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DMJPS CPAs + Advisors Releases Its North Carolina Economic Report – 4th Quarter 2025

DMJPS CPAs + Advisors recently released its fourth quarter 2025 economic update across North Carolina’s fifteen metro areas.

Employment, average hourly wages, and taxable retail sales each reached new highs in the fourth quarter. At the same time, housing indicators showed signs of softening, with slower price appreciation and moderating permit activity.

Highlights include: 

  • In the fourth quarter of 2025, North Carolina’s employment averaged 5,151,200 jobs, climbing to another high point. 
  • Fourth quarter employment growth exceeded the statewide year-over-year rate of 1.7 percent in several metros, including Charlotte (2.8%), Wilmington (2.1%), Durham–Chapel Hill (2.0%), Asheville (1.8%), and Greenville (1.8%). 
  • By industry, education and health services continued to lead job growth in the fourth quarter, adding 22,200 jobs year over year, followed by professional and business services, which added 20,200 jobs. 
  • The state’s average hourly wage reached $34.51 in the fourth quarter, the highest quarterly average since 2007 and up 4.3 percent year-over-year, with Charlotte leading the 15 metros at $37.73. 
  • North Carolina’s annual house price appreciation rate was 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter, slightly below the national rate of 3.4 percent. 
  • Both units and total value moderated in the most recent quarters, with new residential building permit activity totaling 16,843 units in the fourth quarter, valued at $4.6 billion.
  • The state’s taxable retail sales totaled $66 billion in the fourth quarter, marking a new quarterly high.
  • Special feature, North Carolina Employment Rate: According to the US. Census Bureau, the state’s employment rate was estimated at 59.8 percent in 2024, up from 58.4 percent in 2019.

View the full report and analysis here.