50 in 50: New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania

50 in 50: North Carolina and Virginia

50 states in 50 weeks: U.S. states economic and infrastructure highlights.

Our team is putting together new content and a different format to kick off Word on the Street in 2023. For that reason, we will be publishing the remaining states of the 50 In 50 Series in a combined fashion. This week we are featuring North Carolina and Virginia.

Key Economic Indicators

Measure	North Carolina	Virginia
GDP (billions)	$533.1	$494.6
GDP 5-year CAGR (U.S.: 1.6%)	1.8%	1.4%
GDP per capita (U.S.: $58,154)	$51,561	$57,964
Population (millions)	10.5	8.6
Population 5-year CAGR	0.7%	0.5%
Unemployment (U.S.: 3.7%)	3.8%	2.7%
Economic outlook ranking	#3	#24
Fiscal health ranking	#14	#12
Overall tax climate ranking	#11	#25

* Compounded annual growth rate (2017-2021)

Top three industries by GDP Growth (last five years):

#	North Carolina	Virginia
#1	Professional, scientific, and technical services	Information
#2	Information	Management of companies and enterprises
#3	Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

Areas with the highest population percentage increase in 2021 vs. 2020:

#	North Carolina	Virginia
#1	Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Micro Area	Winchester, VA-WV Metro Area
#2	Kill Devil Hills, NC Micro Area	Richmond, VA Metro Area
#3	Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area	Charlottesville, VA Metro Area

Infrastructure Highlights

North Carolina has allocated about $2.9 billion from American Rescue Protection Act (ARPA) funds towards infrastructure projects. Over 60% of those funds went towards water and wastewater system improvements. As for the more recent Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), the state has started 862 transportation projects after the first year of implementation. In addition, $199 million has been announced for water infrastructure as well as $139 million for resilience against weather events.

Virginia has been allocated over $4.3 billion so far from the BIL. According to the ARTBA, 908 transportation projects have been started with the $3 billion that has been made available for roads and bridges. As to water funding, $126 million has been announced and will cover lead pipe replacements and other projects intended to ensure safe drinking water for residents. Most of the water funding will be deployed through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

AE Industry

AE Industry Metric	North Carolina	Virginia
ENR 500 firm headquarters	8	25
M&A buyers since 2018	34	58
M&A sellers since 2018	86	63

For customized market research, contact Rafael Barbosa at [email protected] or 972.266.4955. Connect with him on LinkedIn.