Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is North Carolina a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in North Carolina.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Tar Heel State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of North Carolina, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 100 counties in the state.
Wake County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in North Carolina. And you should avoid Robeson County if you can — at least according to the data.
$105,768 median income · 4.1% unemployment
$93,511 median income · 3.0% unemployment
$90,089 median income · 3.6% unemployment
$72,322 median income · 4.0% unemployment
$102,900 median income · 4.2% unemployment
$77,024 median income · 4.7% unemployment
$94,317 median income · 2.9% unemployment
$91,078 median income · 5.5% unemployment
$86,080 median income · 4.8% unemployment
$89,005 median income · 4.6% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Carolina’s statewide median.
North Carolina statewide median: $72,388
North Carolina statewide median: $336,408
North Carolina statewide median: 4.7%
On the map
Where North Carolina’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which North Carolina county is the best?
To give you the best county in North Carolina, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in North Carolina across each of the criteria from one to 100, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In North Carolina.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Tar Heel State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in North Carolina.
Read on to see why Wake County is the best county, while Robeson County is probably in contention for being the worst county in North Carolina.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In North Carolina
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake County | 1,178,653 | $105,768 | $479,727 |
| 2 | Currituck County | 30,601 | $93,511 | $541,876 |
| 3 | Orange County | 149,678 | $90,089 | $505,612 |
| 4 | Carteret County | 69,148 | $72,322 | $470,748 |
| 5 | Union County | 250,958 | $102,900 | $451,672 |
| 6 | Brunswick County | 152,568 | $77,024 | $405,145 |
| 7 | Chatham County | 80,151 | $94,317 | $550,018 |
| 8 | Camden County | 10,927 | $91,078 | $393,333 |
| 9 | Moore County | 104,876 | $86,080 | $413,086 |
| 10 | Cabarrus County | 236,133 | $89,005 | $384,693 |
| 11 | Dare County | 37,875 | $88,994 | $600,596 |
| 12 | Lincoln County | 92,716 | $80,016 | $401,881 |
| 13 | Iredell County | 196,544 | $81,419 | $386,377 |
| 14 | Pender County | 65,550 | $80,396 | $436,167 |
| 15 | New Hanover County | 235,229 | $75,166 | $444,936 |
| 16 | Davie County | 44,122 | $75,057 | $321,975 |
| 17 | Durham County | 332,353 | $82,316 | $397,038 |
| 18 | Transylvania County | 33,691 | $66,184 | $474,865 |
| 19 | Stokes County | 45,139 | $62,969 | $258,748 |
| 20 | Johnston County | 234,263 | $83,384 | $343,005 |
| 21 | Buncombe County | 274,360 | $74,436 | $454,250 |
| 22 | Madison County | 21,867 | $58,531 | $392,633 |
| 22 | Henderson County | 118,484 | $68,187 | $422,833 |
| 24 | Perquimans County | 13,244 | $67,917 | $277,278 |
| 25 | Mecklenburg County | 1,154,681 | $87,005 | $421,452 |
| 26 | Craven County | 102,612 | $65,873 | $273,661 |
| 27 | Franklin County | 74,386 | $74,240 | $362,848 |
| 28 | Guilford County | 547,940 | $68,642 | $278,467 |
| 29 | Haywood County | 62,662 | $61,912 | $341,225 |
| 30 | Onslow County | 207,906 | $68,148 | $289,956 |
| 31 | Gates County | 10,376 | $66,333 | $246,167 |
| 32 | Polk County | 19,891 | $67,758 | $316,133 |
| 33 | Granville County | 60,877 | $71,111 | $317,382 |
| 34 | Clay County | 11,610 | $56,971 | $340,068 |
| 35 | Davidson County | 172,954 | $64,172 | $273,745 |
| 36 | Harnett County | 139,150 | $71,287 | $294,554 |
| 37 | Catawba County | 163,573 | $67,864 | $292,677 |
| 38 | Macon County | 37,941 | $59,061 | $360,444 |
| 38 | Stanly County | 64,651 | $60,704 | $303,694 |
| 40 | Yancey County | 18,797 | $58,709 | $321,488 |
| 41 | Forsyth County | 389,977 | $67,165 | $285,372 |
| 42 | Pamlico County | 12,390 | $59,717 | $273,404 |
| 43 | Alexander County | 36,412 | $65,354 | $263,714 |
| 44 | Cherokee County | 29,562 | $53,628 | $269,305 |
| 45 | Gaston County | 234,881 | $67,478 | $297,720 |
| 46 | Avery County | 17,680 | $61,428 | $384,557 |
| 47 | Ashe County | 26,950 | $56,866 | $346,186 |
| 48 | Pasquotank County | 40,834 | $66,589 | $265,168 |
| 49 | Alamance County | 176,893 | $65,651 | $294,316 |
| 50 | Rowan County | 149,875 | $65,725 | $276,269 |
| 51 | Beaufort County | 44,499 | $58,357 | $233,490 |
| 52 | Chowan County | 13,836 | $53,864 | $232,683 |
| 53 | Watauga County | 55,123 | $51,693 | $506,670 |
| 54 | Mitchell County | 14,992 | $57,602 | $231,962 |
| 55 | Nash County | 96,216 | $62,426 | $237,062 |
| 56 | Randolph County | 146,348 | $61,022 | $253,645 |
| 57 | Jackson County | 43,771 | $55,815 | $444,171 |
| 58 | Lee County | 65,816 | $65,387 | $292,369 |
| 59 | Cumberland County | 338,545 | $61,291 | $231,841 |
| 60 | Jones County | 9,302 | $59,641 | $136,422 |
| 60 | Person County | 39,542 | $63,300 | $253,001 |
| 62 | Burke County | 87,795 | $58,592 | $255,518 |
| 63 | McDowell County | 44,817 | $57,168 | $260,303 |
| 64 | Pitt County | 177,193 | $58,188 | $243,762 |
| 64 | Hoke County | 53,835 | $64,912 | $277,587 |
| 66 | Cleveland County | 100,991 | $58,534 | $209,383 |
| 67 | Yadkin County | 37,574 | $62,932 | $241,129 |
| 68 | Caldwell County | 80,536 | $56,425 | $237,081 |
| 69 | Montgomery County | 26,007 | $57,766 | $196,637 |
| 70 | Surry County | 71,425 | $55,656 | $231,798 |
| 71 | Rockingham County | 92,131 | $57,053 | $197,299 |
| 72 | Caswell County | 22,404 | $59,755 | $213,219 |
| 73 | Hyde County | 4,592 | $53,713 | $222,154 |
| 74 | Alleghany County | 11,174 | $47,172 | $269,503 |
| 75 | Wayne County | 118,652 | $59,733 | $186,089 |
| 76 | Graham County | 8,072 | $49,684 | $220,118 |
| 77 | Wilkes County | 65,935 | $51,721 | $225,624 |
| 78 | Columbus County | 50,140 | $49,442 | $183,768 |
| 79 | Martin County | 21,644 | $48,578 | $126,740 |
| 80 | Tyrrell County | 3,423 | $41,685 | $167,041 |
| 81 | Rutherford County | 64,930 | $51,410 | $222,162 |
| 82 | Wilson County | 79,290 | $56,423 | $221,170 |
| 82 | Swain County | 14,013 | $52,349 | $324,622 |
| 84 | Northampton County | 16,931 | $50,086 | $111,077 |
| 85 | Bertie County | 17,170 | $48,750 | $65,559 |
| 86 | Bladen County | 29,566 | $42,422 | $157,231 |
| 87 | Hertford County | 19,908 | $45,537 | $122,055 |
| 88 | Warren County | 18,795 | $50,638 | $242,861 |
| 89 | Sampson County | 59,470 | $52,432 | $152,823 |
| 90 | Duplin County | 49,335 | $55,148 | $186,278 |
| 91 | Washington County | 10,812 | $41,813 | $106,837 |
| 92 | Edgecombe County | 48,736 | $51,265 | $135,073 |
| 93 | Vance County | 42,322 | $50,465 | $183,619 |
| 94 | Halifax County | 47,675 | $45,590 | $103,624 |
| 95 | Lenoir County | 54,919 | $45,143 | $153,995 |
| 96 | Anson County | 22,289 | $47,302 | $141,108 |
| 97 | Greene County | 20,486 | $53,244 | $182,392 |
| 98 | Scotland County | 33,590 | $45,730 | $145,231 |
| 99 | Richmond County | 42,344 | $44,883 | $132,397 |
| 100 | Robeson County | 116,902 | $41,978 | $135,502 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 100 North Carolina counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In North Carolina To Call Home For 2026
Living in North Carolina can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in North Carolina are Wake County, Currituck County, Orange County, Carteret County, Union County, Brunswick County, Chatham County, Camden County, Moore County, and Cabarrus County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
