North Carolina - Your State's Infrastructure At-A-Glance

North Carolina Transportation Facts

Airports
Military Facilities & Other Aerodromes	523
Primary and Commercial Airports	15
Public Use Airports, Seaplane Bases	70
Number of Airports	608
Ports & Waterways
Docks	265
Marinas	2
Number of Waterways	267

The design, construction, and operation of the transportation sector in the state supports 340,935 jobs throughout the economy. This includes direct jobs for work performed, indirect jobs supported by supplier industries, and induced employment when workers spend their wages for other goods and services.
Direct employment includes 15,392 jobs to build and improve transportation infrastructure, plus an additional 90,298 jobs to support system operations and freight transportation.
These workers, employed by 32,447 businesses and agencies, earn over $5 billion per year in wages.

82% of workers in the state commute by driving, with 73% driving alone.
The average commute is 26 minutes one way.
73% of workers both live and work in the same county, with 27% working in a different county or state.

The value of freight shipments to and from businesses in North Carolina will grow from $481 billion in 2023 to $926 billion in 2050, an increase of 93 percent.
Of the $431 billion in domestic trade, 87 percent is shipped by truck.
A total of 56 percent of the value of domestic freight is shipped to businesses located out of state.

There were 1,501 fatal highway crashes in North Carolina in 2022, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
These crashes resulted in 1,631 fatalities.
Of the fatal accidents in the state, 59 percent occured on rural roads and 33 percent were on the National Highway System.

The 2021 federal infrastructure law provides North Carolina with $7.76 billion over five years to improve its roadway and bridge infrastructure network. See the Top Federal-Aid Highway Projects
Of the 19,210 bridges in the state, 1,298, or 6.8 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. This means one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition. Learn More: Bridge Conditions
State highway program revenues in North Carolina were $7.2 billion in 2023, according to the latest data from FHWA.
Roughly 20 percent of all state highway revenues were from the federal government, which by law, must be spent on capital outlays (highway construction, right of way purchases, and planning and design).
On average, 33 percent of state capital outlays in North Carolina are supported by federal funds.

Urban and rural transit agencies in North Carolina reported $1.6 billion in revenues in 2023, according to the latest data from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration. Funding sources included fare-box revenue, in addition to support from federal, state, and local governments.
These agencies spent $109.8 million on capital investments and $691.5 million for system operations.
Roughly 26 percent of all transit revenue comes from the federal government.

Major airports in North Carolina received $300.2 million in federal Airport Improvement Program funds in FY 2024, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration.
In 2024, these airports spent $891.0 million on capital investments to improve terminals, runways, roads, and other airport facilities.
The IIJA provided $25 billion in new funding to support the Facilities and Equipment Program, the Airport Infrastructure Grant Program, and the Airport Terminal Program. This is in addition to $3.75 billion in annual funding for capital improvements under the Airport Improvement Program and supplemental discretionary programs.