North Carolina public pensions recorded $4.1 billion in investment earnings in 2024, up from $3.7 billion the previous year, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Pensions.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Pensions examines defined-benefit pension plans established by recognized government units that employ public workers paid through public funds. The survey categorizes local governments as counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special districts.
Survey results detail revenues, expenditures, financial assets, and membership for these pension plans, and the accompanying questionnaires may cover additional items such as liabilities.
Data completeness may vary as not every participant reports information for each item, affecting the publication of some numbers in the tables.
In 2025, nine states are without a comprehensive personal income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming, though New Hampshire and Washington have specific regulations regarding investment or capital gains taxes.
North Carolina collected pension data from 15 systems, which included seven administered by the state and eight by local entities. There were 1,197,685 total pension system members—1,191,267 in state-level systems and 6,418 in local-level systems.
The details in this article are sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Pensions. Find the original data here.
