Whitest cities in North Carolina research summary. We analyzed North Carolina’s most recent Census data to determine the whitest cities in North Carolina based on the percentage of White residents.
94.1% White · #1 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
Brunswick County, North Carolina
Oak Island is a seaside town located mostly on the barrier island of Oak Island, in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The town extends onto the mainland north of the island’s bridge. The population was 6,783 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1999 by the consolidation of the towns of Long Beach and Yaupon Beach. Its main industry is tourism; the town has an average summer population of 30-50,000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
93.8% White · #2 whitest in North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
89.2% White · #3 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
Buncombe County, North Carolina
Black Mountain is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,848 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for the old train stop at the Black Mountain Depot and is located at the southern end of the Black Mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Southern Appalachians.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
89.0% White · #4 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
Union County, North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
87.7% White · #5 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
Haywood County, North Carolina
Waynesville is a town in and the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest town in Haywood County and the largest in western North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about 30 miles southwest of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
87.5% White · #6 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
New Hanover County, North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
85.6% White · #7 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
Gaston County, North Carolina
Cherryville is a small city in northwestern Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,760 at the 2010 census. The New Year’s Shooters celebrate the area’s German heritage by beginning each year with a customary chant and the honorary shooting of muskets. Cherryville is located approximately 30 miles west of Charlotte and 13 miles northwest of Gastonia.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
85.6% White · #8 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
Moore County, North Carolina
Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,124. It is home of the historic golf resort, Pinehurst Resort. A large portion of the central village, including the resort complexes, is a National Historic Landmark District, designated in 1996 for its landscape design and its significance in the history of golf in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
83.7% White · #9 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
Watauga County, North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
83.5% White · #10 whitest in North Carolina
Located in
Randolph County, North Carolina
Trinity is a city in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,614 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
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 White population is concentrated
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in North Carolina for 2026
To rank the whitest places in North Carolina, we used Saturday Night Science to look at Census demographic data.
We had to look at the number of white people living in each city in North Carolina on a per capita basis. In other words, the percentage of white people living in each city in North Carolina.
We looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as White alone.
We limited our analysis to places with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 124 cities.
We then calculated the percentage of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 94.1% to 20.8%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the White population, with a higher percentage being more White. Oak Island took the distinction of being the most White, while Siler City was the least White city.
We updated this article for 2026. This report represents our eleventh time ranking the whitest cities in North Carolina.
The full plate
Cities In North Carolina By White Population
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | White Population | % White |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oak Island | 9,030 | 8,500 | 94.1% |
| 2 | Sawmills | 5,042 | 4,730 | 93.8% |
| 3 | Black Mountain | 8,513 | 7,593 | 89.2% |
| 4 | Unionville | 6,954 | 6,192 | 89.0% |
