Appleton Greene
Charlotte, NC

Charlotte has become a major U.S. financial center and is now the second largest banking center in the United States (after New York). The nation’s second largest financial institution by assets, Bank of America, calls the city home. Charlotte has 10 Fortune 500 companies listed in order of their rank: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Lowe’s, Nucor (steel producer), Duke Energy, Sonic Automotive, Family Dollar, Goodrich Corporation, SPX Corporation, Domtar, Chiquita Brands International. Other major companies headquartered or with corporate operations in Metro Charlotte include: Extended Stay Hotels, Babcock and Wilcox, RSC Brands, TIAA-CREF, Time Warner Cable, Fox Sports 1, ESPNU, Continental Tire the Americas, LLC., Muzak, Belk, Harris Teeter, Meineke Car Care Center, Lance, Inc, Carolina Foods Inc, Bojangles’, Carlisle Companies, National Gypsum, Electrolux, LendingTree, Compass Group USA, Food Lion, and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated U.S. Airways regional carrier CCAir is headquartered in Charlotte. Charlotte is also a major center in the U.S. motorsports industry, housing multiple offices of NASCAR as well as the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Major energy players in Charlotte include AREVA, Babcock and Wilcox, Duke Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, Fluor, Metso Power, Piedmont Natural Gas, Siemens Energy, Shaw Group, Toshiba, URS Corp., and Westinghouse. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has a reputation in energy education and research and its Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) trains energy engineers and conducts research.

Durham
Durham, NC

Durham, located in Durham County, North Carolina, also known as the “bull city” or the “city of medicine,” is a growing metropolis of a population of about 250,000 in the city proper with another quarter million people living in the four-county Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area. Durham and Chapel’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) in fiscal year 2013 was close to $42 billion out of the state combined metro GDP that was closer to $410 billion. Durham is home to market leading companies – Cisco, IBM, Lenovo, Glaxo Smith Kline, Fidelity, RedHat, Cree, Qunitiles, Credit Suisse, American Tobacco and RTI International – located in the vertices Research Triangle area and is home to the Research Triangle Park. As a leading medical, research, educational and development market in the United States; Durham is also home to Duke University, Duke Medical Center, Duke Law School, and North Carolina Central University. Durham’s Key Location Objectives (KLO) are in education, research and development, manufacturing, engineering and technology, and financial services. It is a core city between Raleigh, Chapel Hill and surrounding areas. The estimated total public and private investment for downtown Durham in 2012 was about $1.2 billion that included projects for development and the performing arts. The Research Triangle Park is home to over 190 fortune 500 and 100 companies with diversified portfolios employing 50,000 workers and 10,000 contractors with nearly three fourths of all new jobs being created in the State of North Carolina. The median household income is $45,000 – $50,000. The low cost of living, climate and quality of life makes Durham a leading city for business investments and a skilled labor force.

Greensboro
Greensboro, NC

Greensboro, located in Guilford, County, North Carolina, the State’s third largest city and a part of the Piedmont (Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point) Metropolitan area. It has a population of about 300,000 people. Greensboro’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) in fiscal year 2013 was close to $40 billion out of the state’s combined metro GDP that was closer to $410 billion. Some of the market leading companies in Greensboro are Honda Aircraft, Volvo Trucks, International Textile Group, and Lincoln Financial. Greensboro’s Key Location Objectives (KLO), are in textiles, tobacco, and furniture. People travel from all around the world to purchase these types of commodities from manufacturers in Greensboro. Greensboro. Greensboro is also an educational, and medical research facility home to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T University. There is strong growth in trade and transportation, professional business, manufacturing, education and healthcare sectors of the Greensboro marketplace.

Appleton Greene
Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, located in Wake, County, North Carolina, also known as the “Oak City,” is the State’s capital and second largest city with a population of about 2,100,000 people. It is also a part of the Triangle area of Durham, and Chapel Hill. Raleigh’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) in fiscal year 2013 was close to $70 billion out of the state’s combined metro GDP that was closer to $410 billion. Some of the leading market research companies in Raleigh are SAS Institute, located in the suburb of Cary, NC, the Carolina Hurricanes, BB&T Insurance Services, First Citizens Bank, Red Hat, North Carolina Symphony, Carolina Ballet and Capital Broadcasting Company. Raleigh’s Key Location Objectives (KLO), are in state government, the arts, banking and financial services, technology and pharmaceuticals. Raleigh, is also home to a key educational, research and development, and engineering institutions – North Carolina State University, Peace College, and Shaw University. The unemployment rate in Raleigh is around 4.5%, and the sales tax is about 6.75%. The median income is 50,000 – $55,000. Some of the leading economic growth sectors are in management, public administration, law, business and finance, engineering, and computer science.

Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, NC

Winston-Salem, located in Forsyth, County, North Carolina, also known as the “twin city” is a part of the Piedmont (Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point) Metropolitan area and has a population of about 240,000 people. Winston-Salem’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) in fiscal year 2013 was close to $30 billion out of the state’s combined metro GDP that was closer to $410 billion. It is home to market leading companies – R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR), Lowes Foods., Branch Bank and Trust (BB&T), and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Winston-Salem, is an educational, and research and development market home to Wake Forest University its largest employer. The nation’s largest propane company, Blue Rhino is also based in Winston-Salem. Winston-Salem’s Key Location Objectives (KLO), are healthcare, and retirement and has been listed as a key place to retire in the United States by CBS MoneyWatch. There is strong growth in healthcare, trade, business and professional services sectors of the Winston-Salem marketplace. The city is transforming itself from a textiles and tobacco industry into the high technology sector of high nanotechnology.