How many people are employed in North Carolina?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, North Carolina has 4,036,587 employees across 243,972 business establishments in 985 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in North Carolina?

The largest industries in North Carolina by employment are Limited-Service Restaurants (185,475), Full-Service Restaurants (179,683), and Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores (120,808).

What is the average payroll in North Carolina?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in North Carolina. The highest-paying tracked industry is Investment Banking and Securities Dealing at $289,250/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in North Carolina?

North Carolina has 243,972 business establishments across 985 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · NC · Census CBP 2023

North Carolina Industry Benchmarks

Name: North Carolina Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 985 industries in North Carolina. Drill into any industry for a North Carolina-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

4.0M
Workers: 244K
Establishments: 985
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · North Carolina

North Carolina employs 4,036,587 workers across 985 tracked industries, led by Limited-Service Restaurants (185,475 workers).

No single sector dominates North Carolina (lead 16%; top-three 41%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

North Carolina sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

North Carolina private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

North Carolina spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 16% of 4,036,587 private-sector workers (about the 82nd percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

NC breadth ledger · HHI 0.095
Sector	Workers	Share
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	641,503	16%
Retail Trade (44)	535,341	13%
Accommodation and Food Services (72)	477,208	12%
Top-three cumulative 41% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns NC DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#9/51 · 4,036,587 workers · 243,972 firms

EMP 4,036,587
EST 243,972
RANK #9/51
PCT 82nd pct
LEAD Health Care and Soci…
SHARE 16% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 16.5 /firm
BOOK 985 NAICS
PHOTO Michigan

Nearest employment-scale peer: Michigan (4,012,577 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, North Carolina ranks #9 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	185,475	8,502	$3.5B	$18,877/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	179,683	8,543	$4.4B	$24,319/yr
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores NAICS 445110	120,808	2,007	$3.1B	$25,314/yr
Temporary Help Services NAICS 561320	108,584	1,403	$5.0B	$46,025/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	65,432	8,995	$1.7B	$26,570/yr
General Warehousing and Storage NAICS 493110	47,292	469	$2.0B	$42,877/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	45,037	3,973	$2.8B	$61,905/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	42,258	1,928	$1.3B	$30,272/yr
Home Health Care Services NAICS 621610	40,907	1,376	$1.4B	$34,286/yr
Elementary and Secondary Schools NAICS 611110	36,815	674	$1.4B	$39,008/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	36,326	705	$2.8B	$77,718/yr
Child Day Care Services NAICS 624410	35,736	2,612	$988.6M	$27,665/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	34,768	489	$1.6B	$44,710/yr
Offices of Dentists NAICS 621210	32,715	3,551	$2.2B	$68,355/yr
Couriers and Express Delivery Services NAICS 492110	32,530	345	N/A	N/A
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) NAICS 541715	32,238	480	$4.1B	$126,991/yr
Janitorial Services NAICS 561720	31,655	2,277	$834.3M	$26,355/yr
Landscaping Services NAICS 561730	31,542	4,361	$1.4B	$44,669/yr
Engineering Services NAICS 541330	31,540	1,779	$3.1B	$99,809/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	31,006	3,089	$1.9B	$62,807/yr

Breadth peers near North Carolina's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (4,036,587 in North Carolina), excluding NC.

Michigan 4,012,577 New Jersey 3,923,631 Georgia 4,374,151 Virginia 3,566,772 Massachusetts 3,473,172 Ohio 4,867,738 Tennessee 2,971,191 Arizona 2,864,269

Disclaimer: North Carolina (NC) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about North Carolina businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · NC

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for North Carolina (NC). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →