Economy of North Carolina
Encyclopedia
North Carolina's 2010 total gross state product was $424.9 billion. In 2011 the civilian labor force was at around 4.5 million with employment near 4.1 million. The working population is employed across the major employment sectors. The economy of North Carolina covers 15 metropolitan areas.
and eggs
, tobacco
, hogs, milk
, nursery
stock, cattle
, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. However, North Carolina has recently been affected by offshoring
and industrial growth in countries like China; one in five manufacturing jobs in the state has been lost to overseas competition.
There has been a distinct difference in the economic growth of North Carolina's urban and rural areas. While large cities such as Charlotte
, Raleigh
, Greensboro
, and others have experienced rapid population and economic growth over the last thirty years, many of the state's small towns have suffered from loss of jobs and population. Most of North Carolina's small towns historically developed around textile and furniture factories. As these factories closed and moved to low-wage markets in Asia and Latin America, the small towns that depended upon them have suffered.
The first gold nugget found in the U.S. was found in Cabarrus County in 1799. The first gold dollar minted in the U.S. was minted at the Bechtler Mint in Rutherford County.
, financial services, and manufacturing
. The state's industrial output—mainly textiles, chemicals
, electrical equipment
, paper
and pulp and paper products
—ranked eighth in the nation in the early 1990s. The textile industry, which was once a mainstay of the state's economy, has been steadily losing jobs to producers in Latin America and Asia for the past 25 years, though the state remains the largest textile employer in the United States. Over the past few years, another important Carolina industry, furniture production, has also been hard hit by jobs moving to Asia (especially China
).
North Carolina is the leading producer of tobacco in the country. As one of North Carolina's earliest sources of revenue, it remains vital to the local economy.
Agriculture in the western counties of North Carolina (particularly Buncombe and surrounding counties) is presently experiencing a revitalization coupled with a shift to niche marketing, fueled by the growing demand for organic and local products.
North Carolina is an at-will employment
state, meaning employees in the private sector may be dismissed without prior notice or reason.
In July 2011, the state's unemployment rate was 10.1%; in July 2010, it was 10.3%.
, North Carolina's largest city, continues to experience rapid growth, in large part due to the banking & finance industry. Charlotte is now the second largest banking center in the United States (after New York
), and is home to Bank of America
. The Charlotte metro area
is also home to 5 other Fortune 500 companies.
BB&T
(Branch Banking & Trust), one of America's largest banks, was founded in Wilson, North Carolina
in 1872. Today, BB&T's headquarters is in Winston-Salem, although some operations still take place in Wilson.
The information
and biotechnology
industries have been steadily on the rise since the creation of the Research Triangle Park
(RTP) in the 1950s. Located between Raleigh
, Durham
, and Chapel Hill
(mostly in Durham County), it is a globally prominent research center home to over 170 companies and federal agencies and is the largest and oldest continuously operating research and science park in the United States. Anchored by the University of North Carolina
in Chapel Hill, Duke University
in Durham, and North Carolina State University
in Raleigh, the park's proximity to these research universities has no doubt helped to fuel growth.
The North Carolina Research Campus
underway in Kannapolis
(approx. 30 miles (48.3 km) northeast of Charlotte) aims to enrich and bolster the Charlotte area in the same way that RTP changed the Raleigh-Durham region. Encompassing 5800000 square feet (538,837.6 m²), the complex is a collaborative project involving Duke University
, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, and N.C. State University, along with private and corporate investors and developers. The facility incorporates corporate, academic, commercial and residential space, oriented toward research and development
(R&D) and biotechnology.
Similarly, in downtown Winston-Salem
, the Piedmont Triad Research Park
is undergoing an expansion. Approximately thirty miles to the east of Winston Salem's research park, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University have joined forces to create the Gateway University Research Park, a technology-based research entity which will focus its efforts on areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology & biochemistry, environmental sciences, and genetics among other science-based disciplines.
, Raleigh
, Durham
, Charlotte
, Asheville
, Wilmington
, and Winston-Salem
. Wilmington
is the home of EUE Screen Gems Studios, the largest domestic television and film production facility outside of California. "Dream Stage 10," the facility's newest sound stage, is the third-largest in the US. It houses the largest special-effects water tank in North America. Since the studio's opening in 1984, Wilmington has become a major center of American film and television production with more than 300 productions under its belt. Some of the best-known films and television series filmed in the state include: Forrest Gump
, Bull Durham
, Richie Rich, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
, All the Real Girls
, The Secret Life of Bees
, Being There
, Blue Velvet, , A Walk to Remember, Glory, The Color Purple
, Cabin Fever, Super Mario Bros.
, Cape Fear
, Children of the Corn, The Crow
, Cyborg
, Dawson's Creek
, Dirty Dancing
, Evil Dead 2, The Fugitive
, The Green Mile
, Hannibal
, The Last of the Mohicans
, Maximum Overdrive
, Nell
, One Tree Hill
, Patch Adams
, Junebug
, Shallow Hal
, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, Leatherheads
, Nights in Rodanthe
and 28 Days
. Half of Stephen King's films were filmed in North Carolina.
The television show most associated with North Carolina is The Andy Griffith Show
, which aired on CBS-TV from 1960 to 1968. The series is set in the fictional small town of Mayberry
, North Carolina, and was based on the real-life town of Mount Airy, North Carolina
, although it was filmed in California
. Mount Airy is the hometown of actor Andy Griffith
. The show is still popular in rerun
s and is frequently shown in syndication around the nation. North Carolina is also home to some of the Southeast's biggest film festivals, including the National Black Theatre Festival
, RiverRun International Film Festival
in Winston-Salem, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
in Durham, North Carolina
, and the BluMoon Film Festival in Greenville, North Carolina
.
is slightly progressive
, with four incremental brackets ranging from 6.0% to 7.75%. The base state sales tax
is 4.25%. Most taxable sales or purchases are subject to the state tax as well as the 2.5% local tax rate levied by all counties, for a combined 7.75%. Mecklenburg County has an additional 0.5% local tax for public transportation, bringing sales taxes there to a total 8.25%. The total local rate of tax in Dare County is 3.5%, producing a combined state and local rate there of 8.75%. In addition, there is a 30.2¢ tax per gallon of gas
, a 45¢ tax per pack of cigarettes, a 79¢ tax on wine, and a 48¢ tax on beer. There are also additional taxes levied against food, normally totaling 2%, and some counties assess a 1% tax on prepared food.
Effective July 1, 2011, the base state sales tax dropped from 5.25% to 4.25%. In most counties, this will result in a combined 6.75% rate for most taxable goods.
The property tax
in North Carolina is locally assessed and collected by the counties. The three main elements of the property tax system in North Carolina are real property
, motor vehicle
s and personal property
(inventories and household personal property are exempt). Estimated at 10.5% of income, North Carolina's state and local tax burden percentage ranks 23rd highest nationally (taxpayers pay an average of $3,526 per-capita), just below the national average of 10.6%. North Carolina ranks 40th in the Tax Foundation
's State Business Tax Climate Index with neighboring states ranked as follows: Tennessee
(18th), Georgia (19th), South Carolina
(26th) and Virginia
(13th).
Metropolitan areas
North Carolina includes the following metropolitan areas: Asheville, Burlington, Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill (NC-SC), Durham-Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Greensboro-High Point, Greenville, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, Jacksonville, Raleigh-Cary, Rocky Mount, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News (Virginia & North Carolina), Wilmington, and Winston-Salem.The state economy
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the state's 2010 total gross state product was $424.9 billion, making it the ninth wealthiest state in terms of gross domestic product. Its 2007 per capita personal income was $33,735, placing 36th in the nation. North Carolina's agricultural outputs include poultryPoultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
and eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, hogs, milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, nursery
Nursery (horticulture)
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. They include retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to businesses such as other nurseries and to commercial gardeners, and private nurseries which supply the needs of...
stock, cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. However, North Carolina has recently been affected by offshoring
Offshoring
Offshoring describes the relocation by a company of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Even state governments employ offshoring...
and industrial growth in countries like China; one in five manufacturing jobs in the state has been lost to overseas competition.
There has been a distinct difference in the economic growth of North Carolina's urban and rural areas. While large cities such as Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, and others have experienced rapid population and economic growth over the last thirty years, many of the state's small towns have suffered from loss of jobs and population. Most of North Carolina's small towns historically developed around textile and furniture factories. As these factories closed and moved to low-wage markets in Asia and Latin America, the small towns that depended upon them have suffered.
The first gold nugget found in the U.S. was found in Cabarrus County in 1799. The first gold dollar minted in the U.S. was minted at the Bechtler Mint in Rutherford County.
