Halfway between Connecticut and Florida, North Carolina offers residents and visitors the best of all environments.  Thousands of people have moved to North Carolina to attend college or take a temporary assignment only to find themselves living here 30 years later.  The moderate climate allows warm weather outdoor activities year-round, while mountain regions offer skiing and other winter activities.  Golfers, for instance, never put their clubs away in the Piedmont or Coastal regions of North Carolina.  Tennis players wear shorts and cotton shirts year-round.

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Halfway between Connecticut and Florida, North Carolina offers residents and visitors the best of all environments.  Thousands of people have moved to North Carolina to attend college or take a temporary assignment only to find themselves living here 30 years later.  The moderate climate allows warm weather outdoor activities year-round, while mountain regions offer skiing and other winter activities.  Golfers, for instance, never put their clubs away in the Piedmont or Coastal regions of North Carolina.  Tennis players wear shorts and cotton shirts year-round.
 

Population

North Carolina's capital is Raleigh and its biggest city is Charlotte, known primarily as the banking capital of The South.  Bank of America is headquartered in Charlotte as is BB&T.  Wachovia was headquartered in Charlotte until purchased by Wells Fargo in 2008.  It still is a major employer in Charlotte. Charlotte is the second largest banking center in The United States.

Over the last decade, North Carolina has been the fourth fastest growing state in The United States.  Its population exceeds 9,000,000 residents.  The population has grown about 14% since 2000.

North Carolina is approximately 300 miles wide, with elevations ranging from sea level to 6,684 feet in the mountains.  The vast majority of residents are less than three hours from terrific beaches and mountains, allowing extremely diverse outdoor activities and climates for everyone.
 

Geographic Regions

Most people think of North Carolina as having three major regions:  The Coastal Plain, The Piedmont and The Appalachian Mountains.  The Appalachian Mountain Range includes The Great Smokey Mountains, The Blue Ridge Mountains, The Great Balsam Mountains and The Black Mountains.  The eastern most part of the state includes the historic Outer Banks, which are a narrow band of barrier islands, best known as the area where the Wright Brothers first took flight.  The mountains and the beaches of North Carolina offer majestic scenery, while the central part of North Carolina is highly populated and industrialized.

Taxes

North Carolina has a progressive income tax ranging from 6% to 8.25%.  The base state sales tax is 4.25% and all counties charge at least an additional 2.5% on sales.  Property taxes in North Carolina are assessed by counties and cities.  The three areas of property tax in North Carolina include 1) real property, 2) motor vehicle, and 3) personal property.   With total taxes in North Carolina averaging 10.5% on individuals, North Carolina's state and local tax burden is ranked 23rd highest in the nation, putting its tax burden very much in the middle for all states nationally.
 

Commerce 

While North Carolina has  not escaped the recession, the economies of many areas in this state have been far more stable that other areas across the country.  For instance, The Milken Institute recently ranked Durham, NC as the sixth "Best Performing Large Cities" in the United States, and Raleigh-Cary as the 10th best for 2009.  Major employers like IBM in Research Triangle Park, along with the stability offered by technology start-ups and colleges and universities attribute to a robust economy in the state.  Universities like The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Duke University in Durham and North Carolina State in Raleigh are major contributors to the economy here.  Elsewhere in North Carolina, Davidson College in Charlotte; Elon University and Wake Forest in The Triad; and a wide array of private and public colleges and universities are stable resources for the state.  The continued shift of population from the northern states has also helped maintain growth in North Carolina.
 

Spectator Sports

Know largely for its great ACC college sports rivalries for decades, North Carolina now boasts major professional teams in football, hockey and basketball.  The Carolina Panthers of the NFL and the Charlotte Bobcats are in Charlotte.  The Carolina Hurricanes, who won The Stanley Cup in 2007, reside in Raleigh. 

The University of North Carolina Tarheels and the Duke Blue Devils have each recently won two NCAA national championships.  North Carolina State last won the national championship in the early 1980's.  Competition among fans in North Carolina is intense in all sports, with basketball and football being the primary drivers.  Wake Forest has had great success in basketball and football recently, as has Appalachian State, which won national football championships in NCAA Division III.
 

Public Schools

The State of North Carolina provides 70 percent of public school funding, with most of the money designated for professional salaries.  The Education Lottery was implemented in 2007 and raises funds for public education.  The remainder of funding comes from the 100 counties in North Carolina.  In 2003, the state average expenditure per pupil was $6,284.
 

The Arts

Universities throughout the state of North Carolina provide great depth for The Arts.  The major metro areas of North Carolina each have significant professional theaters, with Raleigh having Memorial Auditorium seating 2,000 patrons, the brand new Durham Performing Arts Center seating approximately 2,400 and The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte.

North Carolina has nine major art museums located in the major cities, plus smaller galleries and museums in cities such as Asheville, Wilmington and Greenville.

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