RALEIGH
– North
Carolina’s technology economy isn’t just holding strong — it’s setting the pace.
The North Carolina Technology
Association (NC TECH)‘s
newly released 2026 State of the Technology
Industry Report
(commonly known as NC STIR) highlights a sector that continues to expand its
footprint, deepen its impact, and outperform much of the country across key
economic metrics.
“The
combination of investment, research, and an increasingly diverse workforce has
created a foundation for long-term competitiveness in North Carolina.”
— Ted Abernathy, Managing Partner, Economic Leadership LLC
Women lead, jobs multiply
The
report confirms what many in North Carolina’s innovation community have seen
firsthand: the tech industry remains a cornerstone of the state’s economic
vitality. Women now make up more than 37 percent of the state’s tech workforce,
giving North Carolina the #1 ranking nationally for gender representation in
technology.
The
state also ranked first in tech occupation growth from 2019–2024, signaling
steady expansion in career opportunities and employer demand. According to the
data, each new tech job supports an additional 2.24 jobs elsewhere in the
state, underscoring the industry’s ripple effect across other major sectors.
A competitive business climate
The
report also highlights the factors that continue to attract companies and
investors to North Carolina:
- #1 in effective business tax rates
- #4 in overall business climate
- #11 in venture capital investment per gross state product
- #5 in university research and development across science and technology
fields
Those
metrics reinforce North Carolina’s consistent top-tier performance in business
climate rankings.
Continued
growth and innovation
“The
data show that technology remains one of the state’s most powerful economic
drivers,” Abernathy said. “Innovation, skilled workers, and
collaboration across sectors are key to sustaining this momentum.”
The
report points to strong performance in migration, foreign direct investment,
new business starts, and university technology transfer, with North Carolina
ranking in the top 15 states nationwide across all four categories. As a
premier underwriter of the report, MetLife’s global tech hub in Cary
exemplifies this trend by harnessing North Carolina’s R&D strengths to fuel
innovation and workforce growth.
“MetLife
has been proud to call the Research Triangle home to our Global Technology Hub
for more than a decade. The findings of this report reinforce what our
associates who work here experience every day: North Carolina continues to be
one of the most dynamic and competitive tech ecosystems in the country — driven
by talent and innovation.”
— Bill Pappas, Head of Global Technology and Operations, MetLife
A resource for policy and planning
First
published in 2014, NC STIR serves as a comprehensive data source for
policymakers, business leaders, and economic developers shaping the state’s
innovation economy. The 2026 report was produced with support from Premier
underwriter MetLife, Lead underwriters Charter Communications and the State of
North Carolina, Associate underwriter Railinc, and Contributing underwriters
Dell Technologies, Deutsche Bank, and Wireside Communications.
The
full report, along with a Key
Findings summary,
is available at www.NCSTIR.com.
