Counties in North Carolina by foreign-born share of the population, 2024

Mecklenburg County had the highest foreign-born share of the population of 100 counties in 2024, at 17.4%. Washington County had the lowest, at 1.1%. The median was 4.3% and the figure for North Carolina was 9.1%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median4.3100 counties
North Carolina9.1History

Top 40 counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 17.4 %17.4Durham CountyDurham County: 15.4 %15.4Wake CountyWake County: 15.3 %15.3Orange CountyOrange County: 12.9 %12.9Duplin CountyDuplin County: 12.2 %12.2Union CountyUnion County: 12.2 %12.2Guilford CountyGuilford County: 11.8 %11.8Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 10.8 %10.8Sampson CountySampson County: 10.7 %10.7Chatham CountyChatham County: 10.4 %10.4Lee CountyLee County: 9.9 %9.9Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 9.7 %9.7Alamance CountyAlamance County: 9.5 %9.5Johnston CountyJohnston County: 8.3 %8.3Henderson CountyHenderson County: 8.3 %8.3Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 7.9 %7.9Wayne CountyWayne County: 7.9 %7.9Iredell CountyIredell County: 7.2 %7.2Catawba CountyCatawba County: 6.9 %6.9Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 6.8 %6.8Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 6.8 %6.8Randolph CountyRandolph County: 6.6 %6.6Greene CountyGreene County: 6.6 %6.6Harnett CountyHarnett County: 6.5 %6.5Hoke CountyHoke County: 6.5 %6.5Gaston CountyGaston County: 6.4 %6.4Rowan CountyRowan County: 6.3 %6.3Surry CountySurry County: 6.1 %6.1Wilson CountyWilson County: 6.1 %6.1Yadkin CountyYadkin County: 6 %6Franklin CountyFranklin County: 6 %6New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County: 5.9 %5.9Macon CountyMacon County: 5.9 %5.9Pitt CountyPitt County: 5.8 %5.8Vance CountyVance County: 5.7 %5.7Granville CountyGranville County: 5.7 %5.7Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 5.7 %5.7Davidson CountyDavidson County: 5.6 %5.6Robeson CountyRobeson County: 5.5 %5.5Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 5.5 %5.5
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Mecklenburg County17.4+0.5 pts
2Durham County15.4+0.2 pts
3Wake County15.3+0.7 pts
4Orange County12.9+0.3 pts
5Duplin County12.2+0.5 pts
6Union County12.2+0.7 pts
7Guilford County11.8+0.4 pts
8Cabarrus County10.8+1.1 pts
9Sampson County10.7+0.1 pts
10Chatham County10.4-0.2 pts
11Lee County9.9+0.4 pts
12Forsyth County9.7+0.5 pts
13Alamance County9.5+0.4 pts
14Johnston County8.3-0.2 pts
15Henderson County8.3+0.6 pts
16Montgomery County7.9-0.1 pts
16Wayne County7.9+1 pts
18Iredell County7.2+0.1 pts
19Catawba County6.9+0.2 pts
20Cumberland County6.80 pts
21Buncombe County6.8-0.3 pts
22Randolph County6.6+0.5 pts
23Greene County6.6+0.1 pts
24Harnett County6.5+0.3 pts
25Hoke County6.5+0.2 pts
26Gaston County6.4+0.7 pts
27Rowan County6.3+0.2 pts
28Surry County6.1+0.2 pts
29Wilson County6.1+0.1 pts
30Yadkin County6+0.7 pts
31Franklin County6+0.6 pts
32New Hanover County5.9-0.1 pts
33Macon County5.9+0.2 pts
34Pitt County5.8+0.1 pts
35Vance County5.7+0.8 pts
36Granville County5.7-0.1 pts
37Tyrrell County5.7-2.9 pts
38Davidson County5.6-0.1 pts
39Robeson County5.5+0.4 pts
40Lincoln County5.5+0.4 pts
41Burke County5.3-0.3 pts
42Alleghany County5.1-0.9 pts
43Moore County5.10 pts
44Davie County4.9-0.2 pts
45Dare County4.7-0.2 pts
46Jackson County4.5-0.1 pts
47Polk County4.5+0.1 pts
48Stanly County4.4+0.1 pts
49Lenoir County4.4+0.1 pts
50Transylvania County4.3+0.7 pts
51Onslow County4.2+0.3 pts
52Pender County4.2+0.2 pts
53Avery County4.2+0.1 pts
54Craven County4.10 pts
55Richmond County4.1+0.4 pts
56Hertford County4-0.4 pts
57Nash County4-0 pts
58Hyde County3.9+1.9 pts
59Bladen County3.8+1 pts
60Wilkes County3.7+0.5 pts
61Beaufort County3.6+0.2 pts
62Brunswick County3.6+0.2 pts
63Scotland County3.5+0.6 pts
64Watauga County3.5-0.3 pts
65Clay County3.4-0.4 pts
66Currituck County3.4+0.7 pts
67Columbus County3.3+1.1 pts
68Edgecombe County3.3+0.2 pts
69Rockingham County3.3+0.1 pts
70Anson County3.3+0.2 pts
71Caswell County3.2+0.2 pts
72Yancey County3.2+0.2 pts
73McDowell County3.2-0.7 pts
74Rutherford County3.2-0.1 pts
75Cleveland County3.1+0.2 pts
75Person County3.10 pts
77Warren County3.1+0.1 pts
78Caldwell County3-0.3 pts
79Alexander County3+0.5 pts
80Jones County3+0.7 pts
81Carteret County2.9-0.3 pts
82Pamlico County2.9+0.1 pts
83Ashe County2.8-0.2 pts
84Swain County2.8+1.2 pts
85Haywood County2.8+0.5 pts
86Halifax County2.7+0.3 pts
87Pasquotank County2.60 pts
88Mitchell County2.4-0.7 pts
89Chowan County2.3+0.5 pts
90Perquimans County2.2-0.1 pts
91Bertie County2+0.3 pts
92Cherokee County1.9-0 pts
93Graham County1.9-0.5 pts
94Martin County1.7-0 pts
95Camden County1.6+0.8 pts
96Stokes County1.5-0.4 pts
97Gates County1.4+0.1 pts
98Madison County1.4-0 pts
99Northampton County1.3-0.3 pts
100Washington County1.1+0.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People who were not US citizens at birth, as a percentage of the total population. Includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary migrants and unauthorized immigrants. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Based on place of birth, not nationality: a naturalized citizen counts as foreign born, and people born in Puerto Rico, the US island areas or abroad to American parents count as native. Not comparable with foreign_population_share, which counts foreign nationals in Spain and the EU. Calculated from counts in ACS table B05002, 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 B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b05002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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 foreign-born share of the population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"foreign_born_share","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=foreign_born_share&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 foreign-born share of the population?

Mecklenburg County, with 17.4% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest foreign-born share of the population?

Washington County, with 1.1% 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 B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Foreign-born population share: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings