RANKING · 1990 CENSUS · 100 SHOWN OF 100

Most residents in poverty, North Carolina counties · 1990

North Carolina counties with the most residents living below the poverty line, as of the 1990 American Community Survey. Ranked by number of people, not the poverty rate. This list covers the 100 counties in North Carolina that qualify, ranked against each other statewide. The median across all 100 is 6,180.

North CarolinaAll states All rankings

SAME RANKING BYCities States Metros

RELATEDHighest median household income Lowest median household income Highest per-capita income Lowest poverty rate Highest poverty rate Most six-figure households

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPRESIDENTS IN POVERTYVS –

01Mecklenburg County, NCNC1,233,38348,972–

02Cumberland County, NCNC338,47339,613–

03Wake County, NCNC1,257,23535,525–

04Guilford County, NCNC562,23435,121–

05Forsyth County, NCNC401,71828,002–

06Robeson County, NCNC119,94125,315–

07Pitt County, NCNC182,93623,809–

08Durham County, NCNC347,24021,678–

09Buncombe County, NCNC277,41719,918–

10Gaston County, NCNC246,55818,550–

11Onslow County, NCNC217,17518,188–

12New Hanover County, NCNC245,95916,865–

13Wayne County, NCNC122,27815,915–

14Halifax County, NCNC46,53414,202–

15Wilson County, NCNC81,15013,041–

16Orange County, NCNC152,49813,033–

17Davidson County, NCNC180,18212,460–

18Columbus County, NCNC50,48711,877–

19Harnett County, NCNC150,13711,867–

20Edgecombe County, NCNC49,12111,806–

21Johnston County, NCNC256,44811,587–

22Lenoir County, NCNC55,83711,470–

23Craven County, NCNC105,02511,094–

24Rockingham County, NCNC94,19510,460–

25Rowan County, NCNC155,09610,444–

26Nash County, NCNC99,36510,412–

27Sampson County, NCNC61,5049,777–

28Alamance County, NCNC186,1779,608–

29Cleveland County, NCNC103,3259,313–

30Randolph County, NCNC149,5168,888–

31Iredell County, NCNC211,7988,735–

32Catawba County, NCNC170,1728,420–

33Beaufort County, NCNC44,6708,248–

34Cabarrus County, NCNC249,7258,040–

35Watauga County, NCNC54,7867,951–

36Wilkes County, NCNC66,2337,902–

37Brunswick County, NCNC174,7027,859–

38Burke County, NCNC88,6557,668–

39Duplin County, NCNC51,5717,650–

40Vance County, NCNC42,6387,631–

41Caldwell County, NCNC81,1057,612–

42Richmond County, NCNC42,0417,474–

43Henderson County, NCNC122,3757,266–

44Union County, NCNC267,6747,101–

45Surry County, NCNC72,2877,045–

46Rutherford County, NCNC65,7456,993–

47Moore County, NCNC110,6196,527–

48Bladen County, NCNC30,0076,290–

49Scotland County, NCNC33,3226,278–

50Pasquotank County, NCNC42,2016,180–

51Carteret County, NCNC70,4696,098–

52Lee County, NCNC70,2586,068–

53Haywood County, NCNC63,3695,970–

54Stanly County, NCNC68,8305,694–

55Hertford County, NCNC19,0155,620–

56Martin County, NCNC21,6015,591–

57Franklin County, NCNC82,0375,293–

58Bertie County, NCNC17,0865,284–

59Granville County, NCNC61,4215,167–

60Pender County, NCNC72,1114,967–

61Northampton County, NCNC16,4914,908–

62Warren County, NCNC18,8984,869–

63Lincoln County, NCNC98,6544,836–

64Hoke County, NCNC56,9394,820–

65Jackson County, NCNC45,0394,477–

66Anson County, NCNC21,7584,143–

67Cherokee County, NCNC30,8304,119–

68Ashe County, NCNC27,5144,089–

69McDowell County, NCNC45,1984,080–

70Person County, NCNC40,6363,909–

71Macon County, NCNC39,2323,885–

72Chatham County, NCNC85,1113,746–

73Stokes County, NCNC46,1263,655–

74Yadkin County, NCNC38,3253,649–

75Madison County, NCNC22,5533,451–

76Transylvania County, NCNC34,2113,443–

77Montgomery County, NCNC26,4033,366–

78Caswell County, NCNC22,5633,349–

79Swain County, NCNC14,0243,111–

80Greene County, NCNC20,7002,935–

81Yancey County, NCNC19,0842,876–

82Washington County, NCNC10,6382,859–

83Alexander County, NCNC36,9582,709–

84Chowan County, NCNC14,0822,394–

85Davie County, NCNC45,8552,329–

86Mitchell County, NCNC15,0622,303–

87Perquimans County, NCNC13,4902,251–

88Avery County, NCNC18,1102,165–

89Pamlico County, NCNC12,7582,148–

90Alleghany County, NCNC11,4791,924–

91Jones County, NCNC9,5751,905–

92Dare County, NCNC38,2451,878–

93Graham County, NCNC8,1901,794–

94Gates County, NCNC10,2341,463–

95Polk County, NCNC20,5331,388–

96Currituck County, NCNC33,1581,381–

97Hyde County, NCNC4,5541,298–

98Clay County, NCNC12,2391,284–

99Tyrrell County, NCNC3,537965–

100Camden County, NCNC11,315948–

SHOWING 1–100 OF 100

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UPDATED 2026-09-11 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS