Steady Employment Growth in the Greensboro HMA

Steady Employment Growth in the Greensboro HMA

The economy in the Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina Housing Market Area (HMA), which is located in HUD Region IV, has been growing steadily. The HMA has added jobs every year since 2011, although at a more moderate pace since 2017.

This analysis was completed before the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and does not account for the economic and housing market impacts of the actions taken to limit the spread of the virus. Currently, the duration and depth of the economic disruption are unclear, as are the extent and effectiveness of government policies to counteract this disruption. HUD will continue to monitor market conditions in the area and will update this report as needed.

The Greensboro-High Point Housing Market Area (Greensboro HMA) includes the counties of Guilford, Randolph, and Rockingham in central North Carolina. The city of Greensboro is the county seat of Guilford County and is the state’s third-largest city. The current population of the Greensboro HMA is estimated at 776,400. A recent Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis highlighted economic and housing market activities in the Greensboro HMA.

Economic Activity

The Greensboro HMA’s economy has been growing steadily. The HMA has added jobs every year since 2011, although at a more moderate pace since 2017. In 2019, the Greensboro HMA added 1,900 jobs, a 0.5 percent increase in total jobs in the area.

The largest employment sectors in the Greensboro HMA are wholesale and retail trade (16%), manufacturing (15%), and education and health services (14%).

The education and health services sector includes the Greensboro HMA’s two largest employers, Cone Health and Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, which have 13,085 and 5,200 workers, respectively, as well as Wake Forest Baptist Health – High Point Medical Center, another of the area’s top 10 employers. In 2019, the education and health services sector added 500 jobs, increasing employment in the sector by 1 percent.

The wholesale and retail trade sector is the largest employment sector in the Greensboro HMA, accounting for 56,900 jobs, or 16 percent of employment in the area. In 2019, the sector added 1,500 jobs, an increase of 2.5 percent. With 2,938 employees, Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., is the largest employer in the sector and the sixth-largest employer in the HMA.

The area’s manufacturing sector grew by 100 jobs, or 0.2 percent, in 2019. Volvo Group is the HMA’s largest employer in the manufacturing sector, accounting for 2,800 jobs.

Over the next 3 years, nonfarm payrolls are expected to grow 0.4 percent annually.

Balanced Sales and Rental Markets

The sales housing market in the Greensboro HMA is balanced, with an estimated vacancy rate of 1.2 percent. New and existing home sales totaled 15,200 in 2019, a 7 percent increase over the previous year. Approximately 1,425 new homes were sold in the HMA in 2019 compared with 1,250 in 2018. Existing home sales were 13,750 in 2019, an increase of 850 over the previous year.

In 2019, the average new home sales price in the HMA was $259,100, a 9 percent increase from the previous year. The average sales price for existing homes was $170,900 in 2019, a 5 percent increase from the previous year.

The rental housing market is also balanced, with an estimated vacancy rate of 5.1 percent. Multifamily buildings with five or more units account for 43 percent of rental units, 38 percent of rental units are in single-family buildings, 12 percent are in multifamily buildings with two to four units; and 7 percent are in other structures (including mobile homes).

Sales demand for the next 3 years is estimated for 4,675 homes, and rental market demand is estimated for 2,825 rental units. For more detailed information, see the Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis on the Greensboro HMA.