Title: North Carolina Textile Industry: What the Mill Land Is Now | FOUND

Description: North Carolina's textile, apparel, and furniture jobs since 1990, what old mill buildings became, and when a former mill site is a brownfield or a data-center site.

Canonical: https://lotsfound.com/insights/north-carolina-textile-industry/

# North Carolina textile and furniture mills: what the land is now

North Carolina lost most of its textile, apparel, and furniture factory jobs after 1990. Many mill buildings now hold apartments and offices. Others sit on contaminated or underused land, and at least one former textile site now holds a data center.

[Get a read on your land](/who-we-serve/landowners/)

In this article

1. [How many textile and furniture jobs North Carolina lost](#how-many-textile-and-furniture-jobs-north-carolina-lost)
2. [Manufacturing's place in the state economy](#manufacturings-place-in-the-state-economy)
3. [What old mill buildings became](#what-old-mill-buildings-became)
4. [When an old mill site is a brownfield](#when-an-old-mill-site-is-a-brownfield)
5. [Can an old mill site become a data center](#can-an-old-mill-site-become-a-data-center)
6. [What the public record shows](#what-the-public-record-shows)
7. [Key recap](#key-recap)
8. [Questions](#questions)
9. [References](#references)

> **Quick summary:** This guide shows how far North Carolina's textile, apparel, and furniture employment fell, and what the record shows about the mill sites left behind. It is for owners of former mill and plant property and for the towns around them. The key takeaway: the jobs fell sharply, many buildings found new uses, and an old mill site has several possible futures, each with its own checks.

## How many textile and furniture jobs North Carolina lost

North Carolina lost most of its textile, apparel, and furniture factory jobs between 1990 and 2026. Federal payroll estimates for the state show these changes from August 1990 to August 2026:

| Industry | August 1990 | August 2026 (preliminary) |
|---|---:|---:|
| [Textile mills](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231300001) | 170,500 | 19,200 |
| [Textile product mills](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231400001) | 23,600 | 5,000 |
| [Apparel manufacturing](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231500001) | 92,100 | 3,700 |
| [Furniture and related products](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003133700001) | 89,000 | 26,900 |

Together, the four industries fell from 375,200 jobs to 54,800. The comparison uses the same month in each year because the estimates are not seasonally adjusted. These are payroll counts, not counts of closed plants. They show how much employment fell. They do not explain why.

The industries did not disappear. Mills and furniture plants still employ tens of thousands of people in the state. The decline is real, and so is what remains.

## Manufacturing's place in the state economy

Manufacturing went from the state's largest employer to one large sector among several. The [state Commerce Department's analysis of 1990 to 2020](https://www.commerce.nc.gov/blog/2021/09/29/how-has-north-carolina’s-economy-changed-1990-0) shows manufacturing with 843,236 jobs in 1990, 27.4 percent of the state's average employment. By 2020 it held 452,389 jobs, or 10.5 percent.

Over the same 30 years, total employment in the state rose 40 percent. Health care and social assistance became the largest sector. A growing state economy does not mean every mill town shared in the growth. A county's own records show how it fared.

## What old mill buildings became

Many old mill buildings now hold apartments, offices, and shops. The [State Historic Preservation Office's 2026 report](https://www.hpo.nc.gov/administration/2026-congressional-booklet/open) states that textile mills, tobacco warehouses, and schools continue to be reclaimed for housing, retail, and office uses. At least 10 of the 12 largest completed historic tax credit projects on its list are former textile mills or tobacco factories. Rehabilitation projects have occurred in 91 of the state's 100 counties.

Mill towns often grew up around the mill, with houses beside it. The same report describes two examples:

- **Rocky Mount.** A cotton mill founded in 1818 ran until 1996. A 2015 to 2025 rehabilitation turned its buildings and village houses into business space, 75 apartments, and 50 houses.
- **Bessemer City.** A mill that made textiles until 1995 now holds 139 affordable apartments.

State law adds a historic rehabilitation credit for an "eligible targeted investment site." Under [G.S. 105-129.105](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-129.105.html), that is a certified historic structure once used for manufacturing, as an agricultural warehouse, or as a utility, and at least 65 percent vacant for two years. The credit program [expires for expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2030](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-129.110.html). The State Historic Preservation Office decides whether a building qualifies. A tax professional explains what the credit means for an owner.

Historic reuse fits a building that qualifies and can be saved. Other mill sites need a different path.

## When an old mill site is a brownfield

An old mill site is a brownfield when contamination, or the threat of it, holds back its reuse. The [state Brownfields Redevelopment Section](https://www.deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/brownfields-redevelopment-section) defines a brownfields site as "an abandoned, idled or underused property where the threat of environmental contamination has hindered its redevelopment."

The state program lets a buyer who did not cause the contamination redevelop the site under an agreement with land-use restrictions. [Brownfield redevelopment in North Carolina](/insights/brownfield-redevelopment-north-carolina/) explains how the agreement works. The first step on any former mill site is a records review. See [Phase 1 environmental site assessment: what it is and when you need one](/insights/phase-1-environmental-site-assessment/).

> **Watch for:** A mill's history stays with the land. Read the environmental record before you set a price, not after a buyer's consultant finds it.

