Iredell County Ranked #1 in the Charlotte Metro for Economic Growth and Sixth in North Carolina, Up 10.3% to $9.5 Billion
From Ty West – Editor-in-Chief, The Playbook, The Charlotte Business Journal, Feb 23, 2023
Mecklenburg County tallied North Carolina’s highest gross domestic product in 2021 — at $109.7 billion, but it lagged behind in terms of growth.
Mecklenburg County saw GDP growth of 6% from 2020 to 2021 — 51st in the state. There were several counties in the local metro area that posted a higher GDP growth rate between 2020 and 2021 than did Charlotte. That includes Cabarrus and Iredell counties, which had among the fastest-growing GDPs in North Carolina during that year span.
Here’s how counties in the Charlotte metro ranked in terms of GDP growth from 2020 to 2021:
Chester County: up 3.5% to $1.1 billion — ranking 30th in South Carolina
Anson County: up 5.2% to $728.9 million — ranking 61st in North Carolina
Lancaster County: up 5.2% to $3.5 billion — ranking 21st in South Carolina
Mecklenburg County: up 6% to $109.7 billion — ranking 51st in North Carolina
Lincoln County: up 6.8% to $2.8 billion — ranking 42nd in North Carolina
York County: up 6.8% to $12 billion — ranking 16th in South Carolina
Rowan County: up 7.3% to $5.1 billion — ranking 35th in North Carolina
Union County: up 7.9% to $7.8 billion — ranking 24th in North Carolina
Gaston County: up 8.4% to $7.1 billion — ranking 15th in North Carolina
Cabarrus County: up 9.5% to $7.6 billion — ranking seventh in North Carolina
Iredell County: up 10.3% to $9.5 billion — ranking sixth in North Carolina
Trailing Mecklenburg in terms of highest GDP in North Carolina were Wake County, at $83.8 billion; and Durham, at $36.5 billion. These five counties posted the highest year-over-year GDP growth in the state for 2021, respectively: Jones (up 32.5% to $211.8 million); Stokes (up 17.4% to $1.1 billion); Greene (up 12.5% to $444 million); Duplin (up 11.3% to $2.2 billion); and Sampson (up 10.6% to $1.9 billion).
The state as a whole saw its GDP increase 7% over that year to $541.9 billion.
In South Carolina, Greenville had the highest GDP as of 2021 — at $30.5 billion, followed closely by Charleston, at $29.7 billion; and Richland, at $23.3 billion. The five counties in that state with the highest economic growth from 2020 to 2021 were Horry (up 9.8% to $13 billion); Laurens (up 9.6% to $2.1 billion); Newberry (up 8.8% to $1.4 billion); Kershaw (up 8.8% to $1.9 billion); and Beaufort (up 8.5% to $8 billion).
South Carolina’s GDP totaled $221 billion in 2021 — up 6.2% from the previous year.
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