RALEIGH – For the second year in a row, three North Carolina metropolitan statistical areas rank among the top 30 regions of the United States for technology innovation.  Durham-Chapel Hill ranks sixth overall and Raleigh-Cary is eighth.

Charlotte ranks 28th.

The analysis, known as the Tech Innovation Index, compares each of North Carolina’s ten largest metropolitan statistical areas and benchmarks them against the top 100 largest areas by population of the United States across three dimensions: technology worker supply, technology worker demand, and innovation.

“This second annual Tech Innovation Index ranks over 100 metros around the country including ten within North Carolina, with a focus on availability of tech talent, demand for that talent, and general innovation metrics,” said Brooks Raiford, CEO of NC TECH, which commissioned the analysis, conducted by Economic Leadership.  “There was some slight shifting in overall rank for some of the NC metros, with the Triangle and Charlotte areas continuing to place in the top tier.”

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Durham ranks 6th – again

The Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan statistical area ranked sixth overall, for the second year in a row.  The region, which according to the study’s authors, ranks 90th in total population among all U.S. metropolitan regions, is first in the nation for business-funded higher education research and development, ranked third for innovation, seventh for tech worker demand, and ninth for tech worker supply.

In particular, the region scored high for its research and development funding, as measured by the percentage of gross area product, finishing first in the nation across multiple funding categories, according to the analysis.

Durham has seen “really explosive growth,” said Ted Abernathy, the managing partner of Economic Leadership, who compiled the data for the report. But it’s not the only region in the state that’s seen an increase in workers, said Abernathy, adding that many of the state’s regions are seeing an increase in population and an increase in tech workers as companies continue to add jobs in the region and compete for talent.

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Raleigh ranks 8th

The Raleigh-Cary metropolitan statistical area ranked eighth overall in the 2022 index, dropping one spot from the region’s seventh-place ranking in the 2021 inaugural index released a year ago.

One of the reasons for the drop in the overall ranking index is that Raleigh ranked 17th in the nation for tech worker demand last year, but dropped to 22nd in this category in 2022.

“Raleigh showed a slight decline in online posting demand compared to the previous year’s analysis,” said Abernathy in an interview with WRAL TechWire.

Raleigh, Durham rank in top 3 in U.S. for innovation

Image from NC TECH 2022 Tech Innovation Index

Still, Raleigh finished ranked second in the nation for innovation and sixth for tech worker supply.  In fact, both Triangle metro areas performed better in 2022 on the index that tracks tech worker supply, as both Durham and Raleigh ranked two spots higher compared to last year.

“Raleigh and Durham saw increases to their index values for tech supply in addition to the bump in rankings. This was driven by an increase in resident workers per capita,” said Abernathy, noting that more workers are now living in the area than a year ago.

“Durham bumped up in the rankings across most of the metrics in this group,” said Abernathy. “This is a testament to the highly educated workforce present in both metros.”

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Charlotte again ranked in Top 30

Charlotte, meanwhile, ranked 28th in the new report.

That’s a drop of one spot from the 2021 rankings, and the region, which spans the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metropolitan statistical area, is the 22nd most populous region in the United States, according to the report.

Charlotte ranked 24th for tech worker supply, 21st for tech worker demand, but 73rd for innovation.

Still, said Abernathy, it’s unusual that three metropolitan regions in the same state would rank among the top 30 in the nation, with California the only other state where there are three regions ranked in the top 30.

While Durham and Raleigh both ranked highly for innovation, other North Carolina metros could improve, based on the analysis.

“Overall, the NC metros did not score as high on the entrepreneurship metrics like business applications, patents, and business dynamism,” said Abernathy.  “The data would indicate entrepreneurship would improve their scores.”

This analysis was not an entrepreneurial study, noted Abernathy, and the report does not suggest specific remedies.

“Entrepreneurial ecosystems are complicated and involve everything from specifics in business climate like regulation and taxes to availability of affordable startup space, to risk capital and local acceptance of business failure,” said Abernathy.

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Wilmington, Winston-Salem jump up the rankings

Wilmington ranked 54th in the 2022 analysis, a jump of six spots from last year’s report, despite ranking 162nd in terms of population size.

“Wilmington jumped six spots,” said Abernathy in a virtual presentation on Wednesday morning. “Given the size of Wilmington, that’s a big jump.”

Part of the gains made by Wilmington include higher individual metric rankings in STEM degrees per capita, cost of living adjusted wages, SBIR funding, and business funded research and development.

And another gainer in this year’s report?  Winston-Salem, which finished ranked 82nd in the nation in the 2022 index, an increase of eight spots from a year ago.

“Winston-Salem saw gains in resident tech workers, tech worker diversity, job posting demand, and higher education research and development,” said Abernathy.

Greenville, North Carolina, which was not included in the 2021 analysis given the population size, was included in this year’s report, as population growth boosted the region to join North Carolina’s top 10 most populous metropolitan statistical areas in 2022.

And Greenville ranked 73rd overall, despite having the nation’s 258th largest population.

“Most of the North Carolina metros are moving in the right direction,” said Abernathy, citing recent business climate rankings, adding that he expects many of the state’s metropolitan areas to rise in the index rankings over the next five years.  “Technology is permeating everything,” he noted.