RALEIGH – North Carolina ranks ninth among states for overall innovation capacity in the state’s 2026 Tracking Innovation report, its first top-10 finish.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce released the report Thursday on behalf of the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation. The tenth edition since 2000 evaluates the state using 41 measures and says North Carolina’s innovation economy has improved faster than the nation overall since the early 2000s.
The report ranks North Carolina fifth among states for both academic research-and-development spending and academic article output. Since 2000, university licensing income increased 149 percent and university startup formation rose 9.8 percent, according to Commerce.
Federal SBIR and STTR funding for North Carolina early-stage technology companies grew seven times faster than the national average over that period. Knowledge- and technology-intensive business establishments increased 111 percent, nearly twice the U.S. rate, and those establishments pay average wages about double those of all establishments.
The report also identifies gaps. Broadband and device access remain uneven, public elementary and secondary school spending trails national averages and most states, and economic growth, wages and workforce incomes continue to lag the national average.
Other innovation rankings use different methods and produce different results. WalletHub ranked North Carolina 14th among the 50 states and District of Columbia in March using 25 indicators, while the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation ranked the state 23rd among 201 U.S. and European regions in a report released Tuesday. The differences reflect distinct measures and weighting, rather than a direct contradiction of the state’s ninth-place result.
Image credit: NC Business Desk graphic.