Labor Day 2026: North Carolina ranks best for business economy, dead last for workers

North Carolina is consistently ranked among America’s top states for business (opens in a new tab). But a new ranking by Oxfam lists the state dead last in this year’s 2026 Best States to Work Index (opens in a new tab).

Oxfam, a global nonprofit focused on poverty and inequality, examined 37 policies including wages, worker protections, and the right to organize to determine which states do the best job of supporting workers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

“This year, while workers are facing extraordinary economic hardship, we looked at how far wages go toward the cost of living for a family of four,” said Patricia Stottlemyer, Oxfam America’s policy director. “In North Carolina, the minimum wage of $7.25 only meets 19% of the cost of living.”

Because women and workers of color are overrepresented in low-wage jobs, raising the minimum wage would help millions of workers, according to Oxfam.

NC Budget and Tax Center Policy Analyst Alex Campbell
(File photo)

Stottlemyer notes that North Carolina has not raised its minimum wage since 2009, while neighboring Virginia raised its hourly minimum wage to $12.77 per hour this year and passed legislation to increase the minimum wage to $13.75 per hour January 1, 2027.

Republican state lawmakers have resisted raising the state’s minimum wage because they say very few people actually work for minimum wage anymore. They say the current demand for labor has driven pay higher. But advocates say that’s not true for every job market, especially in rural areas with few job opportunities.