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 $94,317, 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.
What is the richest county in North Carolina? The richest county in North Carolina is Chatham County. In contrast, the poorest county in the state is Washington County, according to the Census data.
$94,317 median income · $550,018 median home price
$105,768 median income · $479,727 median home price
$93,511 median income · $541,876 median home price
$88,994 median income · $600,596 median home price
$90,089 median income · $505,612 median home price
$102,900 median income · $451,672 median home price
$87,005 median income · $421,452 median home price
$91,078 median income · $393,333 median home price
$86,080 median income · $413,086 median home price
$80,396 median income · $436,167 median home price
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
On the map
Where North Carolina’s richest counties are
Saturday Night Science
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 2026. This report is our first time ranking the richest counties to live in North Carolina.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Richest Counties In North Carolina
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chatham County | 80,151 | $94,317 | $550,018 |
| 2 | Wake County | 1,178,653 | $105,768 | $479,727 |
| 2 | Currituck County | 30,601 | $93,511 | $541,876 |
| 4 | Dare County | 37,875 | $88,994 | $600,596 |
| 5 | Orange County | 149,678 | $90,089 | $505,612 |
| 6 | Union County | 250,958 | $102,900 | $451,672 |
| 7 | Mecklenburg County | 1,154,681 | $87,005 | $421,452 |
| 8 | Camden County | 10,927 | $91,078 | $393,333 |
| 9 | Moore County | 104,876 | $86,080 | $413,086 |
| 10 | Pender County | 65,550 | $80,396 | $436,167 |
| 11 | Buncombe County | 274,360 | $74,436 | $454,250 |
| 11 | New Hanover County | 235,229 | $75,166 | $444,936 |
| 13 | Carteret County | 69,148 | $72,322 | $470,748 |
| 14 | Cabarrus County | 236,133 | $89,005 | $384,693 |
| 15 | Durham County | 332,353 | $82,316 | $397,038 |
| 16 | Lincoln County | 92,716 | $80,016 | $401,881 |
| 16 | Brunswick County | 152,568 | $77,024 | $405,145 |
| 18 | Iredell County | 196,544 | $81,419 | $386,377 |
| 19 | Johnston County | 234,263 | $83,384 | $343,005 |
| 19 | Henderson County | 118,484 | $68,187 | $422,833 |
| 21 | Transylvania County | 33,691 | $66,184 | $474,865 |
| 22 | Franklin County | 74,386 | $74,240 | $362,848 |
| 23 | Davie County | 44,122 | $75,057 | $321,975 |
| 24 | Granville County | 60,877 | $71,111 | $317,382 |
| 25 | Harnett County | 139,150 | $71,287 | $294,554 |
| 26 | Polk County | 19,891 | $67,758 | $316,133 |
| 27 | Gaston County | 234,881 | $67,478 | $297,720 |
| 29 | Guilford County | 547,940 | $68,642 | $278,467 |
| 29 | Catawba County | 163,573 | $67,864 | $292,677 |
| 29 | Onslow County | 207,906 | $68,148 | $289,956 |
| 31 | Avery County | 17,680 | $61,428 | $384,557 |
| 32 | Perquimans County | 13,244 | $67,917 | $277,278 |
| 33 | Forsyth County | 389,977 | $67,165 | $285,372 |
| 34 | Haywood County | 62,662 | $61,912 | $341,225 |
| 35 | Alamance County | 176,893 | $65,651 | $294,316 |
| 36 | Lee County | 65,816 | $65,387 | $292,369 |
| 37 | Madison County | 21,867 | $58,531 | $392,633 |
| 38 | Macon County | 37,941 | $59,061 | $360,444 |
| 39 | Jackson County | 43,771 | $55,815 | $444,171 |
| 40 | Rowan County | 149,875 | $65,725 | $276,269 |
| 41 | Watauga County | 55,123 | $51,693 | $506,670 |
| 41 | Craven County | 102,612 | $65,873 | $273,661 |
