Counties in North Carolina by depression in adults, local model estimate, 2023

Watauga County had the highest depression in adults, local model estimate of 100 counties in 2023, at 28.5%. Bertie County had the lowest, at 21.7%. The median was 24.4%. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Highest28.5Watauga County
Lowest21.7Bertie County
Median24.4100 counties

Top 40 counties, 2023

Watauga County: 28.5 %Watauga County28.5Jackson County: 27.2 %Jackson County27.2Surry County: 27 %Surry County27Wilkes County: 26.8 %Wilkes County26.8Rutherford County: 26.7 %Rutherford County26.7Swain County: 26.7 %Swain County26.7Randolph County: 26.5 %Randolph County26.5Haywood County: 26.4 %Haywood County26.4Caldwell County: 26.3 %Caldwell County26.3Stokes County: 26.3 %Stokes County26.3Yadkin County: 26.3 %Yadkin County26.3Burke County: 26.1 %Burke County26.1McDowell County: 26.1 %McDowell County26.1Yancey County: 26.1 %Yancey County26.1Harnett County: 26 %Harnett County26Cleveland County: 25.9 %Cleveland County25.9Richmond County: 25.9 %Richmond County25.9Alexander County: 25.8 %Alexander County25.8Madison County: 25.8 %Madison County25.8Catawba County: 25.7 %Catawba County25.7Stanly County: 25.7 %Stanly County25.7Davidson County: 25.6 %Davidson County25.6Mitchell County: 25.6 %Mitchell County25.6Cherokee County: 25.4 %Cherokee County25.4Graham County: 25.4 %Graham County25.4Macon County: 25.4 %Macon County25.4Alleghany County: 25.3 %Alleghany County25.3Gaston County: 25.3 %Gaston County25.3Ashe County: 25.2 %Ashe County25.2Avery County: 25.2 %Avery County25.2Pitt County: 25.2 %Pitt County25.2Rockingham County: 25.2 %Rockingham County25.2Lincoln County: 25.1 %Lincoln County25.1Cumberland County: 25 %Cumberland County25New Hanover County: 25 %New Hanover County25Davie County: 24.8 %Davie County24.8Pender County: 24.8 %Pender County24.8Person County: 24.8 %Person County24.8Buncombe County: 24.7 %Buncombe County24.7Clay County: 24.7 %Clay County24.7
%. Source: CDC, PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Watauga County28.5+2.5 pts
2Jackson County27.2+1.5 pts
3Surry County27+1.1 pts
4Wilkes County26.8+1.5 pts
5Rutherford County26.7+0.9 pts
5Swain County26.7+0.7 pts
7Randolph County26.5+1.4 pts
8Haywood County26.4+3.8 pts
9Caldwell County26.3+1.7 pts
9Stokes County26.3+2.2 pts
9Yadkin County26.3+1.8 pts
12Burke County26.1+2.1 pts
12McDowell County26.1-0.3 pts
12Yancey County26.1+2.6 pts
15Harnett County26+1.7 pts
16Cleveland County25.9+2 pts
16Richmond County25.9+3 pts
18Alexander County25.8+2 pts
18Madison County25.8+1.8 pts
20Catawba County25.7+2.3 pts
20Stanly County25.7+1.9 pts
22Davidson County25.6+2 pts
22Mitchell County25.6+1.6 pts
24Cherokee County25.4+1.3 pts
24Graham County25.4+0.4 pts
24Macon County25.4+2.9 pts
27Alleghany County25.3+1 pts
27Gaston County25.3+0.9 pts
29Ashe County25.2+1.4 pts
29Avery County25.2+1 pts
29Pitt County25.2+2.6 pts
29Rockingham County25.2+1.1 pts
33Lincoln County25.1+0.9 pts
34Cumberland County25+1.7 pts
34New Hanover County25+0.7 pts
36Davie County24.8+1 pts
36Pender County24.8+2.3 pts
36Person County24.8+1.2 pts
39Buncombe County24.7+1.5 pts
39Clay County24.7+1.5 pts
39Currituck County24.7+1.1 pts
39Hoke County24.7+0.7 pts
39Jones County24.7+1.9 pts
39Rowan County24.7+1.9 pts
45Camden County24.6+0.8 pts
46Franklin County24.5+2 pts
46Montgomery County24.5+2.4 pts
46Sampson County24.5+2 pts
49Columbus County24.4+0.3 pts
49Iredell County24.4+1 pts
49Lee County24.4+0.2 pts
49Onslow County24.4-0.2 pts
49Orange County24.4+2 pts
54Craven County24.3+1.1 pts
54Johnston County24.3+0.6 pts
54Scotland County24.3+1.5 pts
57Bladen County24.2+2.2 pts
57Gates County24.2+2.1 pts
57Guilford County24.2+1.8 pts
57Lenoir County24.2+1.9 pts
57Transylvania County24.2+2 pts
57Wayne County24.2+1.2 pts
63Carteret County24.1+0.6 pts
63Dare County24.1+2.1 pts
63Union County24.1+2.9 pts
66Alamance County24+1.2 pts
67Beaufort County23.9+1 pts
68Henderson County23.8+0.6 pts
68Martin County23.8+1.5 pts
68Polk County23.8+3.4 pts
68Wilson County23.8+1.2 pts
72Pasquotank County23.7+1.7 pts
72Perquimans County23.7+2 pts
74Caswell County23.5+1.3 pts
74Chowan County23.5+1.6 pts
74Moore County23.5+1.8 pts
77Anson County23.4+1.8 pts
77Brunswick County23.4+1.9 pts
77Cabarrus County23.4+2.3 pts
77Duplin County23.4+1.6 pts
77Forsyth County23.4+1.4 pts
77Granville County23.4+1.4 pts
77Greene County23.4+1.8 pts
77Washington County23.4+2 pts
85Hyde County23.2+0.7 pts
86Vance County23.1+1.4 pts
86Wake County23.1+2.8 pts
88Pamlico County23+1.3 pts
89Durham County22.9+1.2 pts
89Robeson County22.9+0.6 pts
89Tyrrell County22.9+2 pts
92Nash County22.8+1.4 pts
93Edgecombe County22.7+1.9 pts
93Mecklenburg County22.7+1.4 pts
95Hertford County22.6+2.2 pts
96Halifax County22.5+1.2 pts
97Warren County22.2+1.7 pts
98Chatham County22.1+0.9 pts
99Northampton County21.9+2.2 pts
100Bertie County21.7+1.8 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Percentage of adults who have ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional that they had a depressive disorder. Model-based estimate for adults aged 18 and over from CDC PLACES. Crude prevalence, not age-adjusted.

