A new analysis breaks down how much the gross domestic product of the 12 northeastern North Carolina counties, which totaled $9.98 billion in 2022, has changed in the previous five years.
Gross domestic product is the dollar amount that measures how many goods and services businesses created in a given time period. It’s measured quarterly but also often talked about in annual terms.
GDP is of particular importance to world leaders and economists because a declining measurement for two consecutive quarters can mean that the country is in a recession—a significant decline in overall economic activity that creates pain for workers.
But it can be difficult to wrap our heads around how much our immediate communities contribute to that larger national picture and what kinds of work drive economic advancement for the places we live.
Stacker collected data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to illustrate how the GDP in our region has changed in the past five years.
The Greater Outer Banks counties accounted for 1.39% of North Carolina’s total GDP of $716 billion in 2022. The region’s population was 215,594 in 2022, 2.01% of the 10,695,965 residents of the state.
Dare County’s GDP of $3.1 billion led the 12-county area, followed by Pasquotank at $1.9 billion, Hertford County ($1 billion), Currituck ($994 million) and Chowan ($700 million).
The counties with the highest GDP are home to the state’s largest cities, led by Mecklenburg (Charlotte), $151.9 billion, Wake (Raleigh), $108.2 billion, Durham $44.7 billion, Guilford (Greensboro) $40.5 billion, and Forsyth (Winston-Salem) $30.4 billion. Pitt County (Greenville) is the closest county to our region near the top of the list at $10.9 billion (12th highest).
The largest growth in GDP from 2018 to 2022 was reported in Perquimans County of 20%, with Camden at 14%, Dare and Hertford at 10%, and Washington County 9%. Chowan and Tyrrell were the only counties not to see a significant change in GDP over the last five years.
The GDP change from 2018 to 2022 has been adjusted for inflation.
Bertie County
GDP 2022: $778 million; 78th highest, 0.11% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +2%
Camden County
GDP 2022: $209 million; 99th highest, 0.03% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +14%
Chowan County
GDP 2022: $700 million; 81st highest, 0.10% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: 0%
Currituck County
GDP 2022: $994 million; 74th highest, 0.14% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +6%
Dare County
GDP 2022: $3.1 billion; 38th highest, 0.42% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +10%
Gates County
GDP 2022: $241 million; 97th highest, 0.03% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +7%
Hertford County
GDP 2022: $1 billion; 73rd highest, 0.14% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +10%
Hyde County
GDP 2022: $222 million; 98th highest, 0.03% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +4%
Pasquotank County
GDP 2022: $1.9 billion; 57th highest, 0.28% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +7%
Perquimans County
GDP 2022: $362 million; 91st highest, 0.05% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +20%
Tyrrell County
GDP 2022: $135 million; 100th highest, 0.01% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: 0%
Washington County
GDP 2022: $341 million; 93rd highest, 0.05% of N.C.
GDP 2018 to 2022: +9%
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten, writing by Dom DiFurio, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 3,099 counties.
