North Carolina

Highlights

• #11 of 50: Scale-ups
• #12 of 50: Momentum
• #17 of 50: Innovation and patents

The seven inputs

Each input is a z-score against the other states: 0 is the average state, and each step is one standard deviation (capped at ±3). Ranks are among the 50 states.

• Venture capital 0.0 #22 of 50
• Startup formation +0.2 #20 of 50
• Scale-ups +0.5 #11 of 50
• Economic output and wealth -0.3 #28 of 50
• Innovation and patents +0.4 #17 of 50
• Talent +0.3 #20 of 50
• Momentum +0.5 #12 of 50

Top companies

The largest companies headquartered in North Carolina, by latest annual revenue.

1. Bank of America Corporation BAC · Financials · Charlotte, NC-SC $113B
2. Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW · Consumer Discretionary · Mooresville · Charlotte, NC-SC metro $86.3B
3. Honeywell International Inc. HON · Industrials · Charlotte, NC-SC $37.4B
4. Nucor Corporation NUE · Materials · Charlotte, NC-SC $32.5B
5. Duke Energy Corporation DUK · Utilities · Charlotte, NC-SC $32.2B

Roots Density Data, All Companies (public: SEC filings; private: Forbes Top Private Companies 2025). Ranked by latest annual revenue.

Metros in North Carolina

• Raleigh, NC #11 of 109 metros 65
• Charlotte, NC-SC #37 of 109 metros 50
• Virginia Beach–Norfolk, VA-NC #77 of 109 metros 30
• Greensboro, NC #82 of 109 metros 28