Crop Profile for Turfgrass in North Carolina
Prepared: February, 2004
Production Facts
● North Carolina ranks eighth in the U. S. in total turfgrass acreage.
● There are 2,007,100 acres devoted to turfgrasses in North Carolina.
● Turfgrasses are found in single-family dwellings, roadsides, parks, commercial properties,
churches, golf courses, schools, athletic fields, sod farms, airports, institutions, and cemeteries.
● Over $833 million is spent annually to maintain these turf acres.
● The equipment used to maintain the turf is valued at $3.5 billion.
● Single family dwellings account for 61% of the turf area, 56% of expenditures, and 84% of the
value of turf related equipment.
● Single-family dwellings, commercial properties, and golf courses comprise 69% of the turf
acreage, 87% of annual maintenance expenses, and 96% of the value of turf equipment.
● Golf courses represent 2.6% of the turf acreage, comprise 14% of maintenance expenses, and 5%
of the total value of turf equipment.
● North Carolina ranks ninth in total turf acreage on golf courses with 51,700 acres on 531 golf
courses.
● Twelve turfgrass species are utilized in North Carolina. They are tall fescue, fine fescue,
bermudagrass, centipedegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, bahiagrass, annual ryegrass, perennial
ryegrass, zoysiagrass, St. Augustinegrass, carpetgrass, and bentgrass.
Production Regions
Turfgrasses are grown in all 100 counties of North Carolina. Higher maintenance turf such as found in
single-family dwellings, golf courses, and commercial property is concentrated in population centers of
the state.
Production Practices
North Carolina is situated in the transition zone, which means both cool-season and warm-season turf
species can be successfully grown. However, heat tolerance of cool-season species and cold tolerance of
warm-season species is an issue for turf managers in the state. Because single-family dwellings comprise
the largest percentage of the turf acreage (61%) and tall fescue is the most common turf species in home
lawns, this turf species is grown on 37% (742,600 acres) of the turf acreage in North Carolina. The
second most common turf species is bermudagrass, which represents 12.3% of the turf acreage in the
state (247,873 acres). Labor is the single biggest expense category totaling $374 million and accounting