Photo credit: Apple

April 27. By Dave Yochum. With Apple announcing a $1 billion investment in North Carolina that includes a new campus and engineering hub in the Research Triangle, it’s no wonder that three of the Top 10 US cities in which to start a business are located in North Carolina.

WalletHub used 21 key metrics, ranging from the five-year business-survival rate to COVID-19 cases to office-space affordability, to rank 100 cities by business-friendliness.

Durham came in second; Charlotte sixth; and Raleigh seventh. First place was Laredo, Tex. In fact, Texas had four out of the Top 10 cities: Lubbock (No. 3), Austin (No. 8) and Fort Worth (No.9). To read the WalletHub survey, click here.

Supporting entrepreneurship

Dr. David Hansen, an associate professor of entrepreneurship and “changemaking” at the College of Charleston, said states can support entrepreneurship by not giving tax breaks to large corporations.

HANSEN

“The money that states give away could be given as grants to start hundreds or even thousands of new businesses. And employment growth comes from those startups hiring employees as they grow. And collectively that will create more jobs than any large company can. In addition, with small businesses, the money stays in the community, which helps the community as a whole,” he said.

Apple details

Apple will get more than $800 million in economic development incentives over the next four decades if the company meets job-creation and investment thresholds.

The NC Commerce Department estimates the project will generate nearly $2 billion in additional state revenues through 2061.

The investment will create at least 3,000 new jobs in machine learning, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and other cutting-edge fields.

Apple is accelerating its US investments, with plans to make new contributions of more than $430 billion and add 20,000 new jobs across the country over the next five years.

Apple innovation

“At this moment of recovery and rebuilding, Apple is doubling down on our commitment to US innovation and manufacturing with a generational investment reaching communities across all 50 states,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

Rendering of Apple’s Austin, Tex. campus

Apple supports more than 2.7 million jobs across the country through direct employment, spending with US suppliers and manufacturers, and developer jobs in the thriving iOS app economy.

The big Apple

Apple is the largest taxpayer in the US and has paid almost $45 billion in domestic corporate income taxes over the past five years alone.

Apple will also establish a $100 million fund to support schools and community initiatives in the greater Raleigh-Durham area and across the state, and will be contributing over $110 million in infrastructure spending to the 80 North Carolina counties with the greatest need — funds that will go toward broadband, roads and bridges, and public schools.

When up and running, Apple’s investments are expected to generate over $1.5 billion in economic benefits annually for North Carolina.