Counties in North Carolina by annual precipitation

Transylvania County had the highest annual precipitation of 100 counties in 2014, at 63.18 inches. Guilford County had the lowest, at 37.07 inches. The median was 49.2 inches and the figure for North Carolina was 50.08 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Lowest37.07Guilford County
Median49.2100 counties
North Carolina50.08History

Map of counties, 2014

Alamance County: 38.59 inchesAlexander County: 43.9 inchesAlleghany County: 46.15 inchesAnson County: 48.11 inchesAshe County: 46 inchesAvery County: 49.46 inchesBeaufort County: 56.44 inchesBertie County: 54.07 inchesBladen County: 49.97 inchesBrunswick County: 53.65 inchesBuncombe County: 46.45 inchesBurke County: 46.54 inchesCabarrus County: 43.74 inchesCaldwell County: 48 inchesCamden County: 47.94 inchesCarteret County: 62.01 inchesCaswell County: 44.97 inchesCatawba County: 43.49 inchesChatham County: 44.6 inchesCherokee County: 52.6 inchesChowan County: 51.95 inchesClay County: 56.52 inchesCleveland County: 47.02 inchesColumbus County: 52.15 inchesCraven County: 58.19 inchesCumberland County: 48.34 inchesCurrituck County: 47.02 inchesDare County: 49.66 inchesDavidson County: 40.61 inchesDavie County: 41.23 inchesDuplin County: 56.31 inchesDurham County: 48.71 inchesEdgecombe County: 54.67 inchesForsyth County: 37.89 inchesFranklin County: 51.1 inchesGaston County: 48.91 inchesGates County: 51.44 inchesGraham County: 54.15 inchesGranville County: 49.61 inchesGreene County: 58.46 inchesGuilford County: 37.07 inchesHalifax County: 57.89 inchesHarnett County: 47.63 inchesHaywood County: 51.07 inchesHenderson County: 53 inchesHertford County: 54.68 inchesHoke County: 48.5 inchesHyde County: 53.73 inchesIredell County: 41.98 inchesJackson County: 56.76 inchesJohnston County: 54.26 inchesJones County: 57.62 inchesLee County: 44.15 inchesLenoir County: 58.45 inchesLincoln County: 45.42 inchesMcDowell County: 53.03 inchesMacon County: 56.71 inchesMadison County: 40.11 inchesMartin County: 56.35 inchesMecklenburg County: 46.77 inchesMitchell County: 45.98 inchesMontgomery County: 47.43 inchesMoore County: 46.44 inchesNash County: 50.44 inchesNew Hanover County: 57.76 inchesNorthampton County: 57.97 inchesOnslow County: 59.12 inchesOrange County: 44.25 inchesPamlico County: 58.04 inchesPasquotank County: 48.31 inchesPender County: 58.35 inchesPerquimans County: 50.05 inchesPerson County: 48.93 inchesPitt County: 59.39 inchesPolk County: 51.93 inchesRandolph County: 41.38 inchesRichmond County: 48.36 inchesRobeson County: 46.47 inchesRockingham County: 38.72 inchesRowan County: 42.65 inchesRutherford County: 47.84 inchesSampson County: 48.91 inchesScotland County: 47.79 inchesStanly County: 45.89 inchesStokes County: 39.64 inchesSurry County: 43.13 inchesSwain County: 57.9 inchesTransylvania County: 63.18 inchesTyrrell County: 50.15 inchesUnion County: 46.16 inchesVance County: 53.81 inchesWake County: 54.03 inchesWarren County: 56.59 inchesWashington County: 50.49 inchesWatauga County: 47.93 inchesWayne County: 55.38 inchesWilkes County: 44.91 inchesWilson County: 53.62 inchesYadkin County: 40.68 inchesYancey County: 49.74 inches
  • Under 44
  • 44 to 47
  • 47 to 49
  • 49 to 53
  • 53 to 57
  • 57 and over
inches, 2014. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2014

Transylvania County: 63.18 inchesTransylvania County63.18Carteret County: 62.01 inchesCarteret County62.01Pitt County: 59.39 inchesPitt County59.39Onslow County: 59.12 inchesOnslow County59.12Greene County: 58.46 inchesGreene County58.46Lenoir County: 58.45 inchesLenoir County58.45Pender County: 58.35 inchesPender County58.35Craven County: 58.19 inchesCraven County58.19Pamlico County: 58.04 inchesPamlico County58.04Northampton County: 57.97 inchesNorthampton County57.97Swain County: 57.9 inchesSwain County57.9Halifax County: 57.89 inchesHalifax County57.89New Hanover County: 57.76 inchesNew Hanover County57.76Jones County: 57.62 inchesJones County57.62Jackson County: 56.76 inchesJackson County56.76Macon County: 56.71 inchesMacon County56.71Warren County: 56.59 inchesWarren County56.59Clay County: 56.52 inchesClay County56.52Beaufort County: 56.44 inchesBeaufort County56.44Martin County: 56.35 inchesMartin County56.35Duplin County: 56.31 inchesDuplin County56.31Wayne County: 55.38 inchesWayne County55.38Hertford County: 54.68 inchesHertford County54.68Edgecombe County: 54.67 inchesEdgecombe County54.67Johnston County: 54.26 inchesJohnston County54.26Graham County: 54.15 inchesGraham County54.15Bertie County: 54.07 inchesBertie County54.07Wake County: 54.03 inchesWake County54.03Vance County: 53.81 inchesVance County53.81Hyde County: 53.73 inchesHyde County53.73Brunswick County: 53.65 inchesBrunswick County53.65Wilson County: 53.62 inchesWilson County53.62McDowell County: 53.03 inchesMcDowell County53.03Henderson County: 53 inchesHenderson County53Cherokee County: 52.6 inchesCherokee County52.6Columbus County: 52.15 inchesColumbus County52.15Chowan County: 51.95 inchesChowan County51.95Polk County: 51.93 inchesPolk County51.93Gates County: 51.44 inchesGates County51.44Franklin County: 51.1 inchesFranklin County51.1Transylvania County: 63.18 inchesTransylvania County63.18Carteret County: 62.01 inchesCarteret County62.01Pitt County: 59.39 inchesPitt County59.39Onslow County: 59.12 inchesOnslow County59.12Greene County: 58.46 inchesGreene County58.46Lenoir County: 58.45 inchesLenoir County58.45Pender County: 58.35 inchesPender County58.35Craven County: 58.19 inchesCraven County58.19Pamlico County: 58.04 inchesPamlico County58.04Northampton County: 57.97 inchesNorthampton County57.97Swain County: 57.9 inchesSwain County57.9Halifax County: 57.89 inchesHalifax County57.89New Hanover County: 57.76 inchesNew Hanover County57.76Jones County: 57.62 inchesJones County57.62Jackson County: 56.76 inchesJackson County56.76Macon County: 56.71 inchesMacon County56.71Warren County: 56.59 inchesWarren County56.59Clay County: 56.52 inchesClay County56.52Beaufort County: 56.44 inchesBeaufort County56.44Martin County: 56.35 inchesMartin County56.35Duplin County: 56.31 inchesDuplin County56.31Wayne County: 55.38 inchesWayne County55.38Hertford County: 54.68 inchesHertford County54.68Edgecombe County: 54.67 inchesEdgecombe County54.67Johnston County: 54.26 inchesJohnston County54.26Graham County: 54.15 inchesGraham County54.15Bertie County: 54.07 inchesBertie County54.07Wake County: 54.03 inchesWake County54.03Vance County: 53.81 inchesVance County53.81Hyde County: 53.73 inchesHyde County53.73Brunswick County: 53.65 inchesBrunswick County53.65Wilson County: 53.62 inchesWilson County53.62McDowell County: 53.03 inchesMcDowell County53.03Henderson County: 53 inchesHenderson County53Cherokee County: 52.6 inchesCherokee County52.6Columbus County: 52.15 inchesColumbus County52.15Chowan County: 51.95 inchesChowan County51.95Polk County: 51.93 inchesPolk County51.93Gates County: 51.44 inchesGates County51.44Franklin County: 51.1 inchesFranklin County51.1
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2014
inches
Change on 2013
1Transylvania County63.18-40.1%
2Carteret County62.01+17.5%
3Pitt County59.39+15.9%
4Onslow County59.12+14.3%
5Greene County58.46+11.6%
6Lenoir County58.45+11.3%
7Pender County58.35+6.5%
8Craven County58.19+18.4%
9Pamlico County58.04+17.7%
10Northampton County57.97+19.8%
11Swain County57.9-32.4%
12Halifax County57.89+21.7%
13New Hanover County57.76+11.1%
14Jones County57.62+16.5%
15Jackson County56.76-37.3%
16Macon County56.71-35.2%
17Warren County56.59+20.4%
18Clay County56.52-33.9%
19Beaufort County56.44+11.3%
20Martin County56.35+10.7%
21Duplin County56.31+6%
22Wayne County55.38+9.5%
23Hertford County54.68+20.6%
24Edgecombe County54.67+15.8%
25Johnston County54.26+12.5%
26Graham County54.15-35.6%
27Bertie County54.07+13%
28Wake County54.03+7.2%
29Vance County53.81+6.8%
30Hyde County53.73+9.5%
31Brunswick County53.65+5.8%
32Wilson County53.62+6.8%
33McDowell County53.03-31.5%
34Henderson County53-36.5%
35Cherokee County52.6-35.2%
36Columbus County52.15-1.1%
37Chowan County51.95+6.2%
38Polk County51.93-34%
39Gates County51.44+10.8%
40Franklin County51.1+8.3%
41Haywood County51.07-35.8%
42Washington County50.49+0.9%
43Nash County50.44+9%
44Tyrrell County50.15+3.7%
45Perquimans County50.05+4.5%
46Bladen County49.97-4.9%
47Yancey County49.74-31.8%
48Dare County49.66+9.1%
49Granville County49.61+0.2%
50Avery County49.46-37.8%
51Person County48.93+1.6%
52Gaston County48.91-8.2%
52Sampson County48.91-2.2%
54Durham County48.71-5.8%
55Hoke County48.5-7.6%
56Richmond County48.36-8.1%
57Cumberland County48.34-4.1%
58Pasquotank County48.31+3.7%
59Anson County48.11-8%
60Caldwell County48-33%
61Camden County47.94+4%
62Watauga County47.93-36.4%
63Rutherford County47.84-32.2%
64Scotland County47.79-4.6%
65Harnett County47.63-9.8%
66Montgomery County47.43-12.3%
67Cleveland County47.02-26.6%
67Currituck County47.02+2.6%
69Mecklenburg County46.77-7.8%
70Burke County46.54-33.6%
71Robeson County46.47-7%
72Buncombe County46.45-35.8%
73Moore County46.44-17.7%
74Union County46.16+6.9%
75Alleghany County46.15-40.2%
76Ashe County46-37.9%
77Mitchell County45.98-34.8%
78Stanly County45.89-10.8%
79Lincoln County45.42-22%
80Caswell County44.97-9.5%
81Wilkes County44.91-32.3%
82Chatham County44.6-14.5%
83Orange County44.25-15.2%
84Lee County44.15-15.9%
85Alexander County43.9-29.7%
86Cabarrus County43.74-17.8%
87Catawba County43.49-29%
88Surry County43.13-34.4%
89Rowan County42.65-20.6%
90Iredell County41.98-28.1%
91Randolph County41.38-19.9%
92Davie County41.23-22.2%
93Yadkin County40.68-29.2%
94Davidson County40.61-20.6%
95Madison County40.11-39.7%
96Stokes County39.64-26.4%
97Rockingham County38.72-17.3%
98Alamance County38.59-20.8%
99Forsyth County37.89-24.4%
100Guilford County37.07-24.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

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

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in North Carolina by annual precipitation, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in North Carolina by annual precipitation, 2014. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-carolina-counties?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in North Carolina by annual precipitation, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-carolina-counties?period=2014.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in North Carolina by annual precipitation, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-carolina-counties?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_north_carolina_2014,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in North Carolina by annual precipitation, 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-carolina-counties?period=2014. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in North Carolina by annual precipitation, 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-carolina-counties?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-carolina-counties?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in North Carolina by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Transylvania County, with 63.18 inches in 2014, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Guilford County, with 37.07 inches in 2014.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings