North Carolina's foreign-born population surged 32% over the last decade, census data show.

Why it matters: Foreign-born residents in North Carolina are a growing and important part of the state's economy — supporting sectors from healthcare to tech to agriculture — while shaping what the state looks like politically and culturally.

By the numbers: North Carolina's foreign-born population in 2023 was 995,127, comprising 9.18% of the state's overall population, per census data.

• That includes 443,000 naturalized citizens, plus 562,000 who are not citizens.

Flashback: The foreign-born population in North Carolina has increased eightfold since 1990, according to the Office of State Management & Budget.

• Immigration began to increase significantly following the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, says Nathan Dollar, director of Carolina Demography.

What they're saying: People move here from other countries for similar reasons they move here from other states — including favorable climate, tax reasons, low cost of living and job opportunities, says Michael Cline, a state demographer for North Carolina at the Office of State Budget.

• What's more, he added, people are often "pushed out of their own countries by wars or instability, plus demographic factors that pressure them to move here."

The big picture: In North Carolina, and in the U.S. overall, the native-born population — Baby Boomers in particular — is aging, and there's been a long-term decline in fertility, Cline said.

• "The U.S. is becoming more dependent on international migration for its growth," he said.

Go deeper

Democrats running in battleground House districts clobbered their Republican opponents in fundraising between July and September, continuing the party's trend of out-raising the GOP this year, an Axios analysis has found.

Driving the news: That includes the Southeast's lone competitive congressional seat: NC-01, which encompasses the northeastern part of the state and hasn't elected a Republican since 1883, CBS News reports.

Why it matters: The race between incumbent Democratic Congressman Don Davis and Republican Laurie Buckhout is neck-and-neck and could determine which party controls Congress next year.

Zoom in: Davis' and Buckhout's fundraising numbers are on par with averages for the country's most competitive congressional races: Davis brought in just under $2 million in that three-month period to Buckhout's $785,000, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Yes, but: After Davis outraised Buckhout in the second quarter of this year, Buckhout campaign advisor Jonathan Felts noted: "Dating back to 2014, Democrats have been outraising Republicans in competitive seats [in North Carolina] and then losing pretty much all of those competitive seats despite having a significant financial advantage."

Go deeper: Dem House candidates smoke GOP rivals in 11th-hour fundraising

🍺 The owner of The Village nightclub in Raleigh's Glenwood South district has sued the city over its usage of noise ordinance complaints. (News & Observer 🔒)

🎓 N.C. Promise has boosted enrollment at Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, Western Carolina and UNC Pembroke by cutting the costs of tuition. (WUNC)

• But the program has attracted so many students it is facing a $6 million budget deficit.

💵 The UNC system is waiving application fees for students from western North Carolina counties affected by Hurricane Helene. (WRAL)

Knowledge is power, and we believe in empowering our community through reliable, local journalism. 

Join our membership program for just $50+ a year, and you can support our efforts to keep you in the know of what's happening around town.

• You'll get insider notes and other perks as a thanks.

Together, we can ensure our neighbors stay informed.

Bill Adair, a Pulitzer Prize winner and professor at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy, founded PolitiFact in 2007 to push back against what he saw as a growing trend of lying in politics.

• Nearly two decades later that problem has not only persisted but seems to have gotten worse, including widespread misinformation during Hurricane Helene.

Driving the news: This month Adair published "Beyond the Big Lie," a reflection on lying and misinformation in politics and how we might begin to fix its problems.

• On Oct. 24, Adair and fellow Duke professor Frank Bruni will give a talk on the book at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.

We talked with Adair for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity.

✍️ What is your writing routine? I am an early-morning writer. To write the book I was getting up at 4am.

• There were two things that kept me going: One was coffee from Counter Culture. I'm a loyalist to Counter Culture, which is based in Durham. And my wife would leave me these wonderful notes that would greet me every morning, and they really gave me energy.

🍕 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle: Pizzeria Mercato. Fellow Duke journalism professor Frank Bruni introduced me to it.

🧘‍♂️ How do you unplug? A friend and I go to yoga and then grab a coffee after. It's sort of the modern equivalent of the neighborhood bar. The go-to coffee shop is typically Cloche in Durham.

Keep reading for more about Adair

More than one million North Carolinians have cast their ballots in this year's general election so far, the North Carolina State Board of Elections said.

• This represents a statewide turnout of about 13% of North Carolina's nearly 7.8 million registered voters.
• Close to 863,000 people voted early and in-person through Saturday, a 2.4% increase compared to votes cast in the first three days of early voting in 2020, per NCSBE.