North Carolina produces an enormous range of goods, from sweet potatoes and hogs to solar energy and gene therapies. The state’s agriculture and agribusiness sector alone has an economic impact of $111.1 billion annually, but farming is just one piece of a diverse economy that spans advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, furniture, textiles, forestry, and a fast-growing clean energy industry.
Sweet Potatoes, Tobacco, and Row Crops
North Carolina is the nation’s top producer of sweet potatoes by a wide margin. The state harvested nearly 130 million pounds in 2024, with most of the crop concentrated in the sandy soils of the eastern coastal plain. Tobacco remains a signature crop as well, though production has declined from its historic peak. The state also grows significant quantities of corn, soybeans, wheat, and blueberries.
Hogs, Turkeys, and Poultry
Livestock is a major driver of North Carolina’s agricultural economy. The state had 7.9 million hogs in inventory as of late 2025, placing it among the top two hog-producing states alongside Iowa. Turkey production reached 28 million birds, consistently ranking North Carolina as the nation’s second-largest turkey producer. Broiler chickens add further volume, and the eastern part of the state is especially dense with poultry and hog operations.
Furniture Manufacturing
North Carolina has the largest furniture manufacturing workforce in the United States, with more than 35,000 employees across roughly 3,000 establishments. Cities like High Point, Hickory, and Thomasville built this reputation over more than a century. While some mass production has shifted overseas, the state still anchors the domestic furniture industry, particularly in custom, high-end, and contract commercial furniture. High Point hosts the world’s largest home furnishings trade show twice a year, drawing buyers from around the globe.
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
The Research Triangle region (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill) is one of the largest biopharmaceutical manufacturing hubs in the country. Facilities across the area produce a wide range of medical products: traditional drug tablets, monoclonal antibodies used in cancer treatment, industrial enzymes, and vaccines. In recent years, the region has attracted major investments in next-generation therapies. Novartis operates a Durham facility manufacturing a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. Pfizer has built an advanced therapy facility in Durham as well. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies expanded its contract manufacturing center in Research Triangle Park, and Toyota-affiliated suppliers aren’t the only ones building billion-dollar facilities in the state.
This cluster benefits from proximity to three major research universities, a deep talent pipeline, and decades of state investment through the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Cell and gene therapies, once confined to research labs, are now being commercially manufactured in the Triangle.
Solar Energy
North Carolina ranked fourth in the nation in solar generating capacity in 2023, with nearly 6,600 megawatts installed, and fifth in total solar power generation. That’s a remarkable position for a state that isn’t in the desert Southwest. Much of this capacity sits on rural land in the eastern part of the state, where large-scale solar farms feed electricity into the grid. State policies encouraging renewable energy adoption helped drive this expansion.
Christmas Trees and Forestry
The mountain counties of western North Carolina are the country’s primary source of Fraser fir Christmas trees. The state produces about 20% of all Christmas trees sold nationally, making it the second-largest producer in the country by both tree count and cash receipts. The Christmas tree industry alone is valued at $125 to $250 million per year, depending on the season. Beyond holiday trees, North Carolina’s forestry sector feeds into lumber, paper products, and wood pellet manufacturing.
Textiles and Advanced Fabrics
North Carolina was once the heart of American textile manufacturing, and while traditional mills have largely closed, the state has pivoted toward technical and specialized fabrics. NC State University hosts the first accredited academic program in engineered fabrics in the world, and the state is a leader in nonwoven research. Modern North Carolina textile operations produce materials used in medical supplies, automotive interiors, filtration systems, and industrial applications rather than the cotton shirts and denim of decades past.
Electric Vehicle Batteries
North Carolina is becoming a significant player in EV battery production. Toyota began manufacturing at its $13.9 billion battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina, on an 1,850-acre site that can produce 30 gigawatt-hours of battery capacity annually at full scale. Additional production lines are scheduled to come online by 2030. This single facility represents one of the largest industrial investments in state history and positions North Carolina as a hub for the electrified vehicle supply chain.
Food and Beverage Processing
Much of what North Carolina grows never leaves the state before it’s processed. The food and beverage processing sector transforms raw hogs into packaged pork, turkeys into deli meat, sweet potatoes into frozen fries, and local grains into animal feed. This processing activity is a major reason the state’s total agriculture and agribusiness impact reaches $111 billion. North Carolina also has a growing craft brewing and distilling scene, with hundreds of breweries and distilleries operating statewide.