| 5 | Waynesville | 10,502 | 9,211 | 87.7% |
| 6 | Carolina Beach | 6,745 | 5,902 | 87.5% |
| 7 | Cherryville | 6,226 | 5,332 | 85.6% |
| 8 | Pinehurst | 18,256 | 15,621 | 85.6% |
| 9 | Boone | 20,032 | 16,774 | 83.7% |
| 10 | Trinity | 7,111 | 5,939 | 83.5% |
| 11 | Leland | 29,607 | 24,589 | 83.1% |
| 12 | Cornelius | 32,783 | 26,887 | 82.0% |
| 13 | King | 7,408 | 6,066 | 81.9% |
| 14 | Kill Devil Hills | 7,761 | 6,274 | 80.8% |
| 15 | Brevard | 7,897 | 6,376 | 80.7% |
| 16 | Fletcher | 8,098 | 6,528 | 80.6% |
| 17 | Belmont | 15,546 | 12,519 | 80.5% |
| 18 | Davidson | 15,660 | 12,560 | 80.2% |
| 19 | Mills River | 7,281 | 5,814 | 79.9% |
| 20 | Asheville | 94,535 | 75,465 | 79.8% |
| 21 | Elon | 11,032 | 8,713 | 79.0% |
| 22 | Lewisville | 13,828 | 10,794 | 78.1% |
| 23 | Hendersonville | 15,408 | 11,964 | 77.6% |
| 24 | Oak Ridge | 7,744 | 5,993 | 77.4% |
| 25 | Morehead City | 9,806 | 7,585 | 77.4% |
| 26 | Archdale | 12,087 | 9,292 | 76.9% |
| 27 | Mount Airy | 10,633 | 8,161 | 76.8% |
| 28 | Woodfin | 8,048 | 6,131 | 76.2% |
| 29 | Weddington | 13,805 | 10,427 | 75.5% |
| 30 | Stallings | 16,886 | 12,723 | 75.3% |
| 31 | Bessemer City | 5,580 | 4,179 | 74.9% |
| 32 | Summerfield | 11,116 | 8,290 | 74.6% |
| 33 | Hillsborough | 9,724 | 7,188 | 73.9% |
| 34 | Wesley Chapel | 9,090 | 6,698 | 73.7% |
| 35 | Southern Pines | 16,420 | 12,058 | 73.4% |
| 36 | Lenoir | 18,299 | 13,394 | 73.2% |
| 37 | Clemmons | 21,871 | 15,494 | 70.8% |
| 38 | Holly Springs | 45,248 | 31,917 | 70.5% |
| 39 | Matthews | 30,577 | 21,417 | 70.0% |
| 40 | Wilmington | 120,805 | 84,455 | 69.9% |
| 41 | Mooresville | 52,381 | 36,316 | 69.3% |
| 42 | Conover | 8,580 | 5,827 | 67.9% |
| 43 | Waxhaw | 22,275 | 15,025 | 67.5% |
| 44 | Huntersville | 63,969 | 43,073 | 67.3% |
| 45 | Fuquay-Varina | 40,485 | 26,531 | 65.5% |
| 46 | Kings Mountain | 12,039 | 7,888 | 65.5% |
| 47 | Mount Holly | 18,208 | 11,907 | 65.4% |
| 48 | Indian Trail | 42,036 | 27,181 | 64.7% |
| 49 | Wake Forest | 52,844 | 34,160 | 64.6% |
| 50 | Aberdeen | 9,228 | 5,928 | 64.2% |
| 51 | Mint Hill | 27,556 | 17,676 | 64.1% |
| 52 | Newton | 13,333 | 8,551 | 64.1% |
| 53 | Kernersville | 27,830 | 17,825 | 64.0% |
| 54 | Gibsonville | 9,467 | 6,011 | 63.5% |
| 55 | Chapel Hill | 61,607 | 38,670 | 62.8% |
| 56 | Hickory | 44,258 | 27,704 | 62.6% |
| 57 | Albemarle | 16,762 | 10,404 | 62.1% |
| 58 | Apex | 70,630 | 43,592 | 61.7% |
| 59 | Carrboro | 21,204 | 12,968 | 61.2% |
| 60 | Marion | 7,579 | 4,634 | 61.1% |
| 61 | Lincolnton | 11,783 | 7,091 | 60.2% |
| 62 | Eden | 15,356 | 9,211 | 60.0% |
| 63 | Smithfield | 12,116 | 7,206 | 59.5% |
| 64 | Morganton | 17,646 | 10,301 | 58.4% |
| 65 | Cary | 179,306 | 101,742 | 56.7% |
| 66 | Havelock | 17,691 | 9,928 | 56.1% |
| 67 | Thomasville | 27,321 | 15,299 | 56.0% |
| 68 | Winterville | 10,725 | 5,980 | 55.8% |
| 69 | Forest City | 7,363 | 4,095 | 55.6% |
| 70 | Hamlet | 5,961 | 3,311 | 55.5% |
| 71 | Kannapolis | 57,890 | 32,113 | 55.5% |
| 72 | Mebane | 19,538 | 10,758 | 55.1% |
| 73 | Jacksonville | 71,279 | 39,138 | 54.9% |
| 74 | Clayton | 29,320 | 15,886 | 54.2% |
| 75 | Graham | 18,048 | 9,730 | 53.9% |
| 76 | Shelby | 22,100 | 11,872 | 53.7% |
| 77 | Asheboro | 27,580 | 14,490 | 52.5% |
| 78 | Reidsville | 14,585 | 7,604 | 52.1% |
| 79 | Rockingham | 8,967 | 4,673 | 52.1% |
| 80 | Garner | 34,473 | 17,919 | 52.0% |
| 81 | Statesville | 29,894 | 15,525 | 51.9% |
| 82 | Raleigh | 481,031 | 246,042 | 51.1% |
| 83 | Gastonia | 82,884 | 42,263 | 51.0% |
| 84 | Harrisburg | 19,633 | 9,963 | 50.7% |
| 85 | New Bern | 32,734 | 16,588 | 50.7% |
| 86 | Dunn | 8,559 | 4,300 | 50.2% |
| 87 | Roanoke Rapids | 14,856 | 7,446 | 50.1% |
| 88 | Concord | 108,719 | 53,709 | 49.4% |
| 89 | Salisbury | 35,825 | 17,589 | 49.1% |
| 90 | Greenville | 92,857 | 45,071 | 48.5% |
| 91 | Wendell | 13,064 | 6,213 | 47.6% |
| 92 | Washington | 9,726 | 4,507 | 46.3% |
| 93 | Roxboro | 8,182 | 3,662 | 44.8% |
| 94 | Burlington | 59,610 | 26,399 | 44.3% |
| 95 | Butner | 8,065 | 3,549 | 44.0% |
| 96 | Monroe | 36,759 | 16,059 | 43.7% |
| 97 | Winston-Salem | 252,037 | 109,867 | 43.6% |
| 98 | Lexington | 19,690 | 8,417 | 42.7% |
| 99 | Pineville | 11,055 | 4,660 | 42.2% |
| 100 | Elizabeth City | 18,871 | 7,939 | 42.1% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 124 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: White Populations Across North Carolina
We measured the locations with the highest percentage of white people in North Carolina. According to the most recent data, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in North Carolina.
The most White cities in North Carolina are Oak Island, Sawmills, Black Mountain, Unionville, Waynesville, Carolina Beach, Cherryville, Pinehurst, Boone, and Trinity. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