## Can an old mill site become a data center

An old mill site can become a data center, and the federal record documents one case. The [EPA's page on data centers and brownfields](https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/reuse-considerations-data-centers-brownfield-sites) describes a Forest City data center built on two adjacent brownfield sites. Those sites were previously used for textile and manufacturing operations. EPA brownfields assessment funds and the state response program supported the reuse.

One case is not a pattern. A data center needs power capacity, room around its buildings, water, and zoning that allows the use. Each site has to show all four. [When a warehouse is a data-center site](/insights/industrial-conversion-sites/) covers what decides a conversion. A data center also does not replace a mill's payroll. [Data center jobs: what a project brings a community](/insights/data-center-jobs/) separates construction work from permanent jobs.

> **Take action:** If you own a former mill or plant site, find out whether the record reads it as a data-center site, a brownfield, or both. Start with [Is your land a data-center site?](/who-we-serve/landowners/)

## What the public record shows

The public record shows payroll employment by industry, which buildings used historic credits, which sites entered the state brownfields program, and one documented data-center reuse. It does not show how many mill buildings stand vacant or how many acres former mills occupy. No public record counts them. For a specific property, county tax records, the state's brownfields map, and a site visit answer those questions.

Farm land followed a different path. See [North Carolina tobacco land: what changed and where it goes now](/insights/north-carolina-tobacco-land/). [Are data centers bad? The objections, checked against the record](/insights/data-center-misconceptions/) puts these job losses beside the wider debate.

## Key recap

- Textile, apparel, and furniture payrolls in North Carolina fell from 375,200 in August 1990 to 54,800 in August 2026.
- Manufacturing fell from 27.4 percent of state employment in 1990 to 10.5 percent in 2020, while total employment rose 40 percent.
- Many mill buildings now hold housing, offices, and shops through historic rehabilitation.
- A contaminated or underused mill site can enter the state brownfields program under land-use restrictions.
- The EPA documents one Forest City data center on two former textile and manufacturing brownfields.

## Questions

### How many textile jobs does North Carolina have now?

Federal estimates show 19,200 jobs in textile mills and 5,000 in textile product mills in August 2026. Both figures are preliminary. In August 1990 the two industries employed 194,100 people.

### What happened to North Carolina's furniture industry?

It shrank but did not end. Furniture and related manufacturing employed 89,000 people in August 1990 and 26,900 in August 2026, according to preliminary federal estimates.

### Can an old textile mill become a data center?

Sometimes. The EPA documents a data center on two former textile and manufacturing brownfields in Forest City. Each site still has to answer power, land, water, zoning, and environmental questions.

### What happens to old mill buildings in North Carolina?

Many become apartments, offices, and shops through historic rehabilitation. Others enter the brownfields program, find industrial users, or stay vacant. The record for each property shows which path it took.

## References

Primary sources cited on this page, in APA style.

- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-129.105 (2025). [https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-129.105.html](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-129.105.html)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-129.110 (2025). [https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-129.110.html](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_105/GS_105-129.110.html)
- North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. (n.d.). *Brownfields Redevelopment Section*. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from [https://www.deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/brownfields-redevelopment-section](https://www.deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/brownfields-redevelopment-section)
- North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. (2026). *A view of historic preservation across the state, 2026*. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. [https://www.hpo.nc.gov/administration/2026-congressional-booklet/open](https://www.hpo.nc.gov/administration/2026-congressional-booklet/open)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). *State and area employment, hours, and earnings: North Carolina, apparel manufacturing (Series SMU37000003231500001)* [Data set]. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from [https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231500001](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231500001)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). *State and area employment, hours, and earnings: North Carolina, furniture and related product manufacturing (Series SMU37000003133700001)* [Data set]. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from [https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003133700001](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003133700001)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). *State and area employment, hours, and earnings: North Carolina, textile mills (Series SMU37000003231300001)* [Data set]. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from [https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231300001](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231300001)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). *State and area employment, hours, and earnings: North Carolina, textile product mills (Series SMU37000003231400001)* [Data set]. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from [https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231400001](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU37000003231400001)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2026, October 1). *Reuse considerations for data centers on brownfield sites*. [https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/reuse-considerations-data-centers-brownfield-sites](https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/reuse-considerations-data-centers-brownfield-sites)
- Vaughn, J. (2021, September 29). *How has North Carolina's economy changed since 1990?* NC Commerce. North Carolina Department of Commerce. [https://www.commerce.nc.gov/blog/2021/09/29/how-has-north-carolina’s-economy-changed-1990-0](https://www.commerce.nc.gov/blog/2021/09/29/how-has-north-carolina%E2%80%99s-economy-changed-1990-0)

## The North Carolina data-center market

- [Data centers in North Carolina: the announced projects, in one table](/research/north-carolina-data-center-projects/)
- [Data centers in North Carolina, county by county](/research/north-carolina/)
- [How much land do data-center campuses actually take per megawatt?](/research/data-center-land-per-mw/)
- [How much land does a data center need?](/tools/data-center-land-calculator/)
- [Why data centers are coming to North Carolina](/insights/why-data-centers-north-carolina/)
- [Your short list, qualified before you see it](/who-we-serve/data-center-developers/)
- [North Carolina electric utility territories](/insights/north-carolina-electric-utility-territories/)
- [Data center tax revenue: what a North Carolina county keeps](/insights/data-center-tax-revenue/)
- [Do data centers fund schools? What Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina records show](/insights/do-data-centers-fund-schools/)

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