A new report ranked North Carolina third in the nation for Black-owned businesses, followed by South Carolina at No. 4.

Why it matters: According to some reports, the nation’s 5 million Black entrepreneurs account for about 14.5% of all U.S. business owners, creating more than 1.3 million jobs and adding more than $207 billion to the national economy.

The latest report, by B2B Resources, examined data across seven key metrics — including business growth, survival rates, payroll, and community support — to highlight where Black-owned businesses are thriving.

The report found that North Carolina:

• ranks 10th in the percentage of Black-owned businesses, with 15.95% of all small businesses being Black owned.
• has the third-highest success rate for Black-owned businesses, at 60.7, which is more than the average (56.1)
• ranked 10th in annual payrolls generated by Black-owned businesses.

Contributing to that success, the report stated, is that fact that median household income for Black residents in North Carolina is 71.80% of the state’s median for all races and higher than the national average of 70.19%.

Only Georgia (No. 1) and Delaware (No.2) outpaced North Carolina in the overall rankings.

Read the full report.