These NC metro areas rank among the top 10 fastest-growing economies in the US
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Cleveland and Stanly counties in the “Extended Metropolitan Areas.”
These are relatively good economic times for North Carolina’s two biggest metro regions: The Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham areas rank in the top 10 fastest-growing economies among U.S. metro areas, according to a new report.
The Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise’s report “2022’s Fastest-Growing Cities in the U.S., Ranked,” released Tuesday examined Gross Domestic Product for the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas.
Charlotte has seen 2.5% GDP growth this year, according to the report, and added about 32,000 jobs so far this year. The report’s data is through August, Kenan Institute Chief Economist Gerald Cohen told The Charlotte Observer, which he said is as close to real-time as possible.
Calling Raleigh and Durham “a powerhouse for biotech” with $1 billion worth of laboratories under construction, the report ranked the Research Triangle No. 4 with 3.4% GDP growth.
Top employers include Cisco, Epic Games, IBM , Red Hat, and soon Apple with a $1 billion investment to create its East Coast campus, the report said, and $210 million more for education and infrastructure.
The report examined the economies of the largest “Extended Metropolitan Areas” by population from New York City with nearly 10 million to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with 1.3 million.
More about the Charlotte region
The Charlotte region, with a population of 2.8 million people, is in its ninth consecutive quarter of job growth, the report found.
Included in the “Extended Metropolitan Areas” are 13 counties: Anson, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly and Union in North Carolina, and Chester, Lancaster and York in South Carolina, Cohen said.
“These are as ... are linked together economically,” Cohen said.
Among Charlotte’s economic strengths cited in the report is its standing as being among the largest banking centers in the U.S., with Bank of America and Truist Financial based in the city along with Wells Fargo’s East Coast headquarters.
Manufacturing also is on the rise, for example with Red Bull planning a $740 million campus in Concord, according to the report.
The top 10 cities by rank
This year’s 10 fastest-growing economies by city/metro region in the U.S., according to the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise’s report, by rank and GDP growth are:
▪ San Francisco, 4.8%
▪ Austin, Texas, 4.3%
▪ Seattle, 3.5%
▪ Raleigh and Durham, 3.4%
▪ Dallas, Texas, 3.1%
▪ Denver, Colorado, 3.0%
▪ Salt Lake City, 2.8%
▪ Charlotte, 2.5%
▪ New Orleans, 2.4%
▪ Orlando, Florida, 2.4%
About the report
The growth of the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. reflects the combination of three factors: a shift from low-tech to high-tech jobs, U.S. population move shifting to the South and West, and recovery in leisure and hospitality, according to the report.
The report is part of the institute’s American Growth Project, and aims to support government officials, business leaders and decision-makers with real-time economic indicators and forecasts, according to Kenan Institute.
The Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise is part of UNC Kenlan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill.
This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 7:50 AM.