Gayest places in North Carolina research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the cities in North Carolina with the highest percent of same-sex households for 2026. The data comes from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year vintage, which counts same-sex married spouses and same-sex unmarried partners at the city level.
6.1% gay households · #1 gayest in North Carolina
Data | Movers
4.6% gay households · #2 gayest in North Carolina
4.1% gay households · #3 gayest in North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.8% gay households · #4 gayest in North Carolina
Data | Movers
3.7% gay households · #5 gayest in North Carolina
Data | Movers
3.6% gay households · #6 gayest in North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.3% gay households · #7 gayest in North Carolina
3.2% gay households · #8 gayest in North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.1% gay households · #9 gayest in North Carolina
Located in
Moore County, North Carolina
Aberdeen is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area. The population was 3,400 at the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.1% gay households · #10 gayest in North Carolina
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Carolina’s statewide median.
On the map
Where North Carolina’s LGBTQ households are
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the gayest places in North Carolina for 2026
In order to rank the gayest cities in North Carolina, we used Saturday Night Science and the 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census. We looked at:
- Percentage of all households that are unmarried, same-sex partners
We limited the analysis to non-CDPs that have over 1,000 households.
We ranked each place from 1 to 240 with the city containing the highest percentage of unmarried, same-sex partner households being the most gay.
In the end, Plymouth ended up being the most gay place with 6.1% gay households.
Skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from gayest to straightest.
We updated this report for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the gayest places in North Carolina.
The full plate
Gayest Places In North Carolina
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Households | LGBTQ Households | % Gay Households |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plymouth | 1,314 | 80 | 6.1% |
| 2 | Haw River | 1,049 | 48 | 4.6% |
| 3 | Surf City | 1,784 | 73 | 4.1% |
| 4 | Wallace | 1,697 | 65 | 3.8% |
| 5 | Erwin | 1,869 | 70 | 3.7% |
| 6 | Red Oak | 1,424 | 51 | 3.6% |
| 7 | Carthage | 1,146 | 38 | 3.3% |
| 8 | Weaverville | 2,003 | 65 | 3.2% |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 3,996 | 125 | 3.1% |
| 10 | Troy | 1,152 | 36 | 3.1% |
| 11 | Wadesboro | 1,996 | 50 | 2.5% |
| 12 | Waynesville | 5,035 | 125 | 2.5% |
| 13 | Williamston | 2,364 | 56 | 2.4% |
| 14 | Oak Island | 4,602 | 108 | 2.3% |
| 15 | Mineral Springs | 1,170 | 27 | 2.3% |
| 16 | Kure Beach | 1,073 | 24 | 2.2% |
| 17 | Beaufort | 2,553 | 57 | 2.2% |
| 18 | Mills River | 2,727 | 59 | 2.2% |
| 19 | Mocksville | 2,324 | 50 | 2.2% |
| 20 | Fletcher | 3,372 | 66 | 2.0% |
| 21 | Woodfin | 2,977 | 58 | 1.9% |
| 22 | Asheville | 37,394 | 723 | 1.9% |
| 23 | Elkin | 1,660 | 32 | 1.9% |
| 24 | Laurel Park | 1,054 | 20 | 1.9% |
| 25 | Red Springs | 1,240 | 23 | 1.9% |
| 26 | Clayton | 11,242 | 206 | 1.8% |
| 27 | Ranlo | 1,692 | 31 | 1.8% |
| 28 | Gibsonville | 3,734 | 68 | 1.8% |
| 29 | Gamewell | 1,439 | 26 | 1.8% |
| 30 | Morganton | 6,888 | 121 | 1.8% |
| 31 | Wilmington | 56,612 | 988 | 1.7% |
| 32 | Kitty Hawk | 1,619 | 28 | 1.7% |
| 33 | Hillsborough | 4,146 | 69 | 1.7% |
| 34 | Locust | 2,193 | 34 | 1.6% |
| 35 | Forest City | 2,681 | 40 | 1.5% |
| 36 | Lowell | 1,780 | 26 | 1.5% |
| 37 | Goldsboro | 15,145 | 213 | 1.4% |
| 38 | Carrboro | 9,474 | 133 | 1.4% |
| 39 | Albemarle | 6,769 | 95 | 1.4% |
| 40 | Archer Lodge | 1,925 | 27 | 1.4% |
| 41 | Durham | 126,550 | 1,732 | 1.4% |
| 42 | Kannapolis | 22,509 | 305 | 1.4% |
