Popular Searches
North Carolina was awarded the Platinum Shovel today by Area Development, the publication’s highest honor for economic development success on a statewide level.
Area Development began awarding the Platinum Shovel in 2023, and this is the third time North Carolina has won the award after previous wins in 2023 and 2025. The publication said North Carolina won the Platinum Shovel this year due to its extraordinary diversity of investment activity, buoyed by JetZero announcing it has chosen North Carolina to build a $4.7 billion facility that will create 14,500 jobs in Greensboro.
“North Carolina’s success story isn’t concentrated in one single industry,” said Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “Whether a company operates in financial services, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, technology, or logistics, it can find the workforce and business environment it needs to grow here. The breadth of companies expanding in North Carolina – along with the talent pools, supply chains, and industry ecosystems born from this diversity – is one of our greatest competitive advantages.”
Last year, more than 33,600 new jobs and $24.2 billion worth of capital investment were announced in North Carolina – both of which were all-time records. Area Development also recognized several North Carolina projects with Project of the Year honors, including JetZero, Jabil, and Vulcan Elements in the Manufacturing category; Scout Motors in the Non-Manufacturing category; and Amazon Web Services in the Data Center category.
This marks the latest economic development accolade North Carolina has earned recently. In the past year, the state has also been named the No. 1 state for business by CNBC, No. 1 state for workforce development by Site Selection Magazine, and the 2025 State of the Year by Business Facilities.
About the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) is a private nonprofit corporation that serves as North Carolina’s statewide economic development organization. Governed by an 18-member board of business and industry leaders from across the state, the EDPNC focuses on business and job recruitment, existing industry support, international trade, tourism and film marketing. The EDPNC, which operates under contract with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, works closely with public- and private-sector partners at the state, regional and local levels. To learn more, visit www.edpnc.com.