Forestry plays a key role in the economy of North Carolina. North Carolina has over 18 million acres of timberland, which supports a robust forest sector in North Carolina — including forestry and logging operations, sawmills, furniture mills, and pulp and paper industries. The forest sector is a major contributor to North Carolina's economic well being, supporting communities across all 100 counties in North Carolina. The following table provides an overview of the economic contributions the forest sector has made to North Carolina’s economy in 2013 and annually from 2018 to 2023.
| Category | Year |
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| Direct Contributions | 2013 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Employment (Thousand) | 70.3 | 75.0 | 73.6 | 70.2 | 72.2 | 73.6 | 69.7 | 66.5 |
| Payroll (Billion $) | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Gross State Product (Billion $) | 4.9 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.2 |
| Industry Output (Billion $) | 18.5 | 20.8 | 21.6 | 20.6 | 21.6 | 25.8 | 25.1 | 25.4 |
| Total Contributions | ||||||||
| Employment (Thousand) | 144.8 | 150.4 | 148.0 | 138.1 | 139.7 | 151.7 | 143.6 | 140.9 |
| Payroll (Billion $) | 7.4 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 9.8 | 9.9 |
| Gross State Product (Billion $) | 10.9 | 13.1 | 13.5 | 12.7 | 14.2 | 16.4 | 16.2 | 16.4 |
| Industry Output (Billion $) | 29.4 | 33.6 | 34.9 | 32.8 | 35.3 | 42.5 | 40.5 | 41.7 |
For a more in-depth look at the North Carolina's Forest Sectors over the years read the following publications To learn about North Carolina's forest sector economic contributions by congressional district, read the publication Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector by North Carolina Congressional District, or for a specific county and year select from the list below.
- 2013 - North Carolina's Forests and Forest Products Industry by the Numbers, 2013
- 2018 - Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector in North Carolina, 2018
- 2019 - Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector in North Carolina, 2019
- 2020 - Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector in North Carolina, 2020
- 2021 - Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector in North Carolina, 2021
- 2022 - Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector in North Carolina, 2022
- 2023 - Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector in North Carolina, 2023
- 2024 - Economic Contribution of the Forest Sector in North Carolina, 2024
