• Airspace Lease Law: 0/30
• Law Vesting Air Rights with Landowners: 10/10
• Avigation Easement Law: 25/25
• Drone Task Force or Program Office: 20/20
• Drone Jobs Estimate: 4/15

Factors Helping the State Score

• Law Vesting Air Rights with Landowners: North Carolina law expressly provides air rights to landowners, which reduces litigation risk for drone operators because landowners know the extent of their property rights.
• Avigation Easement Law: North Carolina law creates an avigation easement, which means drone operators are protected from nuisance and trespass laws as long as their drones do not disturb people on the ground.
• Drone Task Force or Program Office: North Carolina gets full points. The state has a drone program office in its division of aviation with the goal of promoting economic development and airport safety in North Carolina.

Factors Hindering the State Score

• Airspace Lease Law: North Carolina law does not allow public authorities to lease low-altitude airspace above public roads and public property. Such a law would allow state or local authorities to create drone highways above roadways.
• Drone Jobs Estimate: North Carolina has 9.0 drone-related jobs per 100,000 people, ranking it in the bottom half of states.

These factors make North Carolina tied for the 6th most drone-friendly state in the country.