From policy to prosperity: How principled leadership made North Carolina No. 1
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Amid the recent winter storm, the Tar Heel State experienced a new milestone. For the first time, North Carolina ranked No. 1 in the nation for state-to-state migration. Principled economic policy and leadership made it possible.
According to new Census Bureau data released late January, North Carolina gained 84,000 residents from other states between July 2024 and July 2025. During this time, powerhouses Texas and Florida netted 67,300 and 22,500 new residents, respectively. It’s the first time in decades that any state has gained more new residents than Texas or Florida.
North Carolina didn’t become the top destination for the American dream overnight. In fact, its economic turnaround can be traced back more than two decades. It’s a story worth telling, and state leaders nationwide should take note.
North Carolina state Sen. Phil Berger (R) was there from the start, first winning his seat in 2000. In 2005, Berger was elected leader of the Republican minority in the North Carolina Senate. By 2010, he had led the caucus to a historic victory, giving Republicans a majority in the state Senate for the first time in 134 years. He was elected Senate President Pro Tem in 2011, setting the stage for the most successful state tax reform effort in the nation.
Back then, the North Carolina tax code was not friendly to job creators. The state imposed the highest business income tax rate in the competitive Southeast (6.9%), while North Carolinians also faced a three-tiered personal income tax structure with a top rate of 7.75%.
To say the economy was limping along would be an understatement. That year, unemployment hit 10.5%, and North Carolina ranked 26th in the nation for economic outlook in the Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer Economic Competitiveness Index.
But that was all about to change.
“[Then-Gov. Bev Perdue] has been talking about making the business climate of North Carolina better for the past two years,” Berger explained in February 2011. “We’ve been in the majority in the North Carolina Senate for two weeks, and we’re already doing something about it.”
In the November 2012 election, North Carolina voters increased Republicans’ majorities in the House and Senate and elected Pat McCrory as governor. Working with then-House Speaker (now U.S. senator) Thom Tillis, Berger pursued a pro-growth tax reform package to ignite North Carolina’s economic engine.
The final plan achieved $500 million of taxpayer savings over two years by lowering and …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Amid the recent winter storm, the Tar Heel State experienced a new milestone. For the first time, North Carolina ranked No. 1 in the nation for state-to-state migration. Principled economic policy and leadership made it possible.
According to new Census Bureau data released late January, North Carolina gained 84,000 residents from other states between July 2024 and July 2025. During this time, powerhouses Texas and Florida netted 67,300 and 22,500 new residents, respectively. It’s the first time in decades that any state has gained more new residents than Texas or Florida.
North Carolina didn’t become the top destination for the American dream overnight. In fact, its economic turnaround can be traced back more than two decades. It’s a story worth telling, and state leaders nationwide should take note.
North Carolina state Sen. Phil Berger (R) was there from the start, first winning his seat in 2000. In 2005, Berger was elected leader of the Republican minority in the North Carolina Senate. By 2010, he had led the caucus to a historic victory, giving Republicans a majority in the state Senate for the first time in 134 years. He was elected Senate President Pro Tem in 2011, setting the stage for the most successful state tax reform effort in the nation.
Back then, the North Carolina tax code was not friendly to job creators. The state imposed the highest business income tax rate in the competitive Southeast (6.9%), while North Carolinians also faced a three-tiered personal income tax structure with a top rate of 7.75%.
To say the economy was limping along would be an understatement. That year, unemployment hit 10.5%, and North Carolina ranked 26th in the nation for economic outlook in the Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer Economic Competitiveness Index.
But that was all about to change.
“[Then-Gov. Bev Perdue] has been talking about making the business climate of North Carolina better for the past two years,” Berger explained in February 2011. “We’ve been in the majority in the North Carolina Senate for two weeks, and we’re already doing something about it.”
In the November 2012 election, North Carolina voters increased Republicans’ majorities in the House and Senate and elected Pat McCrory as governor. Working with then-House Speaker (now U.S. senator) Thom Tillis, Berger pursued a pro-growth tax reform package to ignite North Carolina’s economic engine.
The final plan achieved $500 million of taxpayer savings over two years by lowering and …
From policy to prosperity: How principled leadership made North Carolina No. 1
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Amid the recent winter storm, the Tar Heel State experienced a new milestone. For the first time, North Carolina ranked No. 1 in the nation for state-to-state migration. Principled economic policy and leadership made it possible.
According to new Census Bureau data released late January, North Carolina gained 84,000 residents from other states between July 2024 and July 2025. During this time, powerhouses Texas and Florida netted 67,300 and 22,500 new residents, respectively. It’s the first time in decades that any state has gained more new residents than Texas or Florida.
North Carolina didn’t become the top destination for the American dream overnight. In fact, its economic turnaround can be traced back more than two decades. It’s a story worth telling, and state leaders nationwide should take note.
North Carolina state Sen. Phil Berger (R) was there from the start, first winning his seat in 2000. In 2005, Berger was elected leader of the Republican minority in the North Carolina Senate. By 2010, he had led the caucus to a historic victory, giving Republicans a majority in the state Senate for the first time in 134 years. He was elected Senate President Pro Tem in 2011, setting the stage for the most successful state tax reform effort in the nation.
Back then, the North Carolina tax code was not friendly to job creators. The state imposed the highest business income tax rate in the competitive Southeast (6.9%), while North Carolinians also faced a three-tiered personal income tax structure with a top rate of 7.75%.
To say the economy was limping along would be an understatement. That year, unemployment hit 10.5%, and North Carolina ranked 26th in the nation for economic outlook in the Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer Economic Competitiveness Index.
But that was all about to change.
“[Then-Gov. Bev Perdue] has been talking about making the business climate of North Carolina better for the past two years,” Berger explained in February 2011. “We’ve been in the majority in the North Carolina Senate for two weeks, and we’re already doing something about it.”
In the November 2012 election, North Carolina voters increased Republicans’ majorities in the House and Senate and elected Pat McCrory as governor. Working with then-House Speaker (now U.S. senator) Thom Tillis, Berger pursued a pro-growth tax reform package to ignite North Carolina’s economic engine.
The final plan achieved $500 million of taxpayer savings over two years by lowering and …
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