Commerce & Industry

The City serves as the retail trade and employment center for a majority of the approximately 89,028 people of the County. People from the surrounding counties of Avery, McDowell, Rutherford and Cleveland work and shop in Morganton.

The growing "Unifour Region" including Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and Alexander Counties supports a population over 341,000. The four counties also comprise the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir Metropolitan Statistical Area [MSA].

"Industry Week" ranked the 4-county region as the eighth best manufacturing area in the nation. In 1999 and 2001, Morganton was a finalist f the 1999 and 2001 All-America City Awards.

Principal manufacturing includes furniture and metal working, medical device manufacturing, automobile component manufacturing as well as other types of establishments providing a diversified manufacturing base. State and local government are large employers within the Morganton city limits.

With thousands of acres of national forest, scenic rivers, lakes and mountains, Morganton and Burke County are ready to claim its share of the tourism industry. In 2000, domestic tourism in Burke County generated an economic impact of almost $58 million, placing it 41st in travel impact among North Carolina's 100 counties.