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 2023, at 16.9%. Washington County had the lowest, at 0.7%. The median was 4.2% and the figure for North Carolina was 8.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median4.2100 counties
North Carolina8.7History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 16.9 %16.9Durham CountyDurham County: 15.2 %15.2Wake CountyWake County: 14.5 %14.5Orange CountyOrange County: 12.6 %12.6Duplin CountyDuplin County: 11.8 %11.8Union CountyUnion County: 11.5 %11.5Guilford CountyGuilford County: 11.4 %11.4Chatham CountyChatham County: 10.7 %10.7Sampson CountySampson County: 10.6 %10.6Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 9.8 %9.8Lee CountyLee County: 9.6 %9.6Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 9.2 %9.2Alamance CountyAlamance County: 9.1 %9.1Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 8.5 %8.5Johnston CountyJohnston County: 8.5 %8.5Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 8 %8Henderson CountyHenderson County: 7.7 %7.7Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 7 %7Iredell CountyIredell County: 7 %7Wayne CountyWayne County: 6.9 %6.9Catawba CountyCatawba County: 6.7 %6.7Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 6.7 %6.7Greene CountyGreene County: 6.5 %6.5Harnett CountyHarnett County: 6.3 %6.3Hoke CountyHoke County: 6.2 %6.2New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County: 6.1 %6.1Randolph CountyRandolph County: 6.1 %6.1Alleghany CountyAlleghany County: 6.1 %6.1Rowan CountyRowan County: 6.1 %6.1Wilson CountyWilson County: 6 %6Surry CountySurry County: 5.9 %5.9Granville CountyGranville County: 5.8 %5.8Gaston CountyGaston County: 5.7 %5.7Macon CountyMacon County: 5.7 %5.7Davidson CountyDavidson County: 5.7 %5.7Pitt CountyPitt County: 5.6 %5.6Burke CountyBurke County: 5.6 %5.6Franklin CountyFranklin County: 5.4 %5.4Yadkin CountyYadkin County: 5.3 %5.3Robeson CountyRobeson County: 5.1 %5.1
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Mecklenburg County16.9+0.7 pts
2Durham County15.2+0.7 pts
3Wake County14.5+0.7 pts
4Orange County12.6+0.3 pts
5Duplin County11.8-1.2 pts
6Union County11.5+0.7 pts
7Guilford County11.4+0.7 pts
8Chatham County10.7+0.7 pts
9Sampson County10.6+0.2 pts
10Cabarrus County9.8+1 pts
11Lee County9.6+0.2 pts
12Forsyth County9.2+0.3 pts
13Alamance County9.1+0.7 pts
14Tyrrell County8.5+2.8 pts
15Johnston County8.5+0.9 pts
16Montgomery County8-0 pts
17Henderson County7.7+0.9 pts
18Buncombe County7+0.6 pts
19Iredell County7-0 pts
20Wayne County6.9-0.2 pts
21Catawba County6.7-0.1 pts
22Cumberland County6.7-0 pts
23Greene County6.5-0.9 pts
24Harnett County6.3+0.3 pts
25Hoke County6.2+0.6 pts
26New Hanover County6.1+0.8 pts
26Randolph County6.1+0.2 pts
28Alleghany County6.1+1.7 pts
29Rowan County6.1+0.7 pts
30Wilson County6+0.3 pts
31Surry County5.9-0.1 pts
32Granville County5.8+0.5 pts
33Gaston County5.7+0.5 pts
34Macon County5.7+0.6 pts
35Davidson County5.7+0.2 pts
36Pitt County5.6+0.5 pts
37Burke County5.6+0.7 pts
38Franklin County5.4+0.5 pts
39Yadkin County5.3+0.3 pts
40Robeson County5.1+0.8 pts
41Lincoln County5.1+0.2 pts
42Davie County5.1-0.2 pts
43Moore County5+0.1 pts
44Dare County5+0.3 pts
45Vance County4.9-0.3 pts
46Jackson County4.6+0.4 pts
47Hertford County4.5+0.4 pts
48Polk County4.4+0.2 pts
49Stanly County4.3+0.3 pts
50Lenoir County4.2+0.3 pts
51Avery County4.1+0.4 pts
52Craven County4.10 pts
52Pender County4.1+0.4 pts
54Nash County4-0.3 pts
55Onslow County4+0.1 pts
56McDowell County3.9-0.2 pts
57Clay County3.8-0.2 pts
58Watauga County3.7+0.6 pts
59Richmond County3.7+0.2 pts
60Transylvania County3.5+1 pts
61Beaufort County3.4-0.1 pts
62Brunswick County3.4+0.2 pts
63Caldwell County3.3+0.4 pts
64Wilkes County3.30 pts
65Carteret County3.2+0.3 pts
66Rutherford County3.2+0.2 pts
67Rockingham County3.2-0.7 pts
68Edgecombe County3.1+0.1 pts
69Person County3.1+0.5 pts
70Mitchell County3.1-0.5 pts
71Anson County3.1-0.2 pts
72Caswell County3.1+0.2 pts
73Warren County3+0.1 pts
74Yancey County3+0.3 pts
75Ashe County3-0.1 pts
76Cleveland County3+0.4 pts
77Scotland County2.9+0.7 pts
78Pamlico County2.8-0.1 pts
79Bladen County2.8+0.3 pts
80Currituck County2.7-0.1 pts
81Pasquotank County2.6-0.3 pts
82Alexander County2.50 pts
83Halifax County2.5+0.1 pts
84Graham County2.40 pts
85Jones County2.3-0.3 pts
85Perquimans County2.3-0 pts
87Haywood County2.3-0.1 pts
88Columbus County2.2-0.3 pts
89Hyde County2-3 pts
90Cherokee County1.9-0.1 pts
91Chowan County1.9-0.4 pts
92Stokes County1.8+0.4 pts
93Martin County1.7-0.3 pts
94Bertie County1.7+0.8 pts
95Swain County1.6-1.2 pts
96Northampton County1.6-0.5 pts
97Madison County1.4+0.1 pts
98Gates County1.3-0.4 pts
99Camden County0.8-0.9 pts
100Washington County0.7-0.5 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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-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 16.9% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Washington County, with 0.7% in 2023.

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