Estimated 2004 population: 8,541,221

Change from 2000: +491,908

2004 housing units: 3,860,078

Housing units change from 2000-2004: +315,635

Top North Carolina Cities

Asheville | Charlotte | Durham | Fayetteville | Greensboro | Greenville | Raleigh | Wilmington

2006 North Carolina Housing Trends

According to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the house price index for the state rose 8.1 percent in 2005. Median home prices rose by nearly $10,400 last year, which was a record increase and well above the $4,339 average over the last 25 years. Home prices in the Wilmington metropolitan area appreciated most rapidly with an increase of almost $19,000.

Although home price appreciation accelerated in 2005, housing remains comparatively affordable. According to the National Association of Homebuilders-Wells Fargo Housing opportunity index, just 41 percent of homes nationwide are considered affordable for all U.S. households, well over 60 percent of homes sold in the state’s largest metropolitan areas (Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh) would be considered affordable for a families living in these markets.

North Carolina Economy

North Carolina leads the nation in the production of tobacco and is a major producer of textiles and furniture. It grows 40% of all U.S. tobacco, but the continuing trend is toward diversification.

Broilers, hogs, turkeys, greenhouse products, sweet potatoes, corn, soybeans, peanuts, and eggs are important. Plentiful forests supply the thriving furniture and lumber industries.

The state has long been a major textile manufacturer, producing cotton, synthetic, and silk goods as well as various kinds of knit items. Other leading manufactures are electrical machinery, computers, and chemicals; the Research Triangle complex near Chapel Hill has spurred high-tech manufacturing, as well as bringing federal jobs into the state.

The state also has mineral resources: It leads the nation in the production of feldspar, mica, and lithium materials and produces substantial quantities of olivine, crushed granite, talc, clays, and phosphate rock.

There are valuable coastal fisheries, with shrimp, menhaden, and crabs the principal catches. Charlotte developed in the 1980s into a major U.S. banking center, and related businesses have flourished in the area.

North Carolina Attractions

North Carolina, in the warm temperate zone, has a generally mild climate, with abundant and well distributed rainfall. The state's congenial climate, its many miles of beaches, and its beautiful mountains attract large numbers of visitors and vacationers each year.

Chief among the tourist attractions are the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Cape Lookout National Seashore, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Wildlife abounds in national forests (the state has four) and in the Dismal Swamp. Places of historic interest include Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, on Roanoke Island; the Wright Brothers National Memorial, at Kitty Hawk; Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, at Flatrock; and Guilford Courthouse and Moores Creek national military parks.