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 2022, at 16.1%. Bertie County had the lowest, at 0.9%. The median was 4.1% and the figure for North Carolina was 8.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Lowest0.9Bertie County
Median4.1100 counties
North Carolina8.3History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 16.1 %16.1Durham CountyDurham County: 14.5 %14.5Wake CountyWake County: 13.8 %13.8Duplin CountyDuplin County: 13 %13Orange CountyOrange County: 12.3 %12.3Union CountyUnion County: 10.8 %10.8Guilford CountyGuilford County: 10.7 %10.7Sampson CountySampson County: 10.4 %10.4Chatham CountyChatham County: 9.9 %9.9Lee CountyLee County: 9.4 %9.4Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 8.9 %8.9Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 8.8 %8.8Alamance CountyAlamance County: 8.4 %8.4Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 8.1 %8.1Johnston CountyJohnston County: 7.6 %7.6Greene CountyGreene County: 7.3 %7.3Wayne CountyWayne County: 7.1 %7.1Iredell CountyIredell County: 7.1 %7.1Catawba CountyCatawba County: 6.9 %6.9Henderson CountyHenderson County: 6.8 %6.8Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 6.7 %6.7Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 6.4 %6.4Surry CountySurry County: 6 %6Harnett CountyHarnett County: 6 %6Randolph CountyRandolph County: 5.9 %5.9Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 5.7 %5.7Hoke CountyHoke County: 5.7 %5.7Wilson CountyWilson County: 5.6 %5.6Davidson CountyDavidson County: 5.4 %5.4Granville CountyGranville County: 5.4 %5.4Rowan CountyRowan County: 5.3 %5.3New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County: 5.3 %5.3Davie CountyDavie County: 5.2 %5.2Vance CountyVance County: 5.2 %5.2Gaston CountyGaston County: 5.2 %5.2Macon CountyMacon County: 5.1 %5.1Pitt CountyPitt County: 5.1 %5.1Hyde CountyHyde County: 5 %5Yadkin CountyYadkin County: 5 %5Moore CountyMoore County: 4.9 %4.9
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Mecklenburg County16.1+0.2 pts
2Durham County14.5+0.2 pts
3Wake County13.8+0.3 pts
4Duplin County13-0.2 pts
5Orange County12.3-0.3 pts
6Union County10.8+0.7 pts
7Guilford County10.7-0.1 pts
8Sampson County10.4+0.6 pts
9Chatham County9.9-0.2 pts
10Lee County9.4+0.8 pts
11Forsyth County8.9+0.2 pts
12Cabarrus County8.8+0.3 pts
13Alamance County8.4+0.1 pts
14Montgomery County8.1-0.3 pts
15Johnston County7.6+0.2 pts
16Greene County7.3+0.3 pts
17Wayne County7.1+0.2 pts
18Iredell County7.1+0.4 pts
19Catawba County6.9+0.1 pts
20Henderson County6.8-0 pts
21Cumberland County6.7+0.2 pts
22Buncombe County6.4+0.2 pts
23Surry County6+0.4 pts
24Harnett County6+0.1 pts
25Randolph County5.9-0.1 pts
26Tyrrell County5.7+2.2 pts
27Hoke County5.7-0.3 pts
28Wilson County5.6-0.5 pts
29Davidson County5.4-0.1 pts
30Granville County5.4+0.7 pts
31Rowan County5.3+0.5 pts
32New Hanover County5.3+0.5 pts
33Davie County5.20 pts
33Vance County5.2+0.3 pts
35Gaston County5.2-0.1 pts
36Macon County5.1+0.2 pts
37Pitt County5.1+0.3 pts
38Hyde County5-1.4 pts
39Yadkin County5-0.2 pts
40Moore County4.9-0.1 pts
41Burke County4.9-0 pts
42Franklin County4.9-0.4 pts
43Lincoln County4.9-0.5 pts
44Dare County4.7+0.2 pts
45Alleghany County4.4-0.5 pts
46Robeson County4.40 pts
47Nash County4.3-0 pts
48Jackson County4.3+0.5 pts
49Polk County4.2-0.2 pts
50Hertford County4.1+0.5 pts
50McDowell County4.1+0.1 pts
52Craven County4.1-0.4 pts
53Clay County4+1 pts
54Lenoir County40 pts
55Stanly County4+0.5 pts
56Onslow County3.9+0.1 pts
56Rockingham County3.9+0.2 pts
58Pender County3.7+0.1 pts
59Avery County3.7+0.6 pts
60Mitchell County3.6-0.2 pts
61Beaufort County3.60 pts
62Richmond County3.5+0.1 pts
63Anson County3.3+0.5 pts
64Wilkes County3.3-0.2 pts
65Brunswick County3.2-0.3 pts
66Watauga County3.2-0 pts
67Ashe County3.1-0.2 pts
68Rutherford County3+0.2 pts
69Edgecombe County3+0.2 pts
70Carteret County30 pts
71Caldwell County3-0 pts
72Pamlico County3-0 pts
73Warren County2.9+0.3 pts
74Pasquotank County2.9+0.1 pts
75Caswell County2.8+0.4 pts
76Swain County2.8-0.3 pts
77Currituck County2.7-0 pts
78Yancey County2.7-0.1 pts
79Person County2.6-0.1 pts
80Jones County2.6-0.3 pts
81Transylvania County2.6+0.1 pts
82Alexander County2.5-0.7 pts
83Cleveland County2.50 pts
84Bladen County2.4-0.9 pts
84Columbus County2.4-0.7 pts
86Graham County2.4-0.4 pts
86Halifax County2.4+0.3 pts
88Haywood County2.4-0.1 pts
89Perquimans County2.3-0.3 pts
90Chowan County2.2+0.1 pts
91Scotland County2.2-0.5 pts
92Cherokee County2-0.2 pts
93Northampton County2+0.1 pts
94Martin County2-0.1 pts
95Gates County1.7+0.4 pts
96Camden County1.7-0.8 pts
97Stokes County1.5-0.2 pts
98Madison County1.3-0.3 pts
99Washington County1.2-0.3 pts
100Bertie County0.9-0.1 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/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b05002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Rank Counties in North Carolina by foreign-born share of the population using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

Mecklenburg County, with 16.1% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Bertie County, with 0.9% in 2022.

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