US counties and cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). CDC PLACES combines Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) answers with local population data through multilevel regression and poststratification, so a county or city value is a model estimate, not a survey count. The year is the BRFSS survey year, not the release year. CDC says the method does not support tracking change in a place over time, and each annual release can change the model, so values for different years are not strictly comparable. A state is missing in a year when its BRFSS data did not meet standards (Kentucky and Pennsylvania in 2023, Florida in 2021). Connecticut counties appear as its nine planning regions from 2022; its eight former counties are not served. City values for 2021 come from the 2023 release, built on 2010 Census place boundaries; later years use 2020 boundaries.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence. https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence (Counties in North Carolina by depression in adults, local model estimate, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.cdc.gov/places/

MLA 9

PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence, Counties in North Carolina by depression in adults, local model estimate, 2023. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 Dec. 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-depression-rate-county-estimate/north-carolina-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2025. PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence. Counties in North Carolina by depression in adults, local model estimate, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-depression-rate-county-estimate/north-carolina-counties.

Harvard

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025) PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence, Counties in North Carolina by depression in adults, local model estimate, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/places/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-depression-rate-county-estimate/north-carolina-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{centers_counties_in_north_carolina_2023,
  author = {{Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}},
  title = {{PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence: Counties in North Carolina by depression in adults, local model estimate, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.cdc.gov/places/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-depression-rate-county-estimate/north-carolina-counties. Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence. https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
TI  - PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence: Counties in North Carolina by depression in adults, local model estimate, 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/04
PB  - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.cdc.gov/places/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-depression-rate-county-estimate/north-carolina-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-depression-rate-county-estimate/north-carolina-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence. https://www.cdc.gov/places/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in North Carolina by depression in adults, local model estimate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"adult_depression_rate_modelled","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=adult_depression_rate_modelled&level=province&within=North%20Carolina&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest depression in adults, local model estimate?

Watauga County, with 28.5% in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which county has the lowest depression in adults, local model estimate?

Bertie County, with 21.7% in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County Data (swc5-untb, fu4u-a9bh, h3ej-a9ec and later releases), depression in adults, crude prevalence. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Depression in adults, local model estimate: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings