We’re just going to leave this right here: if you’re the home to many, many old tobacco farms and factories, you better believe you house some crazy rich cities. And, yes, we’re talking about you North Carolina.
Now, not every city on our top ten richest cities in North Carolina for 2023 can compare to Beverly Hills, CA, there are a ton of wealthy North Carolina gems on this list that definitely know how to roll out the bourgeois southern charm.
To create this list, we asked ourselves, what is important to rich people? Besides the obvious: high paying jobs, safe cities and neighborhoods, gold star schools, and high-end amenities, we know that the ‘one percent’ like to be catered to on a different level. There are North Carolina cities on our richest cities list that do just that. Cities on our list like Apex and Cary are the playground of North Carolina’s rich and famous with great parks, amazing schools, and posh shopping. And if you live in Pinehurst, your friends will think that you are super rich with 20 golf courses to show off within ten minutes of your house.
Now, it’s not lost on us that there are multiple cities on our ten best places to live in North Carolina for 2023 that are also on our richest list. Wealthy cities tend to have it all. To see which cities make the dolla’ holla’ on our top ten richest cities in North Carolina for 2023, take a look at the list below.
Here are the 10 richest places in North Carolina for 2023:
How does one get their hand on one of these super rich, Tar Heel cities? Well, a couple of things have to fall into place for you.
First off, you need to find a job that pays on average $100,000/year. Might we suggest a job in real estate in our number one richest city? The average median home price in this wealthy city is close to $500,000. Secondly, you have to be a hard worker. Unemployment rates and poverty rates in these North Carolina cities are all below 4%.
So what city in North Carolina is the wealthiest? That would be Weddington according to the most recent Census data we analyzed.
So, if you care about living where there are great jobs and wealthy people, take a look the list below. The state where the North meets the South is calling.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about North Carolina:
The 10 Richest Cities In North Carolina For 2023
1. Weddington
/10
Population: 12,851
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $152,377
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 2.1%
More on Weddington: Real Estate | Photos
2. Wesley Chapel
/10
Population: 8,661
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $124,716
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Wesley Chapel: Real Estate
3. St. James
/10
Population: 6,199
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $115,040
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 2.8%
More on St. James: Real Estate
4. Harrisburg
/10
Population: 18,415
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 3)
Median Income: $124,090
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 2.8%
More on Harrisburg: Real Estate | Photos
5. Oak Ridge
/10
Population: 7,461
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $132,298
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Oak Ridge: Real Estate | Photos
6. Summerfield
/10
Population: 11,026
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 3)
Median Income: $127,661
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 7.4%
More on Summerfield: Real Estate | Photos
7. Waxhaw
/10
Population: 19,645
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $123,370
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 3.6%
More on Waxhaw: Real Estate | Photos
8. Davidson
/10
Population: 14,644
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Income: $141,845
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.5%
More on Davidson: Real Estate | Photos
9. Morrisville
/10
Population: 28,824
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 8)
Median Income: $106,891
