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

Mecklenburg County had the highest foreign-born share of the population of 100 counties in 2021, at 16%. Bertie County had the lowest, at 1%. The median was 3.9% and the figure for North Carolina was 8.2%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median3.9100 counties
North Carolina8.2History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 16 %16Durham CountyDurham County: 14.3 %14.3Wake CountyWake County: 13.5 %13.5Duplin CountyDuplin County: 13.2 %13.2Orange CountyOrange County: 12.6 %12.6Guilford CountyGuilford County: 10.8 %10.8Chatham CountyChatham County: 10.2 %10.2Union CountyUnion County: 10.2 %10.2Sampson CountySampson County: 9.9 %9.9Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 8.7 %8.7Lee CountyLee County: 8.7 %8.7Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 8.5 %8.5Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 8.4 %8.4Alamance CountyAlamance County: 8.3 %8.3Johnston CountyJohnston County: 7.5 %7.5Greene CountyGreene County: 7.1 %7.1Wayne CountyWayne County: 6.9 %6.9Catawba CountyCatawba County: 6.8 %6.8Henderson CountyHenderson County: 6.8 %6.8Iredell CountyIredell County: 6.7 %6.7Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 6.6 %6.6Hyde CountyHyde County: 6.4 %6.4Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 6.2 %6.2Wilson CountyWilson County: 6.1 %6.1Hoke CountyHoke County: 6 %6Randolph CountyRandolph County: 6 %6Harnett CountyHarnett County: 5.8 %5.8Surry CountySurry County: 5.6 %5.6Davidson CountyDavidson County: 5.5 %5.5Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 5.4 %5.4Franklin CountyFranklin County: 5.3 %5.3Gaston CountyGaston County: 5.2 %5.2Yadkin CountyYadkin County: 5.2 %5.2Davie CountyDavie County: 5.2 %5.2Moore CountyMoore County: 5 %5Macon CountyMacon County: 5 %5Burke CountyBurke County: 4.9 %4.9Vance CountyVance County: 4.9 %4.9Alleghany CountyAlleghany County: 4.9 %4.9New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County: 4.9 %4.9
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Mecklenburg County16
2Durham County14.3
3Wake County13.5
4Duplin County13.2
5Orange County12.6
6Guilford County10.8
7Chatham County10.2
7Union County10.2
9Sampson County9.9
10Forsyth County8.7
11Lee County8.7
12Cabarrus County8.5
13Montgomery County8.4
14Alamance County8.3
15Johnston County7.5
16Greene County7.1
17Wayne County6.9
18Catawba County6.8
18Henderson County6.8
20Iredell County6.7
21Cumberland County6.6
22Hyde County6.4
23Buncombe County6.2
24Wilson County6.1
25Hoke County6
25Randolph County6
27Harnett County5.8
28Surry County5.6
29Davidson County5.5
30Lincoln County5.4
31Franklin County5.3
32Gaston County5.2
33Yadkin County5.2
34Davie County5.2
35Moore County5
36Macon County5
37Burke County4.9
37Vance County4.9
39Alleghany County4.9
40New Hanover County4.9
41Rowan County4.8
42Pitt County4.8
43Granville County4.6
44Dare County4.5
45Craven County4.5
46Polk County4.4
47Robeson County4.4
48Nash County4.3
49McDowell County4
50Lenoir County4
51Mitchell County3.8
52Onslow County3.8
53Rockingham County3.8
54Jackson County3.8
55Beaufort County3.6
55Pender County3.6
57Hertford County3.6
58Stanly County3.5
59Tyrrell County3.5
60Brunswick County3.5
61Wilkes County3.5
62Richmond County3.4
63Bladen County3.4
64Ashe County3.3
65Alexander County3.2
66Watauga County3.2
67Columbus County3.1
68Avery County3.1
69Clay County3.1
70Swain County3
71Caldwell County3
72Pamlico County3
73Carteret County3
74Jones County2.8
75Graham County2.8
76Edgecombe County2.8
77Rutherford County2.8
78Yancey County2.8
79Anson County2.8
80Currituck County2.8
80Pasquotank County2.8
82Person County2.7
83Scotland County2.7
84Warren County2.6
85Perquimans County2.6
86Haywood County2.5
87Cleveland County2.5
88Camden County2.5
89Caswell County2.5
90Transylvania County2.4
91Cherokee County2.3
92Chowan County2.2
93Halifax County2.1
94Martin County2
95Northampton County1.9
96Stokes County1.7
97Washington County1.6
98Madison County1.6
99Gates County1.3
100Bertie County1

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/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b05002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

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

Mecklenburg County, with 16% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Bertie County, with 1% 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 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