These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In North Carolina For 2018

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 places 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 helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best pat of North Carolina, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 73 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Tar Heel State for 2018:

1. Orange County (Photos)
2. Wake County (Photos)
3. Cabarrus County (Photos)
4. Polk County
5. Moore County (Photos)
6. Chatham County (Photos)
7. Durham County (Photos)
8. Iredell County (Photos)
9. Union County (Photos)
10. Onslow County (Photos)

Orange County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in North Carolina. And you might want to avoid Robeson County if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move North Carolina, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in North Carolina and the best places to raise a family in North Carolina.

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 need to make some assumptions about what’s a ‘best county’ and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time 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 73, 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, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Tar Heel State.

Read on to see why Orange County is the best county, while Robeson County is probably in contention for being the worst county in North Carolina.

1. Orange County

Biggest Place: Durham
Population: 139,807
Median Income: $61,130 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $281,700 (21st best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (4th best)
More on Orange County: Photos | Data

2. Wake County

Biggest Place: Raleigh
Population: 998,576
Median Income: $70,620 (1st best)
Median Home Price: $241,600 (23rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (3rd best)
More on Wake County: Photos | Data

3. Cabarrus County

Biggest Place: Concord
Population: 192,296
Median Income: $58,970 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $171,000 (37th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.9% (24th best)
More on Cabarrus County: Photos | Data

4. Polk County

Biggest Place: Tryon
Population: 20,324
Median Income: $47,396 (19th best)
Median Home Price: $208,000 (26th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.8% (21st best)
More on Polk County: Data

5. Moore County

Biggest Place: Pinehurst
Population: 93,070
Median Income: $51,873 (11th best)
Median Home Price: $205,300 (28th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.3% (16th best)
More on Moore County: Photos | Data

6. Chatham County

Biggest Place: Cary
Population: 68,778
Median Income: $58,555 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $243,900 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.8% (21st best)
More on Chatham County: Photos | Data

7. Durham County

Biggest Place: Raleigh
Population: 294,618
Median Income: $54,093 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $186,800 (34th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.3% (9th best)
More on Durham County: Photos | Data

8. Iredell County

Biggest Place: Mooresville
Population: 167,493
Median Income: $53,937 (9th best)
Median Home Price: $169,300 (38th best)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (29th best)
More on Iredell County: Photos | Data

9. Union County

Biggest Place: Indian Trail
Population: 217,614
Median Income: $67,194 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $206,000 (27th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (11th best)
More on Union County: Photos | Data

10. Onslow County

Biggest Place: Jacksonville
Population: 185,755
Median Income: $46,786 (21st best)
Median Home Price: $153,300 (42nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 11.8% (63rd best)
More on Onslow County: Photos | Data

There You Have It – The Best Counties In North Carolina To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in North Carolina can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in North Carolina according to the data:

1. Robeson County
2. Anson County
3. Scotland County

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

• 10 Most Dangerous Cities In North Carolina
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In North Carolina
• 10 Safest Cities in North Carolina
• 10 Best Cities For Singles In North Carolina

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In North Carolina

County	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
Orange County	1	139,807	$61,130	$281,700
Wake County	2	998,576	$70,620	$241,600
Cabarrus County	3	192,296	$58,970	$171,000
Polk County	4	20,324	$47,396	$208,000
Moore County	5	93,070	$51,873	$205,300
Chatham County	6	68,778	$58,555	$243,900
Durham County	7	294,618	$54,093	$186,800
Iredell County	8	167,493	$53,937	$169,300
Union County	9	217,614	$67,194	$206,000
Onslow County	10	185,755	$46,786	$153,300
Transylvania County	11	33,062	$43,918	$203,100
Henderson County	12	110,905	$48,138	$185,800
Buncombe County	13	250,112	$46,902	$198,100
Brunswick County	14	119,167	$49,356	$189,500
Haywood County	15	59,577	$43,097	$165,800
Watauga County	16	52,745	$39,443	$230,700
Catawba County	17	155,461	$45,450	$137,600
New Hanover County	18	216,430	$51,232	$215,800
Dare County	19	35,187	$54,787	$283,000
Craven County	20	104,190	$47,957	$154,000
Franklin County	21	62,989	$44,272	$134,500
Mecklenburg County	22	1,011,774	$59,268	$192,700
Carteret County	23	68,537	$50,599	$197,600
Pender County	24	56,358	$46,580	$160,300
Forsyth County	25	364,691	$46,283	$151,300
Davidson County	26	164,058	$44,469	$132,000
Johnston County	27	182,155	$51,980	$147,500
Nash County	28	94,385	$43,804	$120,500
Alamance County	29	156,372	$43,209	$143,500
Granville County	30	58,341	$50,317	$141,200
Cumberland County	31	325,841	$44,810	$129,000
Gaston County	32	211,753	$44,288	$126,000
Stanly County	33	60,610	$44,140	$129,300
Jackson County	34	41,227	$40,278	$172,800
Harnett County	35	126,620	$47,930	$140,800
Avery County	36	17,633	$35,891	$130,900
Rutherford County	37	66,701	$36,144	$107,600
Warren County	38	20,324	$33,913	$95,100
Beaufort County	39	47,513	$40,906	$122,100
Greene County	40	21,241	$37,190	$88,300
Pitt County	41	175,150	$42,308	$135,000
Yadkin County	42	37,819	$38,623	$126,900
Jones County	43	10,074	$34,080	$91,000
Ashe County	44	26,992	$37,360	$143,700
Hoke County	45	51,853	$42,704	$134,100
Montgomery County	46	27,475	$34,819	$95,700
Bertie County	47	20,324	$31,129	$79,900
Rockingham County	48	91,898	$40,003	$107,200
Randolph County	49	142,588	$43,010	$118,900
Rowan County	50	138,694	$44,494	$130,500
Martin County	51	23,510	$34,957	$84,000
Bladen County	52	34,454	$30,408	$85,700
Caldwell County	53	81,623	$37,118	$108,900
Cleveland County	54	97,113	$39,134	$108,100
Hertford County	55	24,285	$34,523	$86,900
Wilkes County	56	68,888	$34,846	$119,100
Edgecombe County	57	54,669	$32,298	$82,200
Sampson County	58	63,713	$36,742	$87,900
Duplin County	59	59,121	$35,364	$88,200
Cherokee County	60	27,226	$35,284	$140,700
Surry County	61	72,767	$37,345	$119,300
Chowan County	62	14,556	$41,156	$131,500
Burke County	63	89,082	$39,759	$113,600
Mcdowell County	64	45,013	$37,590	$104,500
Halifax County	65	52,849	$32,549	$87,700
Lenoir County	66	58,343	$36,956	$93,400
Washington County	67	12,503	$33,286	$82,400
Vance County	68	44,508	$32,733	$96,700
Wayne County	69	124,447	$40,457	$114,200
Richmond County	70	45,710	$32,526	$80,500
Scotland County	71	35,711	$30,013	$83,200
Anson County	72	25,883	$34,656	$79,900
Robeson County	73	134,576	$31,298	$71,000