with several organizations, including NC State and the North Carolina Biotech Center, in order to better comprehend how business, academia and government work together to create the regional ecosystem.
“Everywhere we went and everyone we met, we instantly saw a spirit of ambition, collaboration and innovation,” says Mark Redmond, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland. “There was a sense of purpose and self-belief in the Triangle that working together will lead to solving problems and realizing opportunities for business and consumers.”
Echos Ajša Vodnik, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce Slovenia: “The delegation to the Triangle was more than expected. We all agreed that we have never experienced such exceptional hospitality and willingness to cooperate as we did in North Carolina.”
So not only has Raleigh proven to be a hot spot for business and economy, but a place of good ’ole Southern hospitality too. Not a bad time to be a Raleighite, indeed.
