Growth recipe: Raleigh-Durham has all the ingredients for a sustained rise up the economic ladder The Raleigh-Durham market is also known as the Triangle, a reference to the three prestigious universities of Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. The educational institutions’ steady outpouring of talent, in addition to population growth through migration, has set the region up as one of the country’s most promising business locations for national and multinational companies. Since 2010, Raleigh has been the fastest-growing Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA - including Cary) behind only Austin, registering a growth rate of 23%, far outpacing the U.S. average of 12.6%. Sixty-nine percent of that growth was through net migration, highlighting the region’s attractiveness as a relocation destination. Why is the Triangle so attractive? Raleigh’s economy has experienced exponential growth since 2009, climbing from $50.6 million that year to $94.8 million in 2019. The state of North Carolina itself consistently makes the shortlists of business rankings and 2020 was no different. In Business Facilities’ latest list, the state came in eighth in the country in workforce development and talent attraction, fifth in terms of business climate, ninth in manufacturing employment, sixth in manufacturing output as a percentage of GDP 12
| Invest: Raleigh-Durham 2021 | ECONOMY
and 10th in FDI and Opportunity Zones. In the same rankings, Raleigh-Durham ranked seventh in the country for its startup ecosystem and Raleigh ranked sixth nationally as a tech hub. The city was also the GDP leader in midsized MSAs. Landscape The Raleigh-Durham-Cary combined statistical area spans nine counties: Chatham, Franklin, Durham, Granville, Johnston, Lee, Person, Wake and Vance. Raleigh is one of the country’s first examples of a planned city, laid out in a grid format. After post-war hardships based on the region’s dependence on agriculture, the Research Triangle Park (RTP) was established in 1959, creating thousands of jobs and turning the region into one of the most dynamic economies in the country. The population of Raleigh almost doubled from 1950 to 1970, reaching almost 123,000 from 65,000. The trend carried on, as the city reached 276,000 by 2000 and 404,000 by 2010. Raleigh’s innovation was teamed with Durham’s manufacturing might due to its history in tobacco and textiles. Durham also plays a role within medical R&D with its prestigious universities Duke and North Carolina Central.( )
