Forest Sector by the Numbers
- North Carolina has 18.1 million acres of timberland covering about 58 percent of the
state’s total land area - Forest products contribute $33.6 billion to the economy.
- Forest products support 150,400 full and part time jobs.
- The forest sector was the top employer among manufacturing sectors in the state.
- Every job created in the forest sector resulted in another 1.01 jobs in North Carolina.
Data provided by NCSU Extension Forestry “Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector in North Carolina, 2020”
While North Carolina is one of the fastest growing states, the forestland base that provides the raw material for this industry remains healthy and plentiful thanks to the efforts of forest landowners and foresters across the state. Approximately 2/3 of these privately held lands are owned by non-industrial landowners. Despite the enormous growth our state has witnessed, 58% of North Carolina is still covered by forests.