| 43 | Wallburg | 1,115 | 15 | 1.3% |
| 44 | Green Level | 1,047 | 14 | 1.3% |
| 45 | Liberty | 1,047 | 14 | 1.3% |
| 46 | Morrisville | 12,300 | 164 | 1.3% |
| 47 | Mount Holly | 7,307 | 96 | 1.3% |
| 48 | Conover | 3,275 | 43 | 1.3% |
| 49 | Black Mountain | 3,601 | 47 | 1.3% |
| 50 | Chapel Hill | 21,189 | 276 | 1.3% |
| 51 | Rolesville | 3,524 | 45 | 1.3% |
| 52 | Weddington | 4,417 | 56 | 1.3% |
| 53 | Greensboro | 123,984 | 1,562 | 1.3% |
| 54 | Pinehurst | 8,480 | 104 | 1.2% |
| 55 | High Point | 45,872 | 555 | 1.2% |
| 56 | Zebulon | 3,252 | 39 | 1.2% |
| 57 | Farmville | 2,004 | 24 | 1.2% |
| 58 | Kill Devil Hills | 3,384 | 40 | 1.2% |
| 59 | Dallas | 2,401 | 28 | 1.2% |
| 60 | Cherryville | 2,316 | 27 | 1.2% |
| 61 | Hickory | 18,042 | 209 | 1.2% |
| 62 | Siler City | 3,027 | 35 | 1.2% |
| 63 | Spring Lake | 4,519 | 51 | 1.1% |
| 64 | Southport | 1,878 | 21 | 1.1% |
| 65 | Leland | 13,219 | 147 | 1.1% |
| 66 | Charlotte | 368,788 | 4,076 | 1.1% |
| 67 | Greenville | 40,783 | 449 | 1.1% |
| 68 | Lake Park | 1,363 | 15 | 1.1% |
| 69 | Ahoskie | 1,920 | 21 | 1.1% |
| 70 | Wendell | 4,957 | 54 | 1.1% |
| 71 | Roxboro | 3,548 | 38 | 1.1% |
| 72 | Raleigh | 203,443 | 2,154 | 1.1% |
| 73 | Boiling Spring Lakes | 2,937 | 29 | 1.0% |
| 74 | Roanoke Rapids | 6,194 | 61 | 1.0% |
| 75 | Sylva | 1,028 | 10 | 1.0% |
| 76 | Salisbury | 14,043 | 136 | 1.0% |
| 77 | Long View | 2,200 | 21 | 1.0% |
| 78 | Rockwell | 1,087 | 10 | 0.9% |
| 79 | Statesville | 12,286 | 113 | 0.9% |
| 80 | Winston-Salem | 103,058 | 939 | 0.9% |
| 81 | Elizabeth City | 7,576 | 69 | 0.9% |
| 82 | Concord | 38,669 | 351 | 0.9% |
| 83 | Wake Forest | 18,403 | 166 | 0.9% |
| 84 | Havelock | 6,000 | 54 | 0.9% |
| 85 | Huntersville | 25,055 | 225 | 0.9% |
| 86 | Hendersonville | 8,143 | 72 | 0.9% |
| 87 | Mint Hill | 10,262 | 89 | 0.9% |
| 88 | Monroe | 12,620 | 107 | 0.8% |
| 89 | Wilson | 20,403 | 169 | 0.8% |
| 90 | Maiden | 1,336 | 11 | 0.8% |
| 91 | Lincolnton | 5,023 | 41 | 0.8% |
| 92 | Rocky Mount | 23,364 | 189 | 0.8% |
| 93 | Brevard | 3,752 | 30 | 0.8% |
| 94 | Cary | 69,710 | 539 | 0.8% |
| 95 | Garner | 13,899 | 106 | 0.8% |
| 96 | Thomasville | 11,252 | 85 | 0.8% |
| 97 | Belmont | 6,387 | 48 | 0.8% |
| 98 | Davidson | 5,589 | 42 | 0.8% |
| 99 | Wesley Chapel | 3,063 | 23 | 0.8% |
| 100 | New Bern | 14,673 | 107 | 0.7% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. Places with over 1,000 households.
Summary
There You Have It – The Most LGBT Friendly Cities In North Carolina For 2026
If you’re looking at the number of gay households in North Carolina, this is an accurate list.
The gayest cities in North Carolina are Plymouth, Haw River, Surf City, Wallace, Erwin, Red Oak, Carthage, Weaverville, Aberdeen, and Troy. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Gayest Places In North Carolina FAQs
What is the gayest city in North Carolina?
Plymouth is the gayest place in North Carolina for 2026, with same-sex couples making up 6.1% of households. Haw River and Surf City are next.
What are the gayest places in North Carolina?
The gayest places in North Carolina are Plymouth, Haw River, Surf City, Wallace, Erwin, Red Oak, Carthage, Weaverville, Aberdeen, and Troy. We ranked all 240 places with over 1,000 households by their share of same-sex partner households.
How do you measure the gayest places?
The Census does not ask about sexual orientation, so we use the closest thing it tracks: the share of households headed by same-sex partners, from the American Community Survey. It undercounts single LGBT residents, but it is consistent from place to place.
What is the straightest place in North Carolina?
Cape Carteret is the straightest place in North Carolina by this measure, with same-sex couples at 0.0% of households. It anchors the other end of the ranking.
Does a town have to be big to make the list?
No. Any North Carolina place with more than 1,000 households qualifies, and 240 made the cut this year. Small towns can and do out-rank the big cities on this one.
