Last Updated on September 23, 2026 4:46 pm
(RALEIGH) Today Governor Stein and the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC) unveiled the Western North Carolina Economic Recovery Plan, a long-term framework to rebuild and grow the region's economy as western North Carolina approaches two years since Hurricane Helene. The plan was built with input from 28 counties, the Qualla Boundary, five regional councils of government, chambers of commerce, and economic development organizations.
“While the headlines about Helene have faded over the last two years, the work remains. Western North Carolinians know best how to keep moving forward,” said Governor Josh Stein. “That is why this plan takes the priorities the region set for itself and puts the state's weight behind them. Together, we can build an economy that's stronger and more diversified than the one the storm hit – because that is what a full recovery requires.”
Helene hit a region that already faced challenges. Over three decades, North Carolina lost more than 40% of its manufacturing jobs, and the 28 counties in the plan likewise faced significant losses of their industrial labor force.
Rebuilding after Helene cannot simply mean rebuilding to the standard that existed before the storm but must address the vulnerabilities presented by the long-term economic trends of the past several decades. Recovery must also address a reduced labor force since the storm. According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, from April 2023 through April 2026, the region's labor force shrank by more than 16,000 people while the state's overall population grew.
The plan organizes the region's work into nine lines of effort: infrastructure; natural resources; economic development and entrepreneurship; housing; education and workforce development; health care; arts, culture, and tourism; and agriculture. The plan also outlines a named lead and Year 5 and Year 10 targets for each line of effort. The plan does not create a new appropriation or supersede the plans communities have built for themselves. It aligns the region's five federally recognized economic development strategies into one shared framework so communities can combine resources around their own priorities.
“Western North Carolina has never lacked plans or ideas,” said Sharon Decker, GROW NC's Senior Advisor for Long-Term Recovery. “What we've lacked is one place where the region's own priorities line up with the money to back them and the people who can act on them. That's what this plan gives western North Carolinians, and it's why we didn't write it in Raleigh. Counties, chambers, community colleges, business owners, and councils of government built it, and the work now belongs to them.”
Decker led development of the plan with the Long-Term Economic Recovery Subcommittee of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Western North Carolina Recovery. David Jackson, President and CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Laura Leatherwood, President of Blue Ridge Community College, co-chaired the subcommittee.
Building on Momentum Already Underway
The plan builds on momentum the region has already created, including:
- Strengthening Advanced Manufacturing: the $29.2 million U.S. Economic Development Administration award for the Western North Carolina Futures Factory, a workforce and technology facility in Buncombe County.
- Supporting the Creative Economy: a sector that generated more than $3 billion in sales and supported nearly 35,000 jobs in 2025, and a sector that global marketplace Etsy and the Center for Craft named in July as one of five regional craft ecosystems in the nation.
- Expanding Connectivity: the $1.8 billion Interstate 26 Connector, which broke ground in April.
- Building a Strong Workforce: Good Jobs WNC, an 11-college, 23-county initiative pursuing roughly 1,200 jobs.
“Western North Carolina has made tremendous progress in rebuilding after Helene, but there's much more to do to restore transportation infrastructure, rebuild water systems, and get survivors back into safe housing,” said Matt Calabria, Director of GROW NC. “This economic plan is an essential part of the recovery and will ensure that we continue recovering in an integrated, holistic way.”
Through Renew NC and the state's partnership with volunteer organizations, more than 1,250 homes have been repaired or rebuilt. Nearly 16.5 million cubic yards of debris have been cleared, 99% of drinking water systems have been restored, and 99% of impacted state roads have reopened. Some of the most complicated repairs remain, especially private roads, bridges, and local systems that federal programs do not fully cover.
Governor Stein has worked with the General Assembly to deliver more than $2.4 billion in state recovery funding from six Helene relief packages through June 30, 2026, and the state budget signed in July adds $706.1 million more. Governor Stein has also called upon Washington, D.C., to appropriate more than $10 billion in additional federal funding to rebuild housing, strengthen infrastructure, and support small businesses.
The Economic Recovery Plan will be presented to the Governor's Advisory Committee on Western North Carolina Recovery, co-chaired by Senator Kevin Corbin and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, on Friday, September 25, at Mars Hill University.
Click here to read the Western North Carolina Economic Recovery Plan.
