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“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.…
Forty-two percent of North Carolina residents were born in another state or country. In 1950, this proportion was only 15%. The share of North Carolina residents born in state declines steadily with age until prime working-ages, and then begins rising again. Between ages 27 and 50, more than half of North Carolina residents were born in another state or country. North Carolina’s trends in the proportion of native-born residents by age look similar to those of…
Gross domestic product or GDP captures the market value of all goods or services produced within a country (or other defined region) in a given year. Put another way, GDP = Personal Consumption + Business Investment + Government Spending + (Exports – Imports) In 2013, the United States had a GDP of nearly $17 trillion – the largest GDP for a single country in the world. To put this in perspective, the U.S. GDP is…
Recently, I’ve had some fun mapping the 13 counties that contain half of the state’s population, as well as the 42 least populated counties with 10% of North Carolina’s total population. In Monday’s post, I mentioned that there are significant racial/ethnic differences in the likelihood of living in a municipality. In particular, Asian residents are highly clustered in the state’s largest urban areas. To put this clustering in perspective, it takes 16 counties with the…
The turn of the century marked a key moment in North Carolina’s rural to urban transition: it was the first time in state history that a majority of residents were living in incorporated municipalities. Today, nearly 5.5 million individuals—56% of the state’s population—reside in one of the state’s 552 incorporated municipalities. These municipalities vary widely in key characteristics related to future growth and planning. The smallest—Fontana Dam Village in Graham County—contains 20 residents. At the…
North Carolina is now the 9th most populous state according to recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Between July 1, 2013 and July 1, 2014, North Carolina gained an additional 95,047 residents to reach a population of 9.94 million, surpassing Michigan’s estimated 2014 population of 9.91 million. Some have noted that this is one of the smallest numerical increase in population the state has had since 1990. Like the nation, the combined impacts of…
2010 marked the first time the majority of the world’s population was living in urban areas (52%), up from 47% in 2000. The global share of population living in urban areas is projected to increase to two-thirds by 2050. In 1990, the nation’s population was heavily urban (78%). By 2010, more than four of every five U.S. residents was living in an urban area. In some states, such as California (95%) and New Jersey (94.7%), nearly…
5. Non-NC Native Population by County Two of every five North Carolina residents (42%) were born in another state or country, but this ranges from 14% in Bertie County to 74% in Currituck. 4. Top 10 Non-English Languages Spoken in North Carolina After English, Spanish has long been the most common language spoken in North Carolina, but 4 new languages entered the top 10 over the past 3 decades. 3. Why do people move to…
Population in North Carolina, like the nation, and countries around the world, is increasingly clustered in urban areas. Half of the state’s population resides in 13 counties—all of which are within major metropolitan areas. In contrast, just 10% of North Carolina residents live in the 42 least populated counties in the state. As population shifts toward urban areas, these counties hold a steadily declining share of North Carolina residents. In 1920, nearly one in four…
“What many people don’t know about North Carolina is that we sell the largest number of Christmas trees of any state on the Eastern seaboard. In 2012, our growers cut nearly 4.3 million Christmas trees. Only Oregon growers cut and sold more trees that year.” – Dee Webb, Celebrating Old North State Agriculture From Thanksgiving turkeys and sweet potatoes to Christmas trees and poinsettias, North Carolina farmers have your holiday needs covered. Not only that,…
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