For the second year in a row, North Carolina was named by CNBC as America’s Top State for Business in 2023. As governor, I am proud that our state has once again been recognized as a premier destination for dynamic and innovative companies to invest and create great jobs. We all get to share the credit for this honor, but real credit is due to our well-trained, dedicated and diverse workforce. Indeed, CNBC also ranked North Carolina’s workforce number one, and it’s the working people of this state that make our economy grow and thrive.

North Carolina has the largest manufacturing workforce in the Southeast and the best public and private university and community college systems in the country. We have three Tier-1 research universities, the most four-year historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the country, and a network of 58 community colleges dedicated to preparing our people for the workforce of tomorrow. North Carolina also boasts an affordable cost of living and lower business costs in a friendly and beautiful state with something for everyone.

Companies know that North Carolina is a top state for business, and the number of projects the state welcomed in 2023 is evidence of that. Our project wins in 2023 brought our state 14,114 good-paying jobs and more than $12.9 billion dollars in capital investment. Toyota announced a fourth expansion for its Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina facility in Liberty. The additional $8 billion and 3,000 jobs announced bring the project’s total to $13.9 billion and 5,000 jobs, creating arguably the largest clean energy investment in the country and further paving the way for North Carolina’s leadership in the electric vehicle industry.

We saw tremendous growth through the clean energy and electric vehicle industries including Epsilon Advanced Materials’ choice of Brunswick County for its first manufacturing site in the United States to produce synthetic graphite for use in batteries; Kempower’s decision to locate a manufacturing facility in Durham County to build charging stations for electric vehicles; and Dai Nippon Printing Company’s selection of Davidson County for a new electric manufacturing facility serving the EV battery market.

Project activity in our state has remained consistent over the past three years, though 2023 was not without the challenges stemming from macroeconomic factors like higher costs and interest rates, which particularly affect manufacturers. Despite these challenges, North Carolina has remained a top business destination due to its highly skilled workforce, top-notch education systems, and business-friendly climate.

North Carolina’s successes are rooted in the partnerships among our state, regional, and local partners including the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the North Carolina General Assembly, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and other regional economic development and private-sector organizations that support our efforts.

Thanks to this team effort, North Carolina will continue to pursue its goal of being first in opportunity, so that all North Carolinians can share our economic success and have lives of purpose and abundance.