Counties in North Carolina by real GDP growth

Transylvania County had the highest real GDP growth of 100 counties in 2017, at 34.2%. Nash County had the lowest, at -20.7%. The median was 2.5% and the figure for North Carolina was 2%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Lowest-20.7Nash County
Median2.5100 counties
North Carolina2History

Top 40 counties, 2017

CSVChart (SVG)

Transylvania CountyTransylvania County: 34.2 %34.2Perquimans CountyPerquimans County: 23 %23Granville CountyGranville County: 20.8 %20.8Gates CountyGates County: 14.7 %14.7Davie CountyDavie County: 14.6 %14.6Currituck CountyCurrituck County: 14.1 %14.1Johnston CountyJohnston County: 12 %12Jones CountyJones County: 11 %11Cleveland CountyCleveland County: 10.8 %10.8Chowan CountyChowan County: 10.1 %10.1Robeson CountyRobeson County: 8.9 %8.9Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 8.6 %8.6Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 7.2 %7.2Union CountyUnion County: 6.7 %6.7Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 6.2 %6.2Bladen CountyBladen County: 5.8 %5.8Carteret CountyCarteret County: 5.5 %5.5Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 5.2 %5.2Macon CountyMacon County: 5 %5Caswell CountyCaswell County: 4.5 %4.5Jackson CountyJackson County: 4.5 %4.5Swain CountySwain County: 4.5 %4.5Alexander CountyAlexander County: 4.2 %4.2Catawba CountyCatawba County: 4.2 %4.2Wake CountyWake County: 4.1 %4.1Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 4 %4Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 4 %4Pasquotank CountyPasquotank County: 4 %4Wilkes CountyWilkes County: 3.8 %3.8Caldwell CountyCaldwell County: 3.7 %3.7Gaston CountyGaston County: 3.7 %3.7Haywood CountyHaywood County: 3.7 %3.7Sampson CountySampson County: 3.6 %3.6Davidson CountyDavidson County: 3.4 %3.4Pamlico CountyPamlico County: 3.4 %3.4Pender CountyPender County: 3.4 %3.4Madison CountyMadison County: 3.3 %3.3Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 3.3 %3.3Dare CountyDare County: 3.2 %3.2Harnett CountyHarnett County: 3.2 %3.2
%. Source: BEA. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Transylvania County34.2+17 pts
2Perquimans County23+26.6 pts
3Granville County20.8+8 pts
4Gates County14.7+15.6 pts
5Davie County14.6+14 pts
6Currituck County14.1+18.6 pts
7Johnston County12+1.6 pts
8Jones County11+8.4 pts
9Cleveland County10.8+7 pts
10Chowan County10.1+3.3 pts
11Robeson County8.9+5.6 pts
12Cabarrus County8.6+2.4 pts
13Buncombe County7.2+4.2 pts
14Union County6.7+1 pts
15Lincoln County6.2+4.1 pts
16Bladen County5.8+8.3 pts
17Carteret County5.50 pts
18Tyrrell County5.2-8.2 pts
19Macon County5-2.7 pts
20Caswell County4.5+1.6 pts
20Jackson County4.5+3.2 pts
20Swain County4.5+2.9 pts
23Alexander County4.2+4.3 pts
23Catawba County4.2+1.5 pts
25Wake County4.1-2.1 pts
26Cherokee County4+10.5 pts
26Northampton County4-0.8 pts
26Pasquotank County4+5.3 pts
29Wilkes County3.8+2.8 pts
30Caldwell County3.7-1.2 pts
30Gaston County3.7+2 pts
30Haywood County3.7+1.1 pts
33Sampson County3.6+7.4 pts
34Davidson County3.4-2.1 pts
34Pamlico County3.4+2 pts
34Pender County3.4-5 pts
37Madison County3.3+3.5 pts
37Montgomery County3.3+5.1 pts
39Dare County3.2-1 pts
39Harnett County3.2-0.5 pts
39Hertford County3.2+1.1 pts
39Polk County3.2+2.8 pts
43Graham County2.9+12.1 pts
43Orange County2.9-0.2 pts
45Hoke County2.8-2.9 pts
45Mecklenburg County2.8+0.4 pts
45Pitt County2.8+2.7 pts
48Edgecombe County2.70 pts
49Mitchell County2.6-3.1 pts
50Iredell County2.5+0.2 pts
51Watauga County2.4-2 pts
52Forsyth County2.3+1.2 pts
52Yadkin County2.3+3.4 pts
54Lenoir County2.2+1.8 pts
54Onslow County2.2+6.4 pts
56Clay County2.1+7.8 pts
57Moore County2+0.6 pts
58Stanly County1.9-1.6 pts
58Surry County1.9+1.7 pts
60Duplin County1.8+5.1 pts
61Ashe County1.7-4 pts
62Randolph County1.5+2.2 pts
63Halifax County1.3+1.7 pts
63Rutherford County1.3+0.1 pts
65Columbus County1+1.9 pts
65Craven County1+9.9 pts
67Anson County0.9+1.7 pts
67Brunswick County0.9-6.9 pts
67Wayne County0.90 pts
70Camden County0.8+9.5 pts
71Bertie County0.7+5.9 pts
71Guilford County0.7+1.8 pts
73Burke County0.5-1.1 pts
74New Hanover County0.3-4.5 pts
75Avery County0.2-4.2 pts
76Rowan County0-2.7 pts
77Vance County-0.3-1.8 pts
78Martin County-0.7+2.7 pts
79Chatham County-1-6.2 pts
79Richmond County-1-3.4 pts
81Greene County-1.2-6.4 pts
82Hyde County-1.5+1.1 pts
82Person County-1.5-1.4 pts
84Alamance County-1.6-5.8 pts
85McDowell County-1.9-4.8 pts
86Henderson County-2.3-8.1 pts
87Franklin County-2.7-7.2 pts
88Rockingham County-3-1.8 pts
89Durham County-3.2-0.2 pts
89Lee County-3.2-1.2 pts
89Yancey County-3.2-9 pts
92Warren County-3.3+0.4 pts
93Washington County-4.2-2.6 pts
94Alleghany County-4.5-4 pts
95Stokes County-4.7+0.3 pts
96Wilson County-4.8-2.9 pts
97Beaufort County-7.7-19.9 pts
97Cumberland County-7.7-9.8 pts
99Scotland County-11.5+14.9 pts
100Nash County-20.7-19.7 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Annual percentage change of GDP in chain-linked volumes, or at constant prices in the World Bank series.

Each value comes from one official source for that place: national statistics offices, Eurostat, for the United States the Bureau of Economic Analysis or, for other countries and the World, the World Bank. Annual values compare one calendar year with the previous one; quarterly values compare a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier. Past values can be revised. United States figures come from BEA tables SAGDP11 for the nation and states and CAGDP11 for counties. Growth in small counties can swing widely from year to year.

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. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAGDP11: annual percent change in real GDP, all industry total, individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAGDP11.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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 real GDP growth using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"gdp_growth","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=gdp_growth&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 real GDP growth?

Transylvania County, with 34.2% in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest real GDP growth?

Nash County, with -20.7% in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP11: annual percent change in real GDP, all industry total, individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Real GDP growth: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings