Metropolitan Area Economic Output, 2013

“More and more, the U.S. economy is defined by its metropolitan areas,” writes Richard Florida at The Atlantic’s CityLab blog. Just over 90% of the nation’s economic activity occurs in metro regions.

In North Carolina, the state’s 15 major metropolitan regions also comprised the majority of economic activity, but at a level less than the national share. In 2013, the state’s combined metro GDP was $407 billion out of a total GDP of $471 billion. This represents 86% of North Carolina’s GDP – a proportion that is slightly inflated due to the inclusion of portions of South Carolina in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metropolitan region.

If North Carolina’s overall economic output is comparable to Norway, how do our state’s MSAs compare to the economic activity of nations?

• With a GDP of $139 billion in 2013, the Charlotte metropolitan region accounted for 34% of all metropolitan economic activity in the state and just under 30% of the state’s total GDP. Nationally, Charlotte is the 22^nd largest MSA by GDP and has economic output slightly greater than the country of Hungary. It would be the world’s 60^th largest economy.
• Raleigh was the 47^th largest metro economy in the nation and produced $67 billion in GDP in 2013, roughly equivalent to the economy of Sudan.
• Durham-Chapel Hill, with $42 billion in GDP, was the 63^rd largest metro economy in the U.S. in 2013 and had about the same economic output as Panama.
• Greensboro-High Point had $38 billion in GDP, making it the 67^th largest metro economy in the United States. Its output was greater than that of the Republic of Yemen in 2013.
• Winston-Salem was the 90^th largest metro economy in 2013 and produced $27 billion in GDP, slightly more than Zambia.

If we combine Raleigh and Durham-Chapel Hill into the region commonly referred to as “The Triangle,” their combined GDP would equal $109 billion, 27% of the state’s metropolitan economic activity and nearly a quarter of the state’s overall GDP. The Triangle has greater output than Morocco ($104 billion) and Puerto Rico ($103 billion) and would be the 32^nd largest metro economy in the nation, just after Orlando ($110 billion) and above Sacramento ($108 billion).

Similarly, combining Winston-Salem and Greensboro-High Point into the region commonly referred to as “The Triad” would yield a combined GDP of $65 billion, 16% of the state’s metropolitan economic activity and 14% of the state’s overall GDP. The Triad has similar output to Sudan ($67 billion) and has a combined output similar to that of Raleigh.