The 10 Richest Counties In North Carolina For 2024


The richest counties in North Carolina are Chatham County and Wake County for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: January 17, 2024

You’re probably never going to make enough money to live in the richest counties in North Carolina.

The median household income in Chatham County, the richest county in North Carolina is $84,222, significantly higher than the US median of $74,580, which means based purely on math most people never make enough to live there.

And that’s okay because it’s still fun to look at the people living in the lap of luxury.

So we used Saturday Night Science and the most recent Census to rank home prices and incomes for all 100 counties in the Tar Heel State. Let’s star gaze together.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | Summary

What is the richest county in North Carolina? The richest county in North Carolina is Chatham County. In contrast, the poorest county in state is Washington County, according to the Census data.

Now you know exactly where to move in North Carolina. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in North Carolina and the cheapest places to live in North Carolina.

The Richest Counties In North Carolina For 2024

1. Chatham County

Cary, NC

Source: Flickr User James Willamor | CC BY-SA 2.0

Biggest Place: Cary
Population: 76,754
Median Income: $84,222 (4th highest)
Median Home Price: $545,007 (2nd highest)
More on Chatham County: Data

2. Wake County

Cary, NC

Source: Flickr User James Willamor | CC BY-SA 2.0

Biggest Place: Raleigh
Population: 1,132,103
Median Income: $96,734 (highest)
Median Home Price: $475,833 (5th highest)
More on Wake County: Data

3. Dare County

Kill Devil Hills, NC

Source: Wikipedia User Tetra09 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Kill Devil Hills
Population: 37,160
Median Income: $79,742 (7th highest)
Median Home Price: $575,730 (highest)
More on Dare County: Data

4. Currituck County

Biggest Place: Moyock
Population: 28,616
Median Income: $82,793 (6th highest)
Median Home Price: $509,658 (3rd highest)
More on Currituck County: Data

5. Orange County

Carrboro, NC

Source: Wikipedia User Elizabeth B. Thomsen Ethomsen | GFDL

Biggest Place: Durham
Population: 145,919
Median Income: $85,785 (3rd highest)
Median Home Price: $471,210 (6th highest)
More on Orange County: Data

6. Union County

Indian Trail, NC

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Indian Trail
Population: 240,109
Median Income: $95,533 (2nd highest)
Median Home Price: $424,510 (11th highest)
More on Union County: Data

7. Mecklenburg County

Charlotte, NC

Source: Wikipedia User Greengrass090 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Charlotte
Population: 1,115,403
Median Income: $79,265 (8th highest)
Median Home Price: $407,949 (15th highest)
More on Mecklenburg County: Data

8. Pender County

Surf City, NC

Source: Wikipedia User . The original uploader was Mikehelms at English Wikipedia | CC BY 2.5

Biggest Place: Hampstead
Population: 61,592
Median Income: $74,538 (14th highest)
Median Home Price: $422,809 (12th highest)
More on Pender County: Data

9. Brunswick County

Oak Island, NC

Source: Wikipedia User User:Dincher | GFDL

Biggest Place: Leland
Population: 139,721
Median Income: $71,193 (16th highest)
Median Home Price: $425,569 (10th highest)
More on Brunswick County: Data

10. Cabarrus County

Concord, NC

Source: Wikipedia User AlexiusHoratius | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Concord
Population: 226,396
Median Income: $83,828 (5th highest)
Median Home Price: $367,078 (22nd highest)
More on Cabarrus County: Data

Best Counties To Live In North Carolina

Methodology: How do you determine which North Carolina county is the richest?

To determine the richest county in North Carolina, we have to look at a handful of metrics that correlate with how rich people are. To do that, we made assumptions about what makes a county rich. 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 the American Community Survey data and Zillow for the most recent reporting period for data on the following:

  • Average Home Price
  • Median Income

We then ranked each county in North Carolina for each of the criteria from one to 100, with one being the richest.

Taking the average rank across the two criteria, we created a Rich Score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Richest County In North Carolina.”

The result is some of the places with the most expensive real estate and highest earners in the Tar Heel State.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our first time ranking the richest counties to live in North Carolina. We have also ranked the richest states and richest cities in the United States.

Summary: The Richest Counties In North Carolina For 2024

Living in North Carolina can vary from one part of the state to the next, with pretty extreme variance in home prices and incomes across counties.

The richest counties in North Carolina are Chatham County, Wake County, Dare County, Currituck County, Orange County, Union County, Mecklenburg County, Pender County, Brunswick County, and Cabarrus County.

Now you know the parts of the state where Goodwill will have the best goodies, and that’s what you came here to learn at the end of the day.

You are welcome.

