How Ya Doing There NC? Quite Well, Thank You | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Beckie Gray, for the John Locke Foundation.

    North Carolina's economy continues to recover and grow at a faster and stronger rate than others in our region and in the nation as whole. NC is a national model in reforms that work. Since 2013, 300,000 net new jobs, unemployment rate cut in half, incomes up.

    Today's news from the US Census about US household income growth is good, but it's even better news for NC.

• In the past year US median household income grew 5.47%, while NC's grew 6.80% (ranked 14th). Over the past two years NC's median household growth was ranked 11th.
• Even better, over the past three years (which encompasses NC's 10 quarters of superior per capita income growth) NC recorded the highest (#1) median household income growth in the US. NC's median household income grew 22.25% since the beginning of 2013. The US figure grew 10.78% over the same period.
• In contrast, since reaching its highest comparative level in 1997, between 1997 and 2012 NC's median household income growth was 39th in the US.
• In 2012 NC's median household income ranked 46th in the US. In 2015 NC ranked 37th.
• NC median household income in 2015 is still $6k behind the US. But the gap is closing. In 2012 the gap was $10k.

    If this is what transformational reforms in lower taxes, fewer regulations, restrained spending and smart investments does for our economy - Yes, more please.