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State files updated Oct 27, 2026
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Home / General Contractors / North Carolina

How to become a general contractor in North Carolina

Most general contractors in North Carolina start in an apprenticeship or a helper job and learn on the job. The contractor license comes later, if you run your own business.

21registered apprenticeship programs$36.19median an hour in North Carolina

Pick your way in

Apprenticeship

Earn while you learn

A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.

Pay
From day one
In NC
21 registered programs
Find a program near you
Trade school

Classroom first

Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.

Pay
You pay tuition
In NC
24 schools with programs
Compare 24 schools
Helper

Start on a crew

Get hired as a helper by a licensed general contractor and log hours on the job.

Pay
Paid on the job
Start
No experience needed
How to get started

The license steps

  1. Get hired or start training

    Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.

    Compare the ways in
  2. Work as a general contractor

    Median pay in North Carolina is $36.19 an hour.

    General Contractor pay in North Carolina
  3. Run your own shop

    No years-of-experience requirement in G.S. 87-10 or in the Board's rules read; the qualifier must instead pass the exam.

    Issued by
    NC Licensing Board for General Contractors
    North Carolina contractor license
Pay once you're working

$75,270

a year is the median for general contractors in North Carolina ($36.19 an hour, May 2025).3

Pay by city and percentile
  1. Raleigh–Cary$37.35
  2. Charlotte–Concord$37.16
  3. Durham–Chapel Hill$36.27
  4. Winston–Salem$35.75
  5. Asheville$35.44
North Carolina median $36.19 an hour

Questions

Do you need a license to work on your own as a general contractor in North Carolina?

Yes. North Carolina licenses general contractors through the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors.1

Are general contractors in demand in North Carolina?

Projections Central expects about 2,940 general contractor openings a year in North Carolina through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.2

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

21 registered programs in North Carolina. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.

Find a program

More for general contractors in North Carolina

Sources

  1. NC Licensing Board for General Contractors contractor licensing (ncleg.gov, 2026-10-27)
  2. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  3. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Carolina, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)