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A “Made in the USA” label on your laptop might lead you to believe that it’s made entirely in the USA. But (as we’ll see), fully American-made laptops are not really a thing.
Almost all major computer brands design their laptops in-house but outsource production overseas.
That’s not to say you can’t find laptops made in the USA — you can. In fact, you’d be in the majority if you went looking. A 2022 RetailBrew poll found that 72% of Americans seek out US-made products. And almost half of them are willing to pay extra for a purely American-made product.
We’ll start with the realities of a laptop made solely from American components.
Next, we’ll give you a comprehensive list of USA laptop brands, i.e. brands that partially or completely handle production within the U.S.
We’ll also explore the typical performance and quality of their laptops. Towards the end, we’ll answer some of your questions about where your favorite laptop brands are made.
Let’s dive in.
72% of Americans seek out US-made products
Table of Contents
Laptops Designed in the USA vs. Laptops Made in the USA
Before we can understand why it’s actually impossible to create a laptop from scratch in the U.S., we have to clarify one important distinction.
The reason you commonly find the “Designed in America” label on most laptops is exactly that — they were actually made overseas. Once the engineers develop and finalize the design, it’s usually sent to Asia for manufacturing and assembly.
But what about those US-made laptops we mentioned earlier?
To be clear, their components are also manufactured outside the US. But they’re brought back home for assembly and testing.
High-end boutique brands like Digital Storm or Falcon NW, design and assemble laptops for niche markets, mostly gaming. It’s what constitutes most of the laptop supply chain in America.
Why a Fully American-Made Laptop Remains Out of Reach
Many Asian countries — but mostly China and Taiwan — have a vast, incomparable production infrastructure. Combine that with low-cost labor, and it becomes exceedingly difficult for any other country to match their production power.
Take the motherboard, for example.
It’s what houses all the essential components of your laptop. But to make any reasonable profit from this central component, you need to manufacture it on a massive scale.
That’s not economically viable, even for giant computer companies in the U.S. (now or in the future).
There are many reasons why these American companies should shift production in-house: national security, job creation, strengthening the infrastructure, patriotism, or better customer support.
No surprise, it costs more to manufacture these parts in the U.S. and companies have to comply with strict sustainable working conditions. So even if, hypothetically speaking, production were to move back to the U.S., consumers would need to pay more for American-made laptops.
It’s more than just a tough challenge. The global nature of this supply chain makes it nearly impossible to build laptops from all-American components.
“Made in the USA” Laptop Brands
With those caveats and clarifications out of the way, here’s our laptop brands list. These computer companies design and assemble their laptops in the US. So if you’re looking for a laptop NOT made in China, your search starts here.
Falcon Northwest
The company makes a point about keeping production in America whenever possible.
The first on our list is the Oregon-based Falcon Northwest. It’s a boutique computer company that builds custom, enthusiast PCs. They’re the Ferrari of custom PCs. No two of their machines are identical.
They offer two high-performance gaming laptops: the TLX and the DRX.
The DRX is heavy and power-hungry. It’s meant to be a desktop replacement, packing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series.
The TLX is lighter, thinner, and more portable. It features a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or 4070 and the Intel 13th Gen Core i9. You can customize their specs and designs to your liking.
Both of these Falcon NW laptops are designed, assembled, shipped, and supported within the US.
The company makes a point about keeping production in America whenever possible. So while the essential parts come from overseas, the assembly for these laptops is in the US.
You also get in-house technical support from people who actually made your Falcon Northwest laptop. The company doesn’t outsource support either.
Digital Storm
You can find a facility tour on Digital Storm’s website
Digital Storm is another boutique gaming computer manufacturer. Their machines are hand-built in Gilroy, California. Digital Storm is all about cutting-edge technology and high performance.
You can choose from two laptop options: the Nova and the Avon.
The Nova has the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070; the Avon features either RTX 4080 or 4090. Both Digital Storm laptops are built for high-end gaming and come with lifetime support.
You can find a facility tour on Digital Storm’s website, where they give you a sneak preview of their assembly and design process. The casings and some electronics are also built in-house. And their team stress tests every machine for quality assurance.
Eluktronics
Eluktronics offers US-based technical support.
Eluktronics PCs are only for high-performance, serious gamers.
Based in Delaware and Pennsylvania, Eluktronics focuses solely on premium laptops. They offer three lines of gaming laptops: the MECH, MAX, and Prometheus series.
All three Eluktronics laptops are almost identical in specs and design but vary in size and display. They all have the latest Intel chips and RTX 40 series GPUs, along with some liquid cooling features. Eluktronics also offers US-based technical support.
Origin PC
Origin PC makes custom computers
Founded by former Alienware employees, Origin PC offers high-performance laptops with big savings.
Origin PC makes custom computers, but they’re not limited to gaming. They market to professionals too.
Their landing page highlights their US-based assembly and support. Origin PC laptops are all assembled by hand in Florida. And they get lifetime support from Origin PC’s US-based staff.
Origin PC offers two series of gaming laptops: EVO and EON. Both series are fully customizable. With Origin PC EVO you get a thin and light experience, while the Origin PC EON laptops aim to be desktop replacements.
