?WhereToHQ

Ranked · Pick an HQ · North Carolina

Best cities to put your HQ in North Carolina

Cities of 25,000+ residents, scored with the “Pick an HQ” weighting the live tool uses, heaviest on bachelor's degree or higher, avg. weekly wage, corporate income tax, state & local income tax. Scores are relative to this set; open the tool to change the weights and re-rank.

Re-rank for your priorities
Top 10 · computed ranking

  1. 1.Winston-Salem, NC252k residents

    63/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 39.5% · avg. weekly wage: $1,376/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  2. 2.High Point, NC116k residents

    62/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 34% · avg. weekly wage: $1,230/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  3. 3.Cary, NC179k residents

    60/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 70.5% · avg. weekly wage: $1,560/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  4. 4.Concord, NC109k residents

    60/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 40.9% · avg. weekly wage: $1,116/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  5. 5.Burlington, NC60k residents

    60/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 29.6% · avg. weekly wage: $1,034/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  6. 6.Greensboro, NC301k residents

    59/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 41% · avg. weekly wage: $1,230/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  7. 7.Chapel Hill, NC62k residents

    59/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 76.6% · avg. weekly wage: $1,540/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  8. 8.Gastonia, NC83k residents

    58/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 26.6% · avg. weekly wage: $1,093/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  9. 9.Morrisville, NC31k residents

    58/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 72.7% · avg. weekly wage: $1,560/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

  10. 10.Fayetteville, NC211k residents

    57/100

    bachelor's degree or higher: 29% · avg. weekly wage: $1,102/wk · corporate income tax: 2.25%

Methodology: each city is scored 0–100 by min–max normalizing every weighted facet across this candidate set (direction-aware), identical math to the tool's “Best fit” tab. A different weighting produces a different order, which is the point: this is a starting shortlist, not a verdict.

Questions & answers
Which city is best to put your HQ in North Carolina?
Winston-Salem, NC ranks first with a fit score of 63/100, followed by High Point (62) and Cary (60), using the "Pick an HQ" weighting.
How is this ranking calculated?
Each of the 10 candidate cities (25,000+ residents) is scored 0 to 100 by min-max normalizing the weighted facets, heaviest on bachelor's degree or higher, avg. weekly wage, corporate income tax, state & local income tax, across this set. Change the weights in the live tool and the order changes with them.