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

  1. Washington County
  2. Halifax County
  3. Bertie County

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Richest Counties In North Carolina

RankCountyPopulationMedian IncomeAverage Home Price
1Chatham County76,754$84,222$545,007
2Wake County1,132,103$96,734$475,833
3Dare County37,160$79,742$575,730
4Currituck County28,616$82,793$509,658
5Orange County145,919$85,785$471,210
6Union County240,109$95,533$424,510
7Mecklenburg County1,115,403$79,265$407,949
8Pender County61,592$74,538$422,809
9Brunswick County139,721$71,193$425,569
10Cabarrus County226,396$83,828$367,078
11Moore County100,759$77,981$393,815
12Buncombe County269,449$66,531$445,716
13Carteret County68,353$66,965$443,309
14Durham County325,101$74,927$397,026
15Lincoln County87,933$75,672$367,458
16Camden County10,547$79,120$351,667
17Iredell County187,839$73,103$371,646
18New Hanover County228,134$67,515$412,366
19Transylvania County33,131$62,056$437,145
20Henderson County116,469$65,508$407,513
21Johnston County219,042$75,288$336,097
22Franklin County69,680$70,493$345,150
23Granville County61,161$68,079$299,576
24Davie County43,030$69,105$287,374
25Polk County19,538$60,465$369,133
26Harnett County134,718$64,992$278,305
27Gaston County228,972$62,628$283,315
28Catawba County161,011$62,070$264,926
29Madison County21,414$56,664$360,847
30Guilford County539,557$62,880$258,343
31Lee County63,560$60,941$268,787
32Alamance County171,779$60,866$274,586
33Clay County11,186$57,065$323,880
34Haywood County62,152$56,596$342,245
35Stanly County62,723$60,634$266,492
36Forsyth County383,739$61,229$262,732
37Craven County101,098$61,676$253,091
38Watauga County54,540$50,034$479,089
39Jackson County42,388$51,482$414,116
40Onslow County203,686$59,976$263,109
41Alexander County36,505$62,764$230,479
42Rowan County147,067$59,717$255,100
43Avery County17,679$53,513$344,646
44Perquimans County13,053$59,401$251,785
45Pasquotank County40,454$61,411$228,824
46Pamlico County12,317$55,867$264,465
47Hoke County52,612$57,141$250,390
48Davidson County169,498$58,473$246,308
49Person County39,131$60,688$229,381
50Swain County14,130$52,818$309,607
51Yancey County18,538$53,103$296,597
52Macon County37,088$51,042$332,033
53Randolph County144,403$56,423$241,205
54Stokes County44,696$57,539$225,434
55Ashe County26,759$49,176$329,158
56Yadkin County37,280$57,486$217,206
57Mitchell County14,989$55,534$233,028
58Mcdowell County44,629$53,532$246,605
59Nash County95,015$56,770$218,427
60Beaufort County44,711$56,081$226,161
61Cherokee County28,868$49,254$282,944
62Pitt County171,196$54,915$234,438
63Burke County87,799$53,732$228,914
64Caswell County22,747$56,999$183,631
65Cumberland County335,207$55,551$201,143
66Montgomery County25,839$55,523$213,328
67Gates County10,509$55,750$196,610
68Chowan County13,835$51,188$226,256
69Surry County71,429$52,743$215,930
70Caldwell County80,716$52,362$207,681
71Alleghany County10,989$42,115$258,998
72Wayne County117,480$54,323$168,761
73Graham County8,047$46,010$244,846
74Tyrrell County3,389$55,341$162,277
75Hyde County4,636$43,724$246,236
76Warren County18,803$42,282$247,076
77Rutherford County64,680$50,512$198,335
78Wilkes County66,125$49,119$223,485
79Cleveland County99,527$50,723$182,764
80Rockingham County91,209$50,737$178,750
81Wilson County78,667$49,827$198,320
82Jones County9,263$53,053$127,771
83Greene County20,407$50,320$164,605
84Duplin County49,312$49,376$162,717
85Vance County42,492$48,340$171,866
86Sampson County59,317$49,963$130,031
87Columbus County50,827$43,206$181,762
88Edgecombe County49,067$46,370$143,297
89Lenoir County55,071$43,063$132,332
90Northampton County17,528$45,698$122,414
91Martin County21,992$44,799$111,996
92Hertford County21,633$46,196$107,118
93Richmond County43,149$42,354$122,004
94Bladen County29,807$40,476$134,163
95Scotland County34,222$41,948$129,675
96Anson County22,200$42,000$109,753
97Robeson County117,573$39,393$127,047
98Bertie County17,818$41,652$55,749
99Halifax County48,772$41,629$84,518
100Washington County11,051$38,927$109,122
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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