GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — A new National Metro Comparison report published by the North Carolina Technology Association ranked Greenville in the top 110 metropolitan areas for technology innovation.
The study looked at sub-categories including energy tech, environmental tech, life sciences and IT. Overall, the Greenville market ranked as the 74th best metro for tech out of the 384 MSAs in the country and 5th best in North Carolina.
“I think it’s just a testament to our educational partners, our post-secondary educational institutes,” said ENC Alliance President and CEO Josh Lewis. “Because the ranking and the methodology behind where they ranked us is based on STEM completions per 1000 people in the population.
“So when you’re ranked number one, that means that a higher percentage of our populous are being educated and we’re pumping out STEM credentials at a higher rate than all the other MSAs.”
To view the full report with data about the top 110 MSAs in tech innovation and additional information about the Greenville MSA in this report, click here.
Part of the report says,
“Interestingly, several of the smaller metros in the state that fall outside of the top 105 metros in terms of population performed well. Considering that Greenville’s adult population ranked the metro 290th out of all MSAs in the nation, it is quite impressive that the metro ranked as the 74th best metro for tech. Many of the typical tech metro rankings across the country only look at the top 50 or 100 metros so many of these smaller metros in NC had not been typically compared to other metros across the country prior to this research.” – Tech Innovation Index, 2023
When it comes to the worker supply index, Greenville ranked first in the nation for STEM Education Completions per 1,000 adults. This benchmark tracks the number of completions (certification, degree, or award from a postsecondary institution) in STEM fields standardized by the adult population of the metro.
This top ranking is fueled by training and academic success at East Carolina University and Pitt Community College along with additional support from Pitt County Schools and STEM East an initiative of the NC East Alliance.