RANKING · 2020 CENSUS · 100 SHOWN OF 100

Most residents in poverty, North Carolina counties · 2020

North Carolina counties with the most residents living below the poverty line, as of the 2020 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.

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 2000

01Mecklenburg County, NCNC1,233,383121,539+90%

02Wake County, NCNC1,257,23596,247+96%

03Guilford County, NCNC562,23482,700+85%

04Cumberland County, NCNC338,47362,759+62%

05Forsyth County, NCNC401,71860,545+79%

06Durham County, NCNC347,24043,862+47%

07Pitt County, NCNC182,93635,402+30%

08New Hanover County, NCNC245,95933,012+58%

09Robeson County, NCNC119,94131,532+12%

10Gaston County, NCNC246,55831,052+50%

11Buncombe County, NCNC277,41730,971+31%

12Alamance County, NCNC186,17726,432+81%

13Johnston County, NCNC256,44826,408+69%

14Davidson County, NCNC180,18225,599+73%

15Onslow County, NCNC217,17525,381+31%

16Rowan County, NCNC155,09623,829+73%

17Wayne County, NCNC122,27821,943+40%

18Cabarrus County, NCNC249,72521,748+135%

19Harnett County, NCNC150,13721,129+56%

20Randolph County, NCNC149,51621,077+77%

21Catawba County, NCNC170,17219,885+55%

22Cleveland County, NCNC103,32519,034+49%

23Orange County, NCNC152,49818,433+10%

24Iredell County, NCNC211,79818,302+83%

25Union County, NCNC267,67417,693+76%

26Rockingham County, NCNC94,19516,334+39%

27Burke County, NCNC88,65516,224+70%

28Wilson County, NCNC81,15015,710+15%

29Brunswick County, NCNC174,70215,178+65%

30Nash County, NCNC99,36514,971+27%

31Craven County, NCNC105,02514,437+21%

32Watauga County, NCNC54,78613,231+73%

33Sampson County, NCNC61,50412,810+21%

34Halifax County, NCNC46,53412,460−9%

35Henderson County, NCNC122,37512,183+41%

36Lenoir County, NCNC55,83712,108+23%

37Surry County, NCNC72,28711,722+33%

38Rutherford County, NCNC65,74511,483+31%

39Caldwell County, NCNC81,10511,321+37%

40Columbus County, NCNC50,48711,177−10%

41Edgecombe County, NCNC49,12110,895+0%

42Wilkes County, NCNC66,23310,832+39%

43Lincoln County, NCNC98,65410,597+81%

44Moore County, NCNC110,61910,489+23%

45Lee County, NCNC70,25810,344+64%

46Hoke County, NCNC56,9399,682+63%

47Richmond County, NCNC42,0419,619+6%

48Scotland County, NCNC33,3229,313+26%

49Duplin County, NCNC51,5718,855−7%

50Granville County, NCNC61,4218,666+53%

51Vance County, NCNC42,6388,527−3%

52Pender County, NCNC72,1118,454+51%

53Chatham County, NCNC85,1118,195+71%

54Beaufort County, NCNC44,6707,943−9%

55Franklin County, NCNC82,0377,833+32%

56Jackson County, NCNC45,0397,776+55%

57Stanly County, NCNC68,8307,634+23%

58Haywood County, NCNC63,3697,578+22%

59Bladen County, NCNC30,0077,206+6%

60McDowell County, NCNC45,1986,937+42%

61Person County, NCNC40,6366,359+49%

62Carteret County, NCNC70,4696,234−2%

63Stokes County, NCNC46,1266,067+50%

64Macon County, NCNC39,2325,926+57%

65Davie County, NCNC45,8555,861+96%

66Yadkin County, NCNC38,3255,250+45%

67Cherokee County, NCNC30,8305,136+38%

68Pasquotank County, NCNC42,2015,002−22%

69Transylvania County, NCNC34,2114,764+71%

70Martin County, NCNC21,6014,503−13%

71Alexander County, NCNC36,9584,484+57%

72Bertie County, NCNC17,0864,482−3%

73Hertford County, NCNC19,0154,412+7%

74Montgomery County, NCNC26,4034,339+5%

75Greene County, NCNC20,7004,337+13%

76Anson County, NCNC21,7584,140−8%

77Ashe County, NCNC27,5143,940+20%

78Warren County, NCNC18,8983,896+0%

79Caswell County, NCNC22,5633,674+9%

80Northampton County, NCNC16,4913,510−25%

81Dare County, NCNC38,2453,038+26%

82Madison County, NCNC22,5533,028+0%

83Washington County, NCNC10,6383,008+1%

84Yancey County, NCNC19,0842,708−3%

85Chowan County, NCNC14,0822,684+5%

86Alleghany County, NCNC11,4792,462+34%

87Swain County, NCNC14,0242,394+1%

88Avery County, NCNC18,1102,336−11%

89Currituck County, NCNC33,1582,312+19%

90Jones County, NCNC9,5752,151+23%

91Polk County, NCNC20,5331,939+5%

92Pamlico County, NCNC12,7581,898−4%

93Mitchell County, NCNC15,0621,841−15%

94Perquimans County, NCNC13,4901,576−23%

95Clay County, NCNC12,2391,501+50%

96Gates County, NCNC10,2341,362−24%

97Graham County, NCNC8,1901,122−28%

98Hyde County, NCNC4,554993+10%

99Camden County, NCNC11,315658−5%

100Tyrrell County, NCNC3,537614−37%

SHOWING 1–100 OF 100

Download CSV (full list, 100 rows)

UPDATED 2026-07-15 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS