In the words of the US Global Leadership Council, North Carolina is a major player in the world economy. The state exported $31.3 billion worth of goods in 2014 alone, supporting 164,023 jobs in the state according to the Department of Commerce International Trade Association.
Among these jobs are high-paying specialist, management and executive positions that require expertise in international affairs. This type of knowledge is not easily acquired, and companies tend to pay high salaries to professionals with expertise in international business and relations.
North Carolina’s major export market is Canada, with secondary markets being Mexico, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Although chemicals and machinery were the largest international export categories, North Carolina supplies the world with critical high-tech items such as optical fibers, semiconductors, and automotive parts.
International Business Professional Salaries in North Carolina
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides median salaries for professionals in fields that are integral to international business (2014):
Metropolitan areas
Managers
- Industrial purchasing managers
- Durham-Chapel Hill – $132,610
- Wilmington – $117,610
- Raleigh-Cary – $105,170
- Winston-Salem – $102,220
- Greenville – $99,310
- Burlington – $95,690
- Industrial purchasing managers
- Purchasing managers
- Durham-Chapel Hill – $117,400
- Fayetteville – $110,690
- Raleigh-Cary – $108,840
- Charlotte – $106,250
- Winston-Salem – $105,560
- Purchasing managers
- Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Winston-Salem – $94,870
- Raleigh-Cary – $92,640
- Rocky Mount – $92,470
- Durham-Chapel Hill – $91,020
- Charlotte – $90,040
Business Operation Specialists
- Management analysts
- Rocky Mount – $100,870
- Durham-Chapel Hill – $90,830
- Charlotte – $78,740
- Management analysts
- Compliance officers
- Durham-Chapel Hill – $75,370
- Fayetteville – $70,970
- Raleigh-Cary – $65,970
- Charlotte – $62,500
- Compliance officers
- Market research analysts
- Winston-Salem – $70,670
- Rocky Mount – $65,080
- Charlotte – $64,530
- Hickory – $63.060
- Market research analysts
- Logisticians
- Fayetteville – $78,790
- Durham-Chapel Hill – $73,950
- Jacksonville – $72,000
- Raleigh-Cary – $71,530
Nonmetropolitan Areas
- Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Western Central NC – $89,340
- Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Purchasing managers
- Other NC – $110,630
- Purchasing managers
- Industrial production managers
- Northeastern NC – $104,050
- Industrial production managers
- Logisticians
- Northeastern NC – $76,450
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides an expanded profile of salaries of these occupations in North Carolina as of 2014:
Salaries for International Relations Professionals in North Carolina
According to a 2015 report conducted by the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations employ more than 400,000 North Carolina residents. Nonprofit employment levels grew by nearly 18% over the past seven years at a time when overall employment in the state declined. NGOs, including those involved in international relations, currently employ more than 10% of North Carolina’s workforce.
The N.C. Center for Nonprofits provides the average annual salary for employees of nonprofits by county:
- Orange County – $58,850
- Pitt County – $51,135
- Forsyth County – $50,387
Economic analyses are critical to both international business ventures and the efforts of NGOs that operate in the international realm. Those in Raleigh-Cary earned a median salary of $61,570 while those in the 90th percentile of this occupational category averaged $132,780 a year in 2014 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The BLS provides a salary analysis for professionals that frequently provide international relations expertise to North Carolina’s NGOs, government agencies and international businesses (2014):
*The hourly wage is equal to or greater than $90 while the annual salary is equal to or greater than $187,199. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics does not report salary data greater than these values.