CNBC just ranked North Carolina #2 for business and #1 for economy. The same study also ranked North Carolina #35 for cost of living, down from #23. That drop tells apartment investors more than the headline does.
On July 9, CNBC released its America’s Top States for Business 2026 study and North Carolina landed at #2 overall, with the #1 economy in the country. That makes five straight years in the top two. It is a real accomplishment, and it reflects a genuinely strong labor market, business climate, and growth trajectory.
North Carolina held #2 overall even as its cost-of-living rank fell from #23 to #35 in the same study. A twelve-place slide in one category, with almost no movement in the overall position, means the other categories improved enough to absorb it, led by the #1 economy. Housing is the largest single component of what cost of living measures, so that slide points to the same thing the economy ranking does: demand for housing here is running hot enough to lift costs even as the rest of the state’s numbers strengthen.
The People Are Already Here
Rising housing costs would ease if people were leaving. They are doing the opposite.
More people moved to North Carolina from other states last year than to any other state in the country, a net gain of roughly 84,000 residents in 2025. By overall population growth rate, it ranked third in the nation at about 1.3% for the year, now home to about 11.2 million people. That growth is concentrating in Mecklenburg County, anchored by Charlotte, and Wake County, anchored by Raleigh, both of which have now crossed one million residents.
Demand for housing in North Carolina is not a forecast waiting to be confirmed. It has already arrived, and it keeps arriving.
The Supply Side Cannot Answer
The other half of the equation is whether construction can keep pace. It cannot.
Bowen National Research projects a 764,000-unit housing gap for 2024 through 2029, a finding echoed by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and a 2026 executive order (Executive Order 36). The state has been building roughly 95,000 units a year, well short of the roughly 127,000 a year that gap implies.
The major metros added record numbers of units from 2023 through 2026, 9,228 in Raleigh alone, but new construction starts have since stopped. Demand is still absorbing what has already been delivered. To fill those units quickly, operators are offering concessions like a month or two of free rent. Those incentives pull down effective rents across the entire trade area. On paper, it reads as a soft urban rental market.
New housing construction starts stalled for straightforward reasons. Higher interest rates, elevated construction costs, and the depressed rents that come with lease-up have made new urban projects hard to pencil. The current over-supply narrative in the urban areas is likely to give way to a housing crisis, considering the continued migration to those areas and the lack of construction starts.
The pipeline already reflects that freeze. Raleigh’s deliveries are set to drop to roughly 6,000 units, about half of the 2025 pace, even as demand keeps compounding. As new supply thins, the rent forecasts turn back up: Matthews projects Charlotte returning to about 1.8% rent growth.
What This Adds Up To
A top-ranked economy that attracts businesses and creates jobs. In-migration leading the nation. A structural housing shortage that construction is not closing. Together they describe a durable, defensive case for apartment investment in North Carolina.
The rankings confirm what the migration and construction numbers already show. North Carolina is adding people and jobs faster than almost any state, and it is not building enough housing to keep up. For apartment investors, that combination of rising demand and constrained supply is the setup worth paying attention to over the next several years.
Sources:
- CNBC, America’s Top States for Business 2026, July 9, 2026 (North Carolina #2 overall, #1 economy at 317 of 415 points, #35 cost of living, down from #23): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/09/north-carolina-top-states-for-business-ranking.html
- Office of the Governor of North Carolina, on U.S. Census Bureau estimates (net domestic migration +84,000 and #1 nationally, third-fastest-growing state at 1.3%, population 11.2 million as of July 1, 2025), January 30, 2026: https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2026/01/30/north-carolina-ranked-top-state-domestic-migration-remains-third-fastest-growing-state-nation
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts county population estimates (Mecklenburg and Wake counties above one million residents): https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/mecklenburgcountynorthcarolina,wakecountynorthcarolina/PST045221
- Bowen National Research, North Carolina Housing Supply Analysis and Economic Impact Report, commissioned by the NC Chamber Foundation (764,000-unit housing gap, 2024 through 2029): https://ncchamber.com/foundation/nc-housing-analysis/
- North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, “New Research Shows North Carolina Has a 764,000 Unit Housing Gap”: https://www.nchfa.com/news/policy-matters-blog/new-research-shows-north-carolina-has-764000-unit-housing-gap
- Executive Order 36, Increasing Housing Opportunities for All North Carolinians (State of North Carolina, May 2026): https://governor.nc.gov/executive-order-no36-increasing-housing-opportunities-all-north-carolinians
- Matthews Real Estate Investment Services, Charlotte Multifamily Market Report Q1 2026 (rent growth forecast to turn positive at about +1.8% over the next 12 months): https://www.matthews.com/insights/charlotte-nc-multifamily-market-report-q1-2026
Doug Kline, PhD, has held income properties in North Carolina for more than 20 years. He holds a North Carolina broker’s license, and is a member of the National Association of Realtors and the Triangle Real Estate Investors Association. He holds an MBA and a PhD in business. In addition to his real estate activities, Doug enjoyed a successful career in academia, achieving the rank of Full Professor in the Cameron School of Business at UNC Wilmington. He was honored with research and teaching awards, served as Director of the MS Computer Science and Information Systems program, and was awarded the endowed position Distinguished Professor of Information Systems.