Section 03: NC Tech Industry
Tech Industry Job Growth
Tech was the #2 fastest growing industry group in the state over the last five years
This level of growth outpaced finance, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and construction. The only industry that grew faster during this time was healthcare. These industries generally pay wages at or below the state average, making the presence of a high-wage sector like tech especially valuable for North Carolina’s economic competitiveness.
Net Job Change in North Carolina by Industry, 2019-2024
Source: EL calculations based on Lightcast 2025.4
Note: Other industries do not include tech industries in their job counts. For example, Manufacturing represents the non-tech manufacturing job change.
Not only is the tech industry growing in terms of jobs and GDP, but in recent years the number of tech establishments has risen dramatically
An establishment is defined as any company location with a payroll, and one company can have multiple establishments within a region. There were more than 3x as many tech establishments in North Carolina in 2024 as there were in 2007. Nationally, entrepreneurship has also increased. Tech services is one of the easiest segments of the industry to operate remotely and generally has low capital barriers. From 2023 to 2024, however, the pace of establishment growth slowed after years of rapid expansion. The growth in establishments since the pandemic has been primarily in computer systems, programming, and software service companies.
North Carolina Tech Industry Growth Metrics
100 = 2007 Levels
North Carolina Tech Industry Top Establishment Change, 2019-2024
Source: EL Calculations based on lightcast 2025.4
Growth in the tech sector was one of the key drivers that helped pull the national economy out of the Great Recession
During this period, job growth in North Carolina’s tech industry outpaced the national average. The state’s growth rate since 2019 is much higher than the national and regional averages. North Carolina’s growth is also outpacing the average for Intermountain West states, which are among the fastest-growing tech hubs. After years of expansion, the national industry began to flatten in 2023, and in 2024 the number of tech jobs declined. In North Carolina, jobs at tech industry companies continued to experience net growth. Later in this report, North Carolina’s tech growth will be compared with that of all other states.
Tech Industry Employment Trends
100 = 2011 Employment Levels
Tech Industry Percent Job Change, 2019-2024