Velocity Micro
100% hand-assembly and strict quality control approach make Velocity Micro yet another boutique manufacturer on this list
Velocity Micro caters to professionals with their high-end mobile workstations and home office laptops. Think designer PCs and laptops for the office.
The company assembles these machines in Richmond, Virginia. Its 100% hand-assembly and strict quality control approach make Velocity Micro yet another boutique manufacturer on this list. You can find their products in Best Buy, Target, Costco and more.
Velocity Micro laptops — the Signature and Raptor series — are designed for CAD, 3D design, and content creation. They both serve as premium desktop replacements, packing the latest and greatest hardware.
We’re talking 4K screens, NVIDIA RTX 40 series, and 13th Gen Intel Core i9. You can tweak them to fit your unique work needs.
But if neither catches your interest, check out some of the best work laptops available right now.
Custom Laptops Made in the USA
Prebuilt and preconfigured is probably what comes to mind when you think about laptops. There’s very little you can do in the way of personalizing it (beyond slapping a few stickers on it).
But that’s changing.
How to Build Your Own Laptop?
You may have noticed a subtle trend across our laptop brands list. They all offer build-your-own laptop options. The extent varies between manufacturers, but the idea is almost universal.
These brands let you customize your laptop’s aesthetics and specs.
You can get custom engravings and designs on the chassis. Or no design or engravings for a minimalist look.
Beyond the looks, you can select the specs and features that fit your needs. More involved in design or gaming? Get a more robust GPU. Don’t need liquid cooling? Leave it out.
Once you’ve decided on a brand, you can just pick the components that best fit your needs. You place the order, the company assembles your laptop and ships it to you. No fuss.
People want the freedom to choose and they want their laptops to cater to their specific needs. And these brands are taking note of it.
Price, Build Quality, and Support
American-made electronics, including laptops, tend to be higher quality and more durable. But these also drive up the price. That’s not even considering the customized, hand-crafted approach of the laptop brands we listed. Or the economics we discussed early on.
But for the premium price, you get better build quality and technical support.
Better Support
We already touched on this briefly in our laptop brands list. But to reiterate, these American laptop brands offer unparalleled technical support.
Much like the assembly and design, these brands also handle customer service within the US. It’s not outsourced to India or China. Dell has one the most extensive laptop customer support networks. But it was also one of the earliest to outsource customer support services to India.
With these brands, your customer care technicians are the same people who built your laptop.
If you buy from these boutique manufacturers, they’ll provide 24/7 lifetime support. That’s hard to replicate for a company that outsources customer service to a third party.
Longer Warranty
The same goes for warranty. Although it varies between brands, getting up to 3 years of warranty on these US-made laptops is not unusual.
Better Build Quality
Even when your warranty runs out, you can rest assured that your laptop is easy to repair. Repairability extends its life and makes it the more sustainable choice.
On average, American-made laptops will last longer than cheaper devices built overseas.
What it all means for the consumer is that they have to pay more to buy a laptop made on American soil. But if budget is a deciding factor, check out our list of best gaming laptops under $500.
How to Identify “Made in the USA” Laptops
The “Made in the USA” label on your laptop typically means it was designed and assembled within the US. But if you want to verify that for yourself:
Check the company website: The easiest way to ensure that a laptop is made in the USA is to check the company website. Brands like to highlight it when they’re manufacturing locally and creating jobs.
Try customer support: If you can’t find anything relevant on the company website, try customer support. They’ll happily tell you which of their laptops are assembled in the US.
Check the FTC database: To slap that “Made in the USA” label on a product, manufacturers have to comply with strict federal regulations. The Federal Trade Commission tracks and verifies those labels. You can always consult the Federal Trade Commission’s online database to see if your laptop model pops up there.
FAQs about Laptops Made in the USA
Ever wondered where your favorite brands manufacture their laptops? Let’s find out.
Where are HP laptops made?
HP manufactures most of its laptops in China and Taiwan. Even though HP has laptop operations in the US, they’re mostly focused on R&D and marketing.
Where are Lenovo laptops made?
Lenovo laptops are manufactured and assembled in China. But Lenovo sources laptop components from all over the world, including Taiwan and US.
Where are Dell laptops made?
The bulk of Dell laptops are manufactured and assembled in China. Although most of its laptop production is limited to China, Dell also uses an assembly plant in Brazil.
Where are Apple Macbooks made?
Apple Macbooks are primarily manufactured and assembled in Shenzhen, China. Apple contracts the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, Foxconn, for various Apple products, including Macbooks.
Where are ASUS laptops made?
ASUS manufactures and assembles its laptops in China and Taiwan. ASUS is a Taiwanese company, so most ASUS laptops are made in Taiwan.
Where are Acer laptops made?
The Acer laptop production is primarily based in China, but its supply chain includes suppliers from Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, India, Brazil, and Hungary.
Where are Microsoft Surface laptops made?
Microsoft Surface laptops are primarily made in China. But in 2020, Microsoft announced a plan to shift some of the Surface production to Vietnam or India.
Conclusion
With all that in mind, you can see why choosing an American-made laptop is about more than just specs. USA-made laptops offer superior craftsmanship and customer service. And even though fully American-made laptops are impossible in today’s global economy, they still bring a lot of jobs and opportunities for Americans
Now we’d love to hear from you. Have you tried any of the American-made laptops on our list? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think.