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.1%
More on Morrisville: Real Estate | Photos
10. Marvin
/10
Population: 6,326
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 5)
Median Income: $221,350
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 3.0%
More on Marvin: Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In North Carolina For 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 136 places with more than 5,000 people in North Carolina, we ranked each place from 1 to 136 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Weddington, crowned the “Richest City In North Carolina For 2023”. You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 136 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In North Carolina For 2023
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in North Carolina, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in North Carolina.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in North Carolina, according to data:
Poorest: Boone
2nd Poorest: Wadesboro
3rd Poorest: Forest City
For more North Carolina reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In North Carolina
- Cheapest Places To Live In North Carolina
- Most Dangerous Cities In North Carolina
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In North Carolina
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weddington | 3.67 |
| 2 | Wesley Chapel | 6.67 |
| 3 | St. James | 8.0 |
| 4 | Harrisburg | 10.67 |
| 5 | Oak Ridge | 11.0 |
| 6 | Summerfield | 13.67 |
| 7 | Waxhaw | 14.33 |
| 8 | Davidson | 15.33 |
| 9 | Morrisville | 17.33 |
| 10 | Marvin | 18.67 |
| 11 | Matthews | 18.67 |
| 12 | Huntersville | 20.0 |
| 13 | Apex | 21.0 |
| 14 | Holly Springs | 21.67 |
| 15 | Cramerton | 23.0 |
| 16 | Black Mountain | 23.0 |
| 17 | Cary | 23.0 |
| 18 | Wake Forest | 24.33 |
| 19 | Rolesville | 25.67 |
| 20 | Gibsonville | 26.33 |
| 21 | Stokesdale | 27.0 |
| 22 | Wendell | 30.67 |
| 23 | Leland | 30.67 |
| 24 | Aberdeen | 31.0 |
| 25 | Unionville | 31.33 |
| 26 | Cornelius | 31.33 |
| 27 | Clayton | 32.67 |
| 28 | Pinehurst | 32.67 |
| 29 | Stallings | 33.33 |
| 30 | Indian Trail | 33.67 |
| 31 | Knightdale | 34.33 |
| 32 | King | 34.67 |
| 33 | Mooresville | 35.0 |
| 34 | Lewisville | 36.0 |
| 35 | Winterville | 37.33 |
| 36 | Mint Hill | 37.33 |
| 37 | Fuquay-Varina | 38.0 |
| 38 | Fletcher | 38.33 |
| 39 | Concord | 41.0 |
| 40 | Clemmons | 41.67 |
| 41 | Trinity | 41.67 |
| 42 | Archdale | 42.0 |
| 43 | Angier | 46.67 |
| 44 | Mills River | 47.0 |
| 45 | Walke | 48.33 |
| 46 | Oak Island | 48.67 |
| 47 | Kernersville | 49.33 |
| 48 | Raleigh | 50.0 |
| 49 | Carrboro | 50.33 |
| 50 | Belmont | 51.0 |
| 51 | Mebane | 52.33 |
| 52 | Asheville | 53.0 |
| 53 | Charlotte | 53.67 |
| 54 | Hillsborough | 54.0 |
| 55 | Woodfin | 54.0 |
| 56 | Garner | 55.0 |
| 57 | Cherryville | 55.67 |
| 58 | Hendersonville | 56.33 |
| 59 | Durham | 57.33 |
| 60 | Pineville | 57.33 |
| 61 | Morehead City | 58.33 |
| 62 | Southern Pines | 58.33 |
| 63 | Boiling Spring Lakes | 60.33 |
| 64 | Kill Devil Hills | 61.33 |
| 65 | Carolina Beach | 61.67 |
| 66 | Newton | 64.0 |
| 67 | Mount Holly | 64.33 |
| 68 | Elon | 66.33 |
| 69 | Conover | 68.33 |
| 70 | Chapel Hill | 69.33 |
| 71 | Havelock | 70.33 |
| 72 | Dallas | 71.67 |
| 73 | Waynesville | 71.67 |
| 74 | Butner | 72.33 |
| 75 | Wilmington | 73.67 |
| 76 | Gastonia | 73.67 |
| 77 | Monroe | 74.67 |
| 78 | High Point | 77.33 |
| 79 | Brevard | 77.33 |
| 80 | Kannapolis | 79.0 |
| 81 | Sanford | 80.67 |
| 82 | Winston-Salem | 82.0 |
| 83 | Greensboro | 82.0 |
| 84 | Burlington | 83.33 |
| 85 | New Bern | 85.0 |
| 86 | Hickory | 86.0 |
| 87 | Bessemer City | 86.33 |
| 88 | Shelby | 87.33 |
| 89 | Zebulon | 87.67 |
| 90 | Dunn | 88.67 |
| 91 | Hope Mills | 90.33 |
| 92 | Morganton | 91.67 |
| 93 | Sawmills | 91.67 |
| 94 | Nashville | 93.0 |
| 95 | Tarboro | 93.67 |
| 96 | Roanoke Rapids | 93.67 |
| 97 | Fayetteville | 96.33 |
| 98 | Thomasville | 97.0 |
| 99 | Graham | 97.0 |
| 100 | Lenoir | 97.0 |
