North Carolina will pop the cork on a new year Wednesday night with a big milestone looming ahead.
The state is likely to grow to 10 million people in 2015. And it now is the ninth-largest state in the country, having just overtaken Michigan, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Those are impressive numbers and hopefully will be attractive to companies thinking about relocating to fast-growing markets.
But growing pains accompany growth. North Carolina faces significant infrastructure needs, not the least of which is the aging Interstate 95.
In many of the faster-growing counties, the population gains are outpacing the growth of schools and classroom resources. North Carolina already has a tough time retaining good teachers. That will only become more challenging if classes and workloads continue to grow.
But even as state leaders set their sights on addressing those issues, there’s a paradox to be addressed as well. More than a third of the state’s 100 counties are losing population, including Nash and Edgecombe. As the state taps more resources to address the growth of metropolitan areas, leaders in Eastern North Carolina, in particular, must look for ways to bring more economic opportunity – and people – to this part of the state.
So there are plenty of challenges awaiting us in the new year.
Enjoy the champagne while it’s still cold.
