Nicknamed “Old North State” and “Tar Heel State” located in America’s southeastern region, North Carolina shipped US$43.8 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That dollar amount results from an 8.9% gain from $40.2 billion back in 2022.

Year over year, the overall value of North Carolinian exports grew by 1.7% compared to $43 billion for 2024.

North Carolina ranks as America’s 15th most lucrative exporters by state behind front-runners including Texas, California, New York state and Louisiana. The value of North Carolina’s exports equals 2% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2025 ($2.178 trillion), down from 2.1% one year earlier.

North Carolina’s exported products represent 6.7% of the state’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product ($652.3 billion).

The most valuable products shipped from North Carolina were immunological products in doses packaged for retail sale, blood fractions including antisera and miscellaneous medications in doses packaged for retail sale. Combined, those major commodities generated 24.6% of North Carolina’s total export revenues during 2025.

Given North Carolina’s population of 11 million people, its total US$43.8 billion in 2025 exported goods translates to $4,000 for every resident in the Old North State. That dollar metric exceeds the average $3,900 per capita in 2024.

North Carolina’s unemployment rate was 3.9% in December 2025, up from 3.7% one year earlier per YCharts.

North Carolina’s Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value in North Carolina global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from North Carolina.

Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.

1. Immunological products in doses packaged for retail: US$6.6 billion (15% of North Carolina’s total exports)
2. Antisera, other blood fractions: $2.3 billion (5.2%)
3. Miscellaneous medications in doses packaged for retail: $1.9 billion (4.4%)
4. Civilian aircraft, full or engines or other parts: $1.6 billion (3.6%)
5. Human medicine vaccines: $916.1 million (2.1%)
6. Chemical woodpulp, soda (coniferous): $819.9 million (1.9%)
7. Human medicine vaccines: $622.1 million (1.4%)
8. Tobacco (stemmed or stripped): $450.9 million (1%)
9. Compression ignition piston engines: $441.4 million (1%)
10. Unrefined copper anodes for electrolytic refining: $426.3 million (1%)

North Carolina’s top 10 exports surpassed a third (36.6%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.

The fastest-growing goods exported from North Carolina were immunological products in doses packaged for retail sale (up 46.6% from 2024), human medicine vaccines (up 24.6%), then unrefined copper anodes for electrolytic refining (up 8.1%).

The severest declining product categories were compression ignition piston engines (down -43.5% from 2024), human medicine vaccines (down -32.9%) then stemmed or stripped tobacco (down -15.9%).

More Key Facts about North Carolina’s International Trade

Overall, North Carolina incurred a -US$58.2 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2025. That dollar amount represents a 30.9% expansion from -$44.5 billion in red ink for 2024.

Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.

All told, imports into North Carolina amounted to a total cost of $102 billion during 2025 accelerating by 16.5% year over year.

Below are North Carolina’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2025.

1. Immunological products in doses packaged for retail: US$23.9 billion (23.4% of North Carolina’s total imports)
2. Digital processing units (individual components): $4.3 billion (4.2%)
3. Miscellaneous medications in doses packaged for retail: $3.7 billion (3.6%)
4. Medium-sized passenger vehicles: $2.7 billion (2.6%)
5. Items made from precious metals: $2.05 billion (2%)
6. Computer storage items: $2.01 billion (2%)
7. Turbo-jet and turbo-propeller parts: $1.96 billion (1.9%)
8. Insulated optical fiber cables: $1.54 billion (1.5%)
9. Enriched uranium: $1.07 billion (1%)
10. Human medicine vaccines: $1.01 billion (1%)

North Carolina has negative net exports in the international trade of components of medicine, automotive, computer and apparel-related items. In turn, these cashflows indicate North Carolina’s competitive disadvantages under these product categories.

North Carolina’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased two-thirds (66.7%) worth of the total value of products exported from North Carolina during 2025.

1. Canada: US$8.6 billion (19.6% of North Carolina’s total exports)
2. mainland China: $6.7 billion (15.2%)
3. Mexico: $5.3 billion (12%)
4. France: $2 billion (4.7%)
5. Germany: $1.21 billion (2.8%)
6. Netherlands: $1.21 billion (2.8%)
7. Japan: $1.16 billion (2.6%)
8. United Kingdom: $1.13 billion (2.6%)
9. Spain: $1.09 billion (2.5%)
10. Ireland: $888 million (2%)

North Carolina’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) accounted for nearly one-third (31.6%) of the overall value of exported goods from the state.

That percentage compares with 17.9% for North Carolina’s top customers in Asia (mainland China and Japan), and 17.3% for major importers in Europe (France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland).

North Carolinian Export Companies

Twenty-one of North Carolina-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are shown below.

• Alliance One International (tobacco)
• Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (beverages)
• Curtiss-Wright Corp (motors, generators, instruments, sensors)
• Duke Energy (electricity, natural gas)
• Lowe’s Companies (appliances, home improvement goods)
• Martin Marietta (construction materials)
• Reynolds American, Inc (tobacco)
• Sealed Air Corp (bubble wrap, food packaging)
• SPX Corp (infrastructure equipment, industrial conglomerate)
• VF Corp (footwear, apparel)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
 

North Carolina’s capital is Raleigh, nicknamed “City of Oaks”.

See also South Carolina’s Top 10 Exports, New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports, Missouri’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Mississippi’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on February 23, 2026

Forbes, 2022 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on February 23, 2026

GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2022 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on February 23, 2026

IBIS World, State Economic Profile (including GDP). Accessed on February 23, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on February 23, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on February 23, 2026

United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: North Carolina. Accessed on February 23, 2026

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on February 23, 2026

Wikipedia, Companies based in North Carolina. Accessed on February 23, 2026

Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on February 23, 2026

Wikipedia, North Carolina. Accessed on February 23, 2026

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on February 23, 2026