| 1 | Western North Carolina Balance of State | Above average opportunities | 2.5 | 
| 2 | Eastern North Carolina Balance of State | Above average opportunities | 1.89 | 
| 3 | Central North Carolina Balance of State | Above average opportunities | 1.81 | 
| 4 | Greenville, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.78 | 
| 5 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.7 | 
| 6 | Jacksonville, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.51 | 
| 7 | Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.5 | 
| 8 | Wilmington, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.34 | 
| 9 | Winston-Salem, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 1.25 | 
| 10 | Fayetteville, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 1.18 | 
| 11 | North Carolina | Average opportunities | 1.13 | 
| 12 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 1.06 | 
| 13 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 0.97 | 
| 14 | Greensboro-High Point, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 0.88 | 
| 15 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 0.86 | 
| 16 | Asheville, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 0.84 | 
| 17 | Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area | Below average opportunities | 0.69 | 
| 18 | Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area | No data available | No data available | 
| 19 | Burlington, NC Metro Area | No data available | No data available | 
| 20 | Goldsboro, NC Metro Area | No data available | No data available |