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

Orange County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 100 counties in 2021, at 61.3%. Greene County had the lowest, at 10.8%. The median was 20.6% and the figure for North Carolina was 33%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest61.3Orange County
Lowest10.8Greene County
Median20.6100 counties
North Carolina33History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Orange CountyOrange County: 61.3 %61.3Wake CountyWake County: 54.7 %54.7Durham CountyDurham County: 50.7 %50.7Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 46.9 %46.9Chatham CountyChatham County: 45 %45Watauga CountyWatauga County: 44.4 %44.4New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County: 42.8 %42.8Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 42.3 %42.3Dare CountyDare County: 40.2 %40.2Moore CountyMoore County: 40.1 %40.1Union CountyUnion County: 37.7 %37.7Guilford CountyGuilford County: 37.2 %37.2Transylvania CountyTransylvania County: 35.9 %35.9Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 34.8 %34.8Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 34.5 %34.5Polk CountyPolk County: 33.8 %33.8Henderson CountyHenderson County: 33 %33Pitt CountyPitt County: 32.6 %32.6Madison CountyMadison County: 31.7 %31.7Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 31.7 %31.7Iredell CountyIredell County: 31.6 %31.6Carteret CountyCarteret County: 30.2 %30.2Pender CountyPender County: 29 %29Jackson CountyJackson County: 28.8 %28.8Haywood CountyHaywood County: 27.7 %27.7Clay CountyClay County: 27 %27Alamance CountyAlamance County: 26.4 %26.4Davie CountyDavie County: 26.2 %26.2Currituck CountyCurrituck County: 26.1 %26.1Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 25.9 %25.9Pasquotank CountyPasquotank County: 25.7 %25.7Craven CountyCraven County: 25.6 %25.6Onslow CountyOnslow County: 24.8 %24.8Johnston CountyJohnston County: 24.6 %24.6Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 24.3 %24.3Catawba CountyCatawba County: 24 %24Macon CountyMacon County: 24 %24Avery CountyAvery County: 23.9 %23.9Camden CountyCamden County: 23.8 %23.8Pamlico CountyPamlico County: 23.5 %23.5
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Orange County61.3
2Wake County54.7
3Durham County50.7
4Mecklenburg County46.9
5Chatham County45
6Watauga County44.4
7New Hanover County42.8
8Buncombe County42.3
9Dare County40.2
10Moore County40.1
11Union County37.7
12Guilford County37.2
13Transylvania County35.9
14Cabarrus County34.8
15Forsyth County34.5
16Polk County33.8
17Henderson County33
18Pitt County32.6
19Madison County31.7
20Brunswick County31.7
21Iredell County31.6
22Carteret County30.2
23Pender County29
24Jackson County28.8
25Haywood County27.7
26Clay County27
27Alamance County26.4
28Davie County26.2
29Currituck County26.1
30Cumberland County25.9
31Pasquotank County25.7
32Craven County25.6
33Onslow County24.8
34Johnston County24.6
35Lincoln County24.3
36Catawba County24
37Macon County24
38Avery County23.9
39Camden County23.8
40Pamlico County23.5
41Granville County23.4
42Gaston County23.3
43Harnett County23
44Chowan County22.6
45Franklin County22.6
46Cherokee County22.5
47Mitchell County22.3
48Nash County21.8
49Swain County21.4
50Lee County20.8
51Wayne County20.4
52Alleghany County20.4
53Beaufort County20.4
54Perquimans County20.3
55Yancey County20.3
56Rowan County19.9
57Hoke County19.8
58Wilson County19.8
59Ashe County19.6
60Rutherford County19.3
61Davidson County19.3
62Surry County19
63Cleveland County18.9
64Burke County18.7
65McDowell County18.3
66Stanly County17.9
67Bladen County17.7
68Person County17.6
69Richmond County17.5
70Edgecombe County17.4
71Vance County17.1
72Wilkes County16.8
73Northampton County16.7
74Caldwell County16.6
75Montgomery County16.5
76Hertford County16.3
77Randolph County16.1
78Duplin County15.6
79Rockingham County15.6
80Scotland County15.3
81Warren County15.2
82Caswell County15.1
83Bertie County15
84Alexander County14.9
85Halifax County14.8
86Jones County14.7
87Sampson County14.7
88Martin County14.5
89Robeson County14.2
90Columbus County14.1
91Yadkin County14
92Lenoir County14
92Stokes County14
94Graham County13.5
95Washington County12.5
96Anson County11.8
97Tyrrell County11.2
98Hyde County11.1
99Gates County11
100Greene County10.8

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/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-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 61.3% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Greene County, with 10.8% in 2021.

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