Data / Rankings / Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2024

Orange County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 100 counties in 2024, at 61.8%. Anson County had the lowest, at 9.9%. The median was 23.5% and the figure for North Carolina was 35.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest61.8Orange County
Lowest9.9Anson County
Median23.5100 counties
North Carolina35.7History

Top 40 counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

Orange CountyOrange County: 61.8 %61.8Wake CountyWake County: 57.2 %57.2Durham CountyDurham County: 55.2 %55.2Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 49.2 %49.2Chatham CountyChatham County: 48.9 %48.9Watauga CountyWatauga County: 48.1 %48.1Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 45.9 %45.9New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County: 45.4 %45.4Dare CountyDare County: 43.2 %43.2Moore CountyMoore County: 41 %41Union CountyUnion County: 40.5 %40.5Transylvania CountyTransylvania County: 40 %40Guilford CountyGuilford County: 39 %39Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 38.5 %38.5Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 37.9 %37.9Henderson CountyHenderson County: 36.5 %36.5Polk CountyPolk County: 36.2 %36.2Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 34.7 %34.7Carteret CountyCarteret County: 34.5 %34.5Iredell CountyIredell County: 34.1 %34.1Pitt CountyPitt County: 33.8 %33.8Madison CountyMadison County: 32.2 %32.2Clay CountyClay County: 31.8 %31.8Jackson CountyJackson County: 31.1 %31.1Currituck CountyCurrituck County: 30.9 %30.9Pender CountyPender County: 30.6 %30.6Haywood CountyHaywood County: 29.5 %29.5Johnston CountyJohnston County: 28.9 %28.9Alamance CountyAlamance County: 28.7 %28.7Camden CountyCamden County: 28.6 %28.6Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 28.3 %28.3Macon CountyMacon County: 27.9 %27.9Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 27.8 %27.8Pasquotank CountyPasquotank County: 27.6 %27.6Craven CountyCraven County: 27.5 %27.5Davie CountyDavie County: 27.3 %27.3Franklin CountyFranklin County: 27 %27Gaston CountyGaston County: 26.5 %26.5Catawba CountyCatawba County: 26.1 %26.1Onslow CountyOnslow County: 26 %26
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Orange County61.8-0.1 pts
2Wake County57.2+0.9 pts
3Durham County55.2+1.7 pts
4Mecklenburg County49.2+0.6 pts
5Chatham County48.9+0.9 pts
6Watauga County48.1+0.4 pts
7Buncombe County45.9+1.3 pts
8New Hanover County45.4+0.6 pts
9Dare County43.2+0.4 pts
10Moore County41+0.1 pts
11Union County40.5+1.5 pts
12Transylvania County40+1.3 pts
13Guilford County39+0.9 pts
14Forsyth County38.5+1.6 pts
15Cabarrus County37.9+0.3 pts
16Henderson County36.5+1.4 pts
17Polk County36.2+3.3 pts
18Brunswick County34.7+1.5 pts
19Carteret County34.5+2.2 pts
20Iredell County34.1+0.8 pts
21Pitt County33.8-0 pts
22Madison County32.2+0.7 pts
23Clay County31.8+0.4 pts
24Jackson County31.1+1.1 pts
25Currituck County30.9+1.6 pts
26Pender County30.6+0.8 pts
27Haywood County29.5+0.1 pts
28Johnston County28.9+1.3 pts
29Alamance County28.7+1 pts
30Camden County28.6+2.8 pts
31Lincoln County28.3+1.3 pts
32Macon County27.9+3.4 pts
33Cumberland County27.8+0.6 pts
34Pasquotank County27.6+0.7 pts
35Craven County27.5+1.5 pts
36Davie County27.3+0.5 pts
37Franklin County27+2.6 pts
38Gaston County26.5+0.5 pts
39Catawba County26.1+1.2 pts
40Onslow County26-0.1 pts
41Ashe County25.9+3.5 pts
42Pamlico County25.40 pts
43Granville County25.2+1.2 pts
44Yancey County25.1+2.1 pts
45Avery County25+3.2 pts
46Chowan County25+0.5 pts
47Harnett County24.5+0.5 pts
48Mitchell County24.2+1.1 pts
49Cherokee County24.2-0 pts
50Alleghany County23.6+0.8 pts
51Hoke County23.5+2.1 pts
52Rowan County23.3+1.8 pts
53Nash County22.1+0.4 pts
54Cleveland County22+0.9 pts
55Wayne County21.7+0.4 pts
55Wilson County21.7+1.5 pts
57Davidson County21.7+1 pts
57Perquimans County21.7+1.3 pts
59Rutherford County21.5+0.8 pts
60Swain County21.4+0.2 pts
61Lee County21.3-0.3 pts
62Beaufort County21.2+0.6 pts
63Burke County21+0.8 pts
64Surry County20.4+1 pts
65Stanly County19.9+0.2 pts
66Jones County19.8+1.9 pts
67Bladen County19.5-1.1 pts
68Person County19.3-0.5 pts
69Montgomery County19.2-0.1 pts
70Bertie County19+1.1 pts
71Warren County18.9-0.2 pts
72Caldwell County18.8+0.2 pts
73Stokes County18.2-0.3 pts
74McDowell County18.1+0.5 pts
75Caswell County17.9+1.8 pts
75Randolph County17.9+0.3 pts
77Northampton County17.9-1.2 pts
78Duplin County17.6+0.1 pts
79Graham County17.6+0.9 pts
80Yadkin County17.5+1.8 pts
81Edgecombe County17.5+0.8 pts
82Vance County17.2-1.3 pts
83Rockingham County17+0.8 pts
84Wilkes County16.9+0.2 pts
85Martin County16.7+1.6 pts
86Alexander County16.7+1.3 pts
87Scotland County16.7+1.8 pts
88Hertford County16.6-0.2 pts
89Lenoir County16.4+0.5 pts
90Sampson County16.2+0.4 pts
91Halifax County16.1+0.7 pts
92Richmond County16-0.2 pts
93Washington County14.8+2.7 pts
94Hyde County14.7+1 pts
95Robeson County14.7+0.1 pts
96Columbus County14.6-0.5 pts
97Tyrrell County13-1.7 pts
98Greene County12.2-0 pts
99Gates County10.9+0.1 pts
100Anson County9.9-1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64. Calculated from counts in ACS table B15003, which are stored as inputs.

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

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

Which county has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Orange County, with 61.8% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Anson County, with 9.9% in 2024.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings