North Carolina Business by the Numbers: 2026 Company Breakdown

Key findings

• North Carolina ranks 7th nationally with 1,948,277 companies — 3.0% of all 64,799,929 U.S. companies in the directory.
• Charlotte is the state’s largest business hub, with 245,068 companies — 12.6% of every company in North Carolina.
• Business is concentrated in a few metros: Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro together hold 25.0% of the state’s companies.
• Industrial & mechanical leads the state’s industries at 576,478 companies (29.6%), across 9 tracked sectors.

How North Carolina ranks nationally

North Carolina and its closest neighbours by total company count. Select a state to open its own study.

Top North Carolina cities by number of companies

These 10 cities account for 42.0% of all companies in North Carolina. Select any city to browse its full company list.

Browse all North Carolina companies →

North Carolina companies by industry

Every company is classified by its primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes. Select a sector to see those North Carolina companies.

What the numbers show

North Carolina’s 1,948,277 companies place it 7th nationally, 3.0% of the U.S. total. Activity clusters in its largest metros — Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro alone account for 25.0% of the state’s companies — while industrial & mechanical is the dominant sector at 29.6%. For buyers and sellers, that means the deepest pools of suppliers and manufacturers sit in a handful of cities and one or two sectors; the charts above link straight into each so you can shortlist by capability and region.

Methodology

Figures reflect companies listed in Factur’s U.S. business directory as of 2026, classified by headquarters city and primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes. “Companies” includes manufacturers, suppliers, and B2B businesses of all sizes; counts are directory totals, not official census figures, and percentages are computed against the North Carolina directory total. Data compiled by Factur, a sales and marketing firm for B2B manufacturers.