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RC
North Carolina•In office since 2017•Party: D
Roy Cooper
Serving as Governor of North Carolina since 2017. Evaluation based on verified public data.
Overall GradeA-
76.1 / 100
Ranked #8 of 50 nationally
Category
Economy
80.4 / 100A
Unemployment RateB+
3.5%
National avg 3.9%
Rank 28 of 5046 pct
Trend since took officefrom 4.7%
Median Household IncomeC+
$66,186
National avg $74,580
Rank 39 of 5022 pct
Trend since took officefrom $52,413
Job GrowthA+
10.0%
National avg 5.5%
Rank 5 of 5093 pct
Trend since took officefrom 3.5%
Real GDP GrowthA+
12.0%
National avg 8.0%
Rank 6 of 5091 pct
Trend since took officefrom 4.0%
Real Wage GrowthA+
3.5%
National avg 3.0%
Rank 9 of 5085 pct
Trend since took officefrom 1.0%
Category
Fiscal Health
78.3 / 100A-
State Debt per CapitaA+
$1,100
National avg $3,580
Rank 2 of 5099 pct
Trend since took officefrom $1,250
Rainy Day FundA
18.0%
National avg 14.0%
Rank 14 of 5073 pct
Trend since took officefrom 8.0%
State & Local Tax BurdenC+
9.9%
National avg 11.2%
Rank 23 of 5056 pct
Trend since took officefrom 9.8%
Credit RatingA+
100
National avg 90
Rank 12 of 5079 pct
Trend since took officefrom 100
Category
Quality of Life
40.7 / 100D+
Poverty RateC-
13.1%
National avg 11.5%
Rank 36 of 5030 pct
Trend since took officefrom 14.0%
High School Graduation RateC-
86.1%
National avg 87.0%
Rank 31 of 5039 pct
Trend since took officefrom 86.5%
Life ExpectancyD+
76.3 yrs
National avg 77.5 yrs
Rank 35 of 5031 pct
Trend since took officefrom 77.6 yrs
Violent Crime RateD+
419 / 100k
National avg 380 / 100k
Rank 34 of 5034 pct
Trend since took officefrom 419 / 100k
Bridges in Poor ConditionD+
7.8%
National avg 6.6%
Rank 38 of 5024 pct
Trend since took officefrom 8.4%
How this grade is built
Each metric gets two scores: how the state ranks among all 50 states (60%) and how much it changed under this governor (40%). These combine into a 0–100 score per metric, averaged within three pillars — Economy, Fiscal Health, Quality of Life — then curved across the cohort so grades spread A–F.
Full methodology →