Economic Development Tiers
North and South Carolina counties receive yearly "tier" assessments, which rate their respective levels of economic development. North Carolina has a 3-tier system, and South Carolina has a 5-tier system. In either state the lower number describes counties that are typically rural and with the most economic distress while the higher tiers have the most development and are the least distressed.
Economic Development Tiers
North and South Carolina
Tier 1 counties typically experience a higher than average unemployment rate. Also, the median household income in Tier 1 counties is well below other counties.
Incentive programs are typically more generous in counties that are economically distressed.
|
North Carolina |
South Carolina | |
| Tier 1 | Alleghany Anson Beaufort Bertie Bladen Burke Caldwell Camden Caswell Clay Cleveland Columbus Cumberland Duplin Edgecombe Gates Graham Greene Halifax Hertford Hyde Jones Lenoir Martin McDowell Mitchell Montgomery Northampton Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rutherford Scotland Surry Tyrrell Vance Warren Washington Wayne Wilson Yancey |
Allendale Barnwell Chester Chesterfield Clarendon Dillon Hampton Lee Marion Marlboro McCormick Williamsburg |
| North Carolina | South Carolina | |
| Tier 2 | Alamance Alexander Ashe Avery Catawba Cherokee Chowan Craven Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Gaston Granville Harnett Hoke Jackson Lee Macon Madison Nash Onslow Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Sampson Stanly Stokes Swain Transylvania Watauga Wilkes Yadkin |
Abbeville |
| North Carolina | South Carolina | |
| Tier 3 | Brunswick Buncombe Cabarrus Carteret Chatham Durham Forsyth Franklin Guilford Haywood Henderson Iredell Johnston Lincoln Mecklenburg Moore New Hanover Orange Rowan Union Wake |
Calhoun Colleton Edgefield Georgetown Oconee Orangeburg Pickens Saluda Sumter |
| South Carolina | ||
| Tier 4 | Anderson Beaufort Charleston Darlington Florence Horry Newberry Spartanburg | |
| South Carolina | ||
| Tier 5 | Aiken Berkeley Dorchester Greenville Kershaw Lexington Richland York |
