Data / Rankings / Housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) / Cities in North Carolina

Cities in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)

Morehead City, NC had the highest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) of 93 cities in 2022, at 21.5%. Stallings, NC had the lowest, at 1.9%. The median was 9.2% and the figure for North Carolina was 13.4%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest21.5Morehead City, NC
Lowest1.9Stallings, NC
Median9.293 cities
North Carolina13.4History

Top 40 cities, 2022

Morehead City, NC: 21.5 %Morehead City, NC21.5Asheville, NC: 20.9 %Asheville, NC20.9Kinston, NC: 18.6 %Kinston, NC18.6Lumberton, NC: 18 %Lumberton, NC18Albemarle, NC: 17.3 %Albemarle, NC17.3Shelby, NC: 16.2 %Shelby, NC16.2Henderson, NC: 16 %Henderson, NC16Waynesville, NC: 15.9 %Waynesville, NC15.9Spring Lake, NC: 15.8 %Spring Lake, NC15.8Laurinburg, NC: 15.5 %Laurinburg, NC15.5Pinehurst, NC: 14.9 %Pinehurst, NC14.9Rocky Mount, NC: 14.5 %Rocky Mount, NC14.5Elizabeth City, NC: 14.5 %Elizabeth City, NC14.5Smithfield, NC: 14.5 %Smithfield, NC14.5Elon, NC: 14.4 %Elon, NC14.4Lexington, NC: 14.4 %Lexington, NC14.4Kannapolis, NC: 13.8 %Kannapolis, NC13.8Concord, NC: 13.8 %Concord, NC13.8Eden, NC: 13.7 %Eden, NC13.7Southern Pines, NC: 13.6 %Southern Pines, NC13.6Boone, NC: 13 %Boone, NC13New Bern, NC: 12.8 %New Bern, NC12.8Greenville, NC: 12.6 %Greenville, NC12.6Goldsboro, NC: 12.5 %Goldsboro, NC12.5Mount Airy, NC: 12.2 %Mount Airy, NC12.2Salisbury, NC: 12.2 %Salisbury, NC12.2Lenoir, NC: 12.1 %Lenoir, NC12.1Havelock, NC: 12 %Havelock, NC12Winston-Salem, NC: 12 %Winston-Salem, NC12Wilson, NC: 11.7 %Wilson, NC11.7Reidsville, NC: 11.7 %Reidsville, NC11.7Jacksonville, NC: 11.5 %Jacksonville, NC11.5Fayetteville, NC: 11.2 %Fayetteville, NC11.2Chapel Hill, NC: 10.9 %Chapel Hill, NC10.9Morganton, NC: 10.6 %Morganton, NC10.6Raleigh, NC: 10.2 %Raleigh, NC10.2Roanoke Rapids, NC: 10.2 %Roanoke Rapids, NC10.2Wilmington, NC: 10.2 %Wilmington, NC10.2Tarboro, NC: 10 %Tarboro, NC10Sanford, NC: 9.9 %Sanford, NC9.9Morehead City, NC: 21.5 %Morehead City, NC21.5Asheville, NC: 20.9 %Asheville, NC20.9Kinston, NC: 18.6 %Kinston, NC18.6Lumberton, NC: 18 %Lumberton, NC18Albemarle, NC: 17.3 %Albemarle, NC17.3Shelby, NC: 16.2 %Shelby, NC16.2Henderson, NC: 16 %Henderson, NC16Waynesville, NC: 15.9 %Waynesville, NC15.9Spring Lake, NC: 15.8 %Spring Lake, NC15.8Laurinburg, NC: 15.5 %Laurinburg, NC15.5Pinehurst, NC: 14.9 %Pinehurst, NC14.9Rocky Mount, NC: 14.5 %Rocky Mount, NC14.5Elizabeth City, NC: 14.5 %Elizabeth City, NC14.5Smithfield, NC: 14.5 %Smithfield, NC14.5Elon, NC: 14.4 %Elon, NC14.4Lexington, NC: 14.4 %Lexington, NC14.4Kannapolis, NC: 13.8 %Kannapolis, NC13.8Concord, NC: 13.8 %Concord, NC13.8Eden, NC: 13.7 %Eden, NC13.7Southern Pines, NC: 13.6 %Southern Pines, NC13.6Boone, NC: 13 %Boone, NC13New Bern, NC: 12.8 %New Bern, NC12.8Greenville, NC: 12.6 %Greenville, NC12.6Goldsboro, NC: 12.5 %Goldsboro, NC12.5Mount Airy, NC: 12.2 %Mount Airy, NC12.2Salisbury, NC: 12.2 %Salisbury, NC12.2Lenoir, NC: 12.1 %Lenoir, NC12.1Havelock, NC: 12 %Havelock, NC12Winston-Salem, NC: 12 %Winston-Salem, NC12Wilson, NC: 11.7 %Wilson, NC11.7Reidsville, NC: 11.7 %Reidsville, NC11.7Jacksonville, NC: 11.5 %Jacksonville, NC11.5Fayetteville, NC: 11.2 %Fayetteville, NC11.2Chapel Hill, NC: 10.9 %Chapel Hill, NC10.9Morganton, NC: 10.6 %Morganton, NC10.6Raleigh, NC: 10.2 %Raleigh, NC10.2Roanoke Rapids, NC: 10.2 %Roanoke Rapids, NC10.2Wilmington, NC: 10.2 %Wilmington, NC10.2Tarboro, NC: 10 %Tarboro, NC10Sanford, NC: 9.9 %Sanford, NC9.9
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Morehead City, NC21.5-1.1 pts
2Asheville, NC20.9+2.1 pts
3Kinston, NC18.6+1.1 pts
4Lumberton, NC18-0.6 pts
5Albemarle, NC17.3+0.8 pts
6Shelby, NC16.2+0.4 pts
7Henderson, NC16-0.5 pts
