North Carolina manufacturing fact sheet
THE FACTORY CENSUS, Q3 2026 · FACTORYREGISTRY RESEARCH · SNAPSHOT AUG 2026
As of AUG 2026, FactoryRegistry lists 8,329 manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, of which 3,669 (44.1%) carry a recent operating signal. That is 75.40 facilities per 100,000 residents.
Full census, Q3 2026 · North Carolina in the registry
Top counties
| COUNTY | FACILITIES |
|---|---|
| Mecklenburg | 744 |
| Guilford | 645 |
| Wake | 506 |
| Catawba | 367 |
| Forsyth | 285 |
| Gaston | 234 |
| Iredell | 223 |
| Randolph | 222 |
| Durham | 219 |
| Davidson | 213 |
Leading industries
| SUBSECTOR | FACILITIES |
|---|---|
| 332 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | 1,000 |
| 327 Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing | 895 |
| 325 Chemical Manufacturing | 745 |
| 321 Wood Product Manufacturing | 698 |
| 337 Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing | 661 |
Largest listed employers
| FACILITY | CITY | EMPLOYEES |
|---|---|---|
| 121 Landmark | Greensboro | 500+ |
| 253 Aut - Greensboro | Greensboro | 500+ |
| 2910 Weck | Durham | 500+ |
| Aisin North Carolina Corporation - Durham | DurhM | 500+ |
| Alamance Foods Cedar Crest | Graham | 500+ |
| Align Technology Raleigh | Morrisville | 500+ |
| Arden Manufacturing Plant | Arden | 500+ |
| Asco Power Technologies LP | Lexington | 500+ |
| Ashley Furniture Industries - Advance | Advance | 500+ |
| Assa Abloy Entrance Systems US INC. | Monroe | 500+ |
Ranked by reported employment band. Facilities whose sources report no band are not listed here.
Coverage
The registry lists 8,329 facilities in North Carolina against a BLS QCEW benchmark of 11,479 manufacturing establishments (2024) — coverage of 72.6%. The benchmark is a floor: QCEW counts establishments covered by unemployment insurance and so excludes most sole proprietors and some contract operations. The real number of manufacturing sites is therefore higher than the benchmark, and this percentage overstates coverage rather than understating it. Where it exceeds 100%, the registry lists more sites than QCEW counts establishments — which is expected in states with many small or single-person operations, and is also where duplicate listings would show up first.
FactoryRegistry Research, The Factory Census, Q3 2026 — factoryregistry.com/census/2026-q3/nc · press@factoryregistry.com