Raleighruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Biopharmaceutical manufacturing
Novo Nordisk, Fujifilm Diosynth, Amgen, Merck, Biogen, Grifols, Eli Lilly
The corridor from Clayton through Holly Springs and RTP is one of the largest concentrations of biologics manufacturing capacity in the world, and it has been the region's biggest source of capital investment for a decade.
Enterprise software & technology
Red Hat, IBM, Cisco, SAS Institute, Lenovo, Epic Games, Google
Red Hat is headquartered in downtown Raleigh, IBM's RTP campus is one of its largest anywhere, and SAS in Cary is a privately held analytics company with a famously unusual campus culture.
Universities & research
NC State University, Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, Duke Health, UNC Health
Three research universities within 25 miles is the reason Research Triangle Park exists at all, and the graduate pipeline is why companies keep siting laboratories here rather than in cheaper places.
State government & public sector
State of North Carolina, Wake County, City of Raleigh, NC Community College System
Raleigh is the state capital and government is a large, stable employment base — the counterweight that keeps the regional economy steadier than a pure tech metro.
Clinical research & health services
IQVIA, PPD (Thermo Fisher), Labcorp, Parexel, Duke Clinical Research Institute
The contract research organisation industry effectively grew up here, and RTP remains its global centre — a distinct sector from the manufacturing plants and one that hires heavily from the universities.
Advanced manufacturing & electronics
Wolfspeed, Toyota Battery Manufacturing NC, ABB, Siemens, Corning
Wolfspeed's silicon carbide fabs and Toyota's battery plant in nearby Liberty represent a newer wave — semiconductors and batteries alongside the biologics base.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.