| 43 | Pasquotank County | 40,834 | $66,589 | $265,168 |
| 43 | Hoke County | 53,835 | $64,912 | $277,587 |
| 45 | Stanly County | 64,651 | $60,704 | $303,694 |
| 46 | Davidson County | 172,954 | $64,172 | $273,745 |
| 46 | Yancey County | 18,797 | $58,709 | $321,488 |
| 48 | Alexander County | 36,412 | $65,354 | $263,714 |
| 48 | Gates County | 10,376 | $66,333 | $246,167 |
| 50 | Ashe County | 26,950 | $56,866 | $346,186 |
| 51 | Clay County | 11,610 | $56,971 | $340,068 |
| 52 | Stokes County | 45,139 | $62,969 | $258,748 |
| 53 | Person County | 39,542 | $63,300 | $253,001 |
| 54 | Pamlico County | 12,390 | $59,717 | $273,404 |
| 55 | Randolph County | 146,348 | $61,022 | $253,645 |
| 55 | Yadkin County | 37,574 | $62,932 | $241,129 |
| 57 | Swain County | 14,013 | $52,349 | $324,622 |
| 58 | Nash County | 96,216 | $62,426 | $237,062 |
| 59 | Burke County | 87,795 | $58,592 | $255,518 |
| 60 | Cumberland County | 338,545 | $61,291 | $231,841 |
| 61 | McDowell County | 44,817 | $57,168 | $260,303 |
| 62 | Pitt County | 177,193 | $58,188 | $243,762 |
| 63 | Beaufort County | 44,499 | $58,357 | $233,490 |
| 64 | Cherokee County | 29,562 | $53,628 | $269,305 |
| 64 | Caswell County | 22,404 | $59,755 | $213,219 |
| 66 | Mitchell County | 14,992 | $57,602 | $231,962 |
| 67 | Caldwell County | 80,536 | $56,425 | $237,081 |
| 68 | Wayne County | 118,652 | $59,733 | $186,089 |
| 69 | Cleveland County | 100,991 | $58,534 | $209,383 |
| 70 | Chowan County | 13,836 | $53,864 | $232,683 |
| 71 | Montgomery County | 26,007 | $57,766 | $196,637 |
| 71 | Surry County | 71,425 | $55,656 | $231,798 |
| 73 | Alleghany County | 11,174 | $47,172 | $269,503 |
| 74 | Wilson County | 79,290 | $56,423 | $221,170 |
| 74 | Rockingham County | 92,131 | $57,053 | $197,299 |
| 76 | Warren County | 18,795 | $50,638 | $242,861 |
| 76 | Jones County | 9,302 | $59,641 | $136,422 |
| 78 | Hyde County | 4,592 | $53,713 | $222,154 |
| 79 | Wilkes County | 65,935 | $51,721 | $225,624 |
| 80 | Duplin County | 49,335 | $55,148 | $186,278 |
| 81 | Rutherford County | 64,930 | $51,410 | $222,162 |
| 82 | Greene County | 20,486 | $53,244 | $182,392 |
| 83 | Graham County | 8,072 | $49,684 | $220,118 |
| 84 | Sampson County | 59,470 | $52,432 | $152,823 |
| 85 | Vance County | 42,322 | $50,465 | $183,619 |
| 86 | Columbus County | 50,140 | $49,442 | $183,768 |
| 87 | Edgecombe County | 48,736 | $51,265 | $135,073 |
| 88 | Anson County | 22,289 | $47,302 | $141,108 |
| 89 | Scotland County | 33,590 | $45,730 | $145,231 |
| 90 | Northampton County | 16,931 | $50,086 | $111,077 |
| 90 | Lenoir County | 54,919 | $45,143 | $153,995 |
| 92 | Bladen County | 29,566 | $42,422 | $157,231 |
| 93 | Martin County | 21,644 | $48,578 | $126,740 |
| 94 | Tyrrell County | 3,423 | $41,685 | $167,041 |
| 95 | Bertie County | 17,170 | $48,750 | $65,559 |
| 97 | Richmond County | 42,344 | $44,883 | $132,397 |
| 97 | Robeson County | 116,902 | $41,978 | $135,502 |
| 97 | Hertford County | 19,908 | $45,537 | $122,055 |
| 99 | Halifax County | 47,675 | $45,590 | $103,624 |
| 100 | Washington County | 10,812 | $41,813 | $106,837 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + Zillow via Saturday Night Science. All 100 North Carolina counties.
Summary
Summary: The Richest Counties In North Carolina For 2026
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, Currituck County, Dare County, Orange County, Union County, Mecklenburg County, Camden County, Moore County, and Pender 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.