8Waynesville, NC15.9-0.5 pts
9Spring Lake, NC15.8-0 pts
10Laurinburg, NC15.5+0.3 pts
11Pinehurst, NC14.9-2.4 pts
12Rocky Mount, NC14.5-1.6 pts
13Elizabeth City, NC14.5-2.1 pts
13Smithfield, NC14.5-0.3 pts
15Elon, NC14.4+3.3 pts
16Lexington, NC14.4-1.8 pts
17Kannapolis, NC13.8-0.3 pts
18Concord, NC13.8+0.3 pts
19Eden, NC13.7-2.2 pts
20Southern Pines, NC13.6+0.5 pts
21Boone, NC13-1.6 pts
22New Bern, NC12.8-0.3 pts
23Greenville, NC12.6-0.3 pts
24Goldsboro, NC12.5-0.4 pts
25Mount Airy, NC12.2-0.9 pts
26Salisbury, NC12.2-0.3 pts
27Lenoir, NC12.1-0.8 pts
28Havelock, NC12-0.2 pts
29Winston-Salem, NC12-0.1 pts
30Wilson, NC11.7-0 pts
31Reidsville, NC11.7+0.5 pts
32Jacksonville, NC11.5-0.2 pts
33Fayetteville, NC11.2-1.2 pts
34Chapel Hill, NC10.9+0.8 pts
35Morganton, NC10.6-1.7 pts
36Raleigh, NC10.2+0.8 pts
37Roanoke Rapids, NC10.2-0.9 pts
38Wilmington, NC10.2-0.1 pts
39Tarboro, NC10+0.7 pts
40Sanford, NC9.9+0.1 pts
41Hickory, NC9.9-0.7 pts
42Greensboro, NC9.7-0.4 pts
43Statesville, NC9.7+0.4 pts
44Graham, NC9.6+0.7 pts
45Gastonia, NC9.6-0.2 pts
46Morrisville, NC9.4+2.9 pts
47Davidson, NC9.2-0.3 pts
48Kings Mountain, NC9+1 pts
49Burlington, NC8.9+0.3 pts
50Aberdeen, NC8.8-0.3 pts
50Asheboro, NC8.8+0.6 pts
52High Point, NC8-1.4 pts
53Lincolnton, NC7.80 pts
54Hendersonville, NC7.7-2.2 pts
55Carrboro, NC7.7-0 pts
56Thomasville, NC7.7-0.4 pts
57Charlotte, NC7.60 pts
57Hope Mills, NC7.6-3 pts
59Garner, NC7.5+2 pts
60Pineville, NC7.5-1.5 pts
61Monroe, NC7.3-1.1 pts
62Clemmons, NC7.2+0.4 pts
63Cornelius, NC7+0.6 pts
63Mebane, NC7+1.1 pts
65Durham, NC6.8+0.1 pts
66Cary, NC6.6+0.8 pts
67Leland, NC6.4-1.5 pts
68Zebulon, NC6.1-4.3 pts
69Clayton, NC6-1 pts
70Mooresville, NC6+0.5 pts
71Newton, NC5.8-1.8 pts
72Matthews, NC5.8+0.3 pts
73Archdale, NC5.7-0.2 pts
74Mint Hill, NC5.6+0.3 pts
75Apex, NC5.6-0.9 pts
76Kernersville, NC5.4-1.2 pts
77Lewisville, NC5.4-1.1 pts
78Holly Springs, NC5.4+0.5 pts
79Wake Forest, NC5.3+1.1 pts
80Indian Trail, NC5.2+1.2 pts
81Wendell, NC5.1+2.1 pts
82Summerfield, NC4.8+0.5 pts
83Harrisburg, NC4.7-0.7 pts
84Belmont, NC4.5-0.5 pts
85Fuquay-Varina, NC4.4+0.5 pts
86Winterville, NC4.1+1.4 pts
87Huntersville, NC4.1-0.1 pts
88Mount Holly, NC4.1-0.1 pts
89Knightdale, NC3.60 pts
89Waxhaw, NC3.6-0.8 pts
91Rolesville, NC3.3-0.1 pts
92Weddington, NC2.7+0.4 pts
93Stallings, NC1.9-0.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units.

More on how it is measured
  • Vacant units include those for rent or for sale, rented or sold but not yet occupied, for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, for migrant workers, and other vacant units.
  • United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

This gross rate counts seasonal and other off-market vacant units, so it is much higher than the rental and homeowner vacancy rates of the Housing Vacancy Survey (rental_vacancy_rate and homeowner_vacancy_rate) and cannot be compared with them. Counties with many holiday homes have high rates.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2022. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2022. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_2022,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2022. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2022.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"vacancy_rate_acs","level":"municipality","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
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Questions

Which city has the highest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)?

Morehead City, NC, with 21.5% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)?

Stallings, NC, with 1.9% 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 B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US): other rankings

Cities in North Carolina: more rankings