State scorecard
North Carolina in the US Political Rank
Every place North Carolina holds across our state rankings, in one scorecard. Economy, taxes, education, crime, healthcare, and more, each measured the same way for all 50 states and each linked to the full cited ranking.
#1
of 50 on Voting With Their Feet: States Ranked by Migration and Population Growth
#38
of 50 on States Ranked by Health Care Outcomes
50.9%
Governor Josh Stein performance score, rank 19 of 50
10
state rankings that score North Carolina
Governor
North Carolina's governor, Josh Stein (Democrat), holds performance rank 19 of 50 at 50.9% this week in the Governor Performance Rankings, scored on 263 metrics and updated every Monday.
| Ranking | North Carolina's place | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Voting With Their Feet: States Ranked by Migration and Population GrowthThe number one destination in America, with a net gain of 84,064 domestic migrants in the year ending July 2025, plus total population growth of 1.3 percent, third fastest in the nation (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025). | #1 of 50 | 98.0 |
| States Ranked by Business Climate: What the Major Raters Agree OnCNBC's top state for business in 2025, its third win in four years, on workforce and economic strength (CNBC, 2025). One of only two states with significant job growth in the year through May 2026, up 61,800 jobs (BLS, 2026). | #2 of 25 | 95.1 |
| Ranking the 50 State Economies of 2026One of only two states with a statistically significant job gain over the year ending May 2026, up 61,800 jobs or 1.2 percent (BLS, 2026). Also the nation's top destination for net domestic migration at 84,064 movers (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025). | #5 of 50 | 89.9 |
| The 2026 Battleground States, RankedThe Cooper-Whatley Senate race is the cycle's most likely flip, rated Lean Democrat by Cook (June 11, 2026) and Leans Democratic by Sabato's Crystal Ball (Cook Political Report, 2026; Sabato's Crystal Ball, 2026). North Carolina has voted Republican for president in every election since 2012 while electing Democratic governors in the same years, the sharpest sustained ticket split in the country (official returns). | #5 of 15 | 8.3 |
| States Ranked by Infrastructure ConditionFourth overall in the Reason Foundation's 29th Annual Highway Report (Reason Foundation). | #6 of 25 | 93.7 |
| States Ranked by Total Tax BurdenA flat individual income tax reduced again on January 1, 2026 (Tax Foundation, 2026), part of a decade of cuts that accompanied its rise to the nation's top migration destination (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025). | #24 of 50 | 72.8 |
| States Ranked by Dependence on Federal MoneyLarge military installations such as Fort Bragg support a favorable spending inflow against a growing, higher-income tax base (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | #27 of 50 | 67.6 |
| States Ranked by Violent Crime Rate375.8 per 100,000 with a murder rate of 7.5, a violent crime rate just above the national average (FBI, 2024). | #32 of 50 | 375.8 |
| States Ranked by K-12 Education OutcomesBelow the national average in reading with math nearer the average on the 2024 assessments (NCES, NAEP 2024). | #34 of 50 | 72.9 |
| States Ranked by Health Care OutcomesA Southern state with below-average life expectancy whose late 2023 Medicaid expansion had not yet moved the coverage numbers in this data (Commonwealth Fund, 2025; CDC NCHS, 2023). | #38 of 50 | 66.8 |
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