# Counties in North Carolina by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2024

All 100 values come from U.S. Census Bureau for 2024, so the places are comparable.

- Indicator id: `graduate_degree_share`
- Unit: %
- Definition: People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.
- Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs (https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat)
- Retrieved: 2026-10-12
- Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- Web page: https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/north-carolina-counties

| Rank | Place | % |
|---:|---|---:|
| 1 | Orange County | 34.6 |
| 2 | Durham County | 26.3 |
| 3 | Wake County | 23.4 |
| 4 | Chatham County | 23.2 |
| 5 | Watauga County | 21.8 |
| 6 | Buncombe County | 19 |
| 7 | Mecklenburg County | 17.9 |
| 8 | Moore County | 17.7 |
| 9 | New Hanover County | 16 |
| 10 | Transylvania County | 15.5 |
| 11 | Forsyth County | 15.1 |
| 12 | Guilford County | 14.8 |
| 13 | Pitt County | 14.3 |
| 14 | Union County | 14.2 |
| 15 | Cabarrus County | 13.9 |
| 16 | Polk County | 13.8 |
| 17 | Henderson County | 13.6 |
| 18 | Dare County | 13.2 |
| 18 | Jackson County | 13.2 |
| 20 | Carteret County | 12.9 |
| 21 | Brunswick County | 12.7 |
| 22 | Pamlico County | 11.6 |
| 23 | Camden County | 11.6 |
| 24 | Haywood County | 11.5 |
| 25 | Iredell County | 11.1 |
| 26 | Madison County | 11.1 |
| 27 | Craven County | 10.7 |
| 28 | Macon County | 10.6 |
| 29 | Pender County | 10.1 |
| 30 | Cumberland County | 10.1 |
| 31 | Swain County | 10 |
| 32 | Currituck County | 9.9 |
| 33 | Clay County | 9.8 |
| 34 | Alamance County | 9.6 |
| 35 | Chowan County | 9.5 |
| 36 | Mitchell County | 9.5 |
| 37 | Davie County | 9.4 |
| 38 | Perquimans County | 9.1 |
| 39 | Onslow County | 9.1 |
| 40 | Pasquotank County | 8.9 |
| 41 | Franklin County | 8.9 |
| 42 | Lincoln County | 8.8 |
| 43 | Avery County | 8.5 |
| 44 | Granville County | 8.5 |
| 45 | Cherokee County | 8.5 |
| 46 | Gaston County | 8.4 |
| 47 | Ashe County | 8.4 |
| 47 | Harnett County | 8.4 |
| 49 | Yancey County | 8.3 |
| 50 | Johnston County | 8.3 |
| 51 | Wilson County | 8.2 |
| 52 | Rutherford County | 8.2 |
| 53 | Cleveland County | 8 |
| 54 | Alleghany County | 7.8 |
| 55 | Hoke County | 7.7 |
| 56 | Catawba County | 7.7 |
| 57 | Burke County | 7.4 |
| 58 | Rowan County | 7.3 |
| 59 | Nash County | 7.2 |
| 60 | Lee County | 7.2 |
| 61 | Beaufort County | 7.1 |
| 62 | Surry County | 7.1 |
| 63 | Montgomery County | 6.9 |
| 64 | Northampton County | 6.9 |
| 65 | Davidson County | 6.7 |
| 66 | Scotland County | 6.6 |
| 67 | Wayne County | 6.6 |
| 68 | Bertie County | 6.6 |
| 68 | Warren County | 6.6 |
| 70 | Person County | 6.4 |
| 71 | Hertford County | 6.4 |
| 72 | Caldwell County | 6.2 |
| 73 | Stokes County | 6.2 |
| 74 | Wilkes County | 6.1 |
| 75 | Lenoir County | 5.9 |
| 76 | Bladen County | 5.9 |
| 77 | Caswell County | 5.8 |
| 78 | McDowell County | 5.7 |
| 78 | Rockingham County | 5.7 |
| 80 | Richmond County | 5.7 |
| 81 | Edgecombe County | 5.6 |
| 82 | Tyrrell County | 5.6 |
| 83 | Stanly County | 5.5 |
| 84 | Alexander County | 5.4 |
| 85 | Graham County | 5.3 |
| 86 | Yadkin County | 5.3 |
| 87 | Halifax County | 5.2 |
| 88 | Robeson County | 5.1 |
| 89 | Randolph County | 5 |
| 90 | Columbus County | 4.9 |
| 91 | Duplin County | 4.8 |
| 91 | Vance County | 4.8 |
| 93 | Washington County | 4.8 |
| 94 | Jones County | 4.7 |
| 95 | Sampson County | 4.7 |
| 96 | Martin County | 4.4 |
| 97 | Gates County | 4.3 |
| 98 | Hyde County | 3.9 |
| 99 | Greene County | 3 |
| 100 | Anson County | 2.8 |