Agriculture and manufacturing
The responsibilities in regulatory and service areas covering different aspect of Agriculture and manufacturing are overseen by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Over the past century, North Carolina has grown to become a national leader in agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, financial services, and manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
. The state's industrial output—mainly textiles, chemicals
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
, electrical equipment
Electrical equipment
Electrical equipment includes any machine powered by electricity. They usually consists of an enclosure, a variety of electrical components, and often a power switch...
, paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
and pulp and paper products
Wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...
—ranked eighth in the nation in the early 1990s. The textile industry, which was once a mainstay of the state's economy, has been steadily losing jobs to producers in Latin America and Asia for the past 25 years, though the state remains the largest textile employer in the United States. Over the past few years, another important Carolina industry, furniture production, has also been hard hit by jobs moving to Asia (especially China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
).
North Carolina is the leading producer of tobacco in the country. As one of North Carolina's earliest sources of revenue, it remains vital to the local economy.
Agriculture in the western counties of North Carolina (particularly Buncombe and surrounding counties) is presently experiencing a revitalization coupled with a shift to niche marketing, fueled by the growing demand for organic and local products.
Employment
CNBC's list of "Top States for Business for 2010" has recognized North Carolina as the fourth-best state in the nation, behind Texas, Virginia and Colorado.North Carolina is an at-will employment
At-will employment
At-will employment is a doctrine of American law that defines anemployment relationship in which either party can break the relationship with no liability, provided there was no express contract for a definite term governing the employment relationship and that the employer does not belong to a...
state, meaning employees in the private sector may be dismissed without prior notice or reason.
In July 2011, the state's unemployment rate was 10.1%; in July 2010, it was 10.3%.
Finance, technology, and research
CharlotteCharlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, North Carolina's largest city, continues to experience rapid growth, in large part due to the banking & finance industry. Charlotte is now the second largest banking center in the United States (after New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
), and is home to Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
. The Charlotte metro area
Charlotte metropolitan area
The Charlotte metropolitan area is a metropolitan area/region of North and South Carolina within and surrounding the city of Charlotte...
is also home to 5 other Fortune 500 companies.
BB&T
BB&T
BB&T Corporation is an American bank with assets of $157 billion , offering full-service commercial and retail banking services along with other financial services like insurance, investments, retail brokerage, mortgage, corporate finance, consumer finance, payment services, international...
(Branch Banking & Trust), one of America's largest banks, was founded in Wilson, North Carolina
Wilson, North Carolina
Wilson is a city and the county seat of Wilson County in the Coastal Plain region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The 18th largest city in the state, Wilson had a population of 49,167 according to the 2010 census.- Geography :...
in 1872. Today, BB&T's headquarters is in Winston-Salem, although some operations still take place in Wilson.
The information
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
industries have been steadily on the rise since the creation of the Research Triangle Park
Research Triangle Park
The Research Triangle Park is a research park in the United States. It is located near Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina...
(RTP) in the 1950s. Located between Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, and Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
(mostly in Durham County), it is a globally prominent research center home to over 170 companies and federal agencies and is the largest and oldest continuously operating research and science park in the United States. Anchored by the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
in Chapel Hill, Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in Durham, and North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
in Raleigh, the park's proximity to these research universities has no doubt helped to fuel growth.
North Carolina Research Campus
The North Carolina Research Campus is a center for biotechnological, agricultural, food science, and nutritional research. It was initially founded by David H. Murdock, former CEO of Dole Foods...
underway in Kannapolis
Kannapolis, North Carolina
Kannapolis is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte. The population was 42,625 at the 2010 census, which makes Kannapolis the 20th largest city in North Carolina...
(approx. 30 miles (48.3 km) northeast of Charlotte) aims to enrich and bolster the Charlotte area in the same way that RTP changed the Raleigh-Durham region. Encompassing 5800000 square feet (538,837.6 m²), the complex is a collaborative project involving Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte , also known as UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte, is a public research university located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States...
, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, and N.C. State University, along with private and corporate investors and developers. The facility incorporates corporate, academic, commercial and residential space, oriented toward research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
(R&D) and biotechnology.
Similarly, in downtown Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, the Piedmont Triad Research Park
Piedmont Triad Research Park
The Piedmont Triad Research Park , in Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA, is a highly interactive, master-planned innovation community developed to support life science and information technology research and development...
is undergoing an expansion. Approximately thirty miles to the east of Winston Salem's research park, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University have joined forces to create the Gateway University Research Park, a technology-based research entity which will focus its efforts on areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology & biochemistry, environmental sciences, and genetics among other science-based disciplines.
Film and the arts
Film studios are located in ShelbyShelby, North Carolina
Shelby is a city in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 19,477 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cleveland County.-Geography:Shelby is located at ....
, Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, and Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
. Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
is the home of EUE Screen Gems Studios, the largest domestic television and film production facility outside of California. "Dream Stage 10," the facility's newest sound stage, is the third-largest in the US. It houses the largest special-effects water tank in North America. Since the studio's opening in 1984, Wilmington has become a major center of American film and television production with more than 300 productions under its belt. Some of the best-known films and television series filmed in the state include: Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
, Bull Durham
Bull Durham
Bull Durham is a 1988 American romantic comedy baseball film. It is based upon the minor league experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team in Durham, North Carolina....
, Richie Rich, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (film)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a 2002 American comedy-drama film starring Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd, directed and written by Callie Khouri...
, All the Real Girls
All the Real Girls
All the Real Girls is a 2003 romantic drama film written and directed by David Gordon Green. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2003. It stars Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel, Shea Whigham, Danny R. McBride, Patricia Clarkson, Maurice Compte and Benjamin Mouton...
, The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees
This is about the 2002 Sue Monk Kidd novel. For the 2008 film, see Secret Life of Bees The Secret Life of Bees is a 2002 historical novel by American author Sue Monk Kidd. It received much critical acclaim and was a New York Times bestseller...
, Being There
Being There
Being There is a 1979 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby. Adapted from the 1971 novella written by Jerzy Kosinski, the screenplay was coauthored by Kosinski and Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A...
, Blue Velvet, , A Walk to Remember, Glory, The Color Purple
The Color Purple (film)
The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as a director , and was a change from the summer blockbusters for which he had become famous...
, Cabin Fever, Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. (film)
Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 American action film directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. Based on the Super Mario Bros.video game and its entire franchise, the film features Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper and Samantha Mathis. It tells the story of the Mario brothers, Mario and...
, Cape Fear
Cape Fear (1991 film)
Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. It stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis and features cameos from Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam, who all appeared in the 1962 original film...
, Children of the Corn, The Crow
The Crow (film)
The Crow is a 1994 American action film based on the 1989 comic book of the same name by James O'Barr. The film was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and directed by Alex Proyas...
, Cyborg
Cyborg (film)
Cyborg is a 1989 American martial-arts science fiction film directed by Albert Pyun. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Gibson Rickenbacker, a mercenary who battles a group of murderous marauders led by Fender Tremolo along the East coast of the United States in a post-apocalyptic future.-Plot:A...
, Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
, Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...
, Evil Dead 2, The Fugitive
The Fugitive (1993 film)
The Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was one of the few movies associated with a television series to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best...
, The Green Mile
The Green Mile (film)
The Green Mile is a 1999 American drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted by him from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name...
, Hannibal
Hannibal (film)
Hannibal is a 2001 psychological thriller film directed by Ridley Scott, adapted from the Thomas Harris novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1991 Academy Award-winning film The Silence of the Lambs that returns Anthony Hopkins to his iconic role as serial killer Hannibal Lecter...
, The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film)
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 historical epic film set in 1757 during the French and Indian War and produced by Morgan Creek Pictures. It was directed by Michael Mann and based on James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name, although it owes more to George B. Seitz's 1936 film adaptation...
, Maximum Overdrive
Maximum Overdrive
Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American action-horror-science fiction film written and directed by novelist Stephen King. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story, Trucks, which was included in King's first collection of short stories, Night Shift.Maximum Overdrive is...
, Nell
Nell (film)
Nell is a 1994 drama film starring Jodie Foster as a young woman who has to face other people for the first time after being raised by her mother in an isolated cabin. The film was directed by Michael Apted, and was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia. The original music score is composed by...
, One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Patch Adams
Patch Adams (film)
Patch Adams is a 1998 comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams. Directed by Tom Shadyac, it is based on the life story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter by Adams and Maureen Mylander. The film is generally considered a box-office success,...
, Junebug
Junebug (film)
Junebug is a 2005 American comedy-drama film directed by Phil Morrison. It was released on August 3, 2005 and stars Amy Adams, Alessandro Nivola, Embeth Davidtz, and Benjamin McKenzie...
, Shallow Hal
Shallow Hal
Shallow Hal is a 2001 romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, and Jason Alexander. It was directed by the Farrelly Brothers and filmed in and around Charlotte, North Carolina as well as Sterling and Princeton, Massachusetts at Wachusett Mountain.- Plot :Hal Larson is a...
, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film also features John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Various Saturday Night Live alumni also...
, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, Leatherheads
Leatherheads
Leatherheads is a 2008 American sports comedy film from Universal Pictures directed by and starring George Clooney. The film also stars Renée Zellweger, Jonathan Pryce and John Krasinski and focuses on the early years of professional American football....
, Nights in Rodanthe
Nights in Rodanthe
Nights in Rodanthe is a 2008 American/Australian film adaptation of the novel with the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane in their third screen collaboration after Unfaithful and The Cotton Club . The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "some sensuality" and...
and 28 Days
28 Days (film)
28 Days is a 2000 American drama film directed by Betty Thomas. Sandra Bullock plays Gwen Cummings, a newspaper columnist obliged to enter rehabilitation for alcoholism. The film costars Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi and Diane Ladd.-Plot:Gwen Cummings borrows the...
. Half of Stephen King's films were filmed in North Carolina.
The television show most associated with North Carolina is The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, which aired on CBS-TV from 1960 to 1968. The series is set in the fictional small town of Mayberry
Mayberry
Mayberry is a fictional community in North Carolina that was the setting for two American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television movie titled Return to Mayberry...
, North Carolina, and was based on the real-life town of Mount Airy, North Carolina
Mount Airy, North Carolina
Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,388.-History:Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem and Galax, Virginia. It was named for a nearby plantation...
, although it was filmed in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Mount Airy is the hometown of actor Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
. The show is still popular in rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
s and is frequently shown in syndication around the nation. North Carolina is also home to some of the Southeast's biggest film festivals, including the National Black Theatre Festival
National Black Theatre Festival
The National Black Theatre Festival was founded in 1989 by Larry Leon Hamlin in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Serving as its executive director, Hamlin’s goal in creating the Festival was "to unite black theatre companies in America to ensure the survival of the genre into the next millennium"...
, RiverRun International Film Festival
RiverRun International Film Festival
The RiverRun International Film Festival is a regional film festival held annually each spring in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The festival is a 5013 non-profit organization and presents a variety of feature-length and short films from all genres, and also presents special events, regional...
in Winston-Salem, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight...
in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, and the BluMoon Film Festival in Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
.
Tourism
Tourism destinations in the state include amusement parks, golf, wineries, beaches, meetings and conventions and sports venues. The North Carolina tourism industry employs more than 190,000 people. The state is the 6th most visited in the country (preceded by Florida, California, New York, Nevada and Pennsylvania). The North Carolina Department of Commerce maintains a Tourism Services providing matching funds and consultation for development tourism in the state including rural tourism.Tax revenue
North Carolina personal income taxIncome tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
is slightly progressive
Progressive tax
A progressive tax is a tax by which the tax rate increases as the taxable base amount increases. "Progressive" describes a distribution effect on income or expenditure, referring to the way the rate progresses from low to high, where the average tax rate is less than the marginal tax rate...
, with four incremental brackets ranging from 6.0% to 7.75%. The base state sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
is 4.25%. Most taxable sales or purchases are subject to the state tax as well as the 2.5% local tax rate levied by all counties, for a combined 7.75%. Mecklenburg County has an additional 0.5% local tax for public transportation, bringing sales taxes there to a total 8.25%. The total local rate of tax in Dare County is 3.5%, producing a combined state and local rate there of 8.75%. In addition, there is a 30.2¢ tax per gallon of gas
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, a 45¢ tax per pack of cigarettes, a 79¢ tax on wine, and a 48¢ tax on beer. There are also additional taxes levied against food, normally totaling 2%, and some counties assess a 1% tax on prepared food.
Effective July 1, 2011, the base state sales tax dropped from 5.25% to 4.25%. In most counties, this will result in a combined 6.75% rate for most taxable goods.
The property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
in North Carolina is locally assessed and collected by the counties. The three main elements of the property tax system in North Carolina are real property
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
, motor vehicle
Motor vehicle
A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...
s and personal property
Personal property
Personal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...
(inventories and household personal property are exempt). Estimated at 10.5% of income, North Carolina's state and local tax burden percentage ranks 23rd highest nationally (taxpayers pay an average of $3,526 per-capita), just below the national average of 10.6%. North Carolina ranks 40th in the Tax Foundation
Tax Foundation
The Tax Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank founded in 1937 that collects data and publishes research studies on tax policies at the federal and state levels. The organization is broken into three primary areas of research which are the Center for Federal Fiscal Policy, The and the...
's State Business Tax Climate Index with neighboring states ranked as follows: Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
(18th), Georgia (19th), South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
(26th) and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(13th).