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

Counties in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2024

Dare County had the highest housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US) of 100 counties in 2024, at 52.3%. Union County had the lowest, at 5.2%. The median was 13.1% and the figure for North Carolina was 12.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest52.3Dare County
Lowest5.2Union County
Median13.1100 counties
North Carolina12.5History

Map of counties, 2024

Alamance County: 9.1 %Alexander County: 12.9 %Alleghany County: 33.7 %Anson County: 14.1 %Ashe County: 29.1 %Avery County: 52.2 %Beaufort County: 21 %Bertie County: 20.5 %Bladen County: 22.7 %Brunswick County: 30.2 %Buncombe County: 24.3 %Burke County: 10 %Cabarrus County: 10.1 %Caldwell County: 12 %Camden County: 6.7 %Carteret County: 38.7 %Caswell County: 16.1 %Catawba County: 9.4 %Chatham County: 8.1 %Cherokee County: 28.1 %Chowan County: 14.7 %Clay County: 32.2 %Cleveland County: 12.3 %Columbus County: 14.9 %Craven County: 11.7 %Cumberland County: 9.8 %Currituck County: 30.7 %Dare County: 52.3 %Davidson County: 8.6 %Davie County: 10.6 %Duplin County: 12.9 %Durham County: 7.3 %Edgecombe County: 15.6 %Forsyth County: 8.9 %Franklin County: 10.2 %Gaston County: 8 %Gates County: 13.2 %Graham County: 32.8 %Granville County: 9.3 %Greene County: 12.9 %Guilford County: 7.7 %Halifax County: 18.1 %Harnett County: 9.2 %Haywood County: 23.7 %Henderson County: 12 %Hertford County: 15.6 %Hoke County: 8 %Hyde County: 34.3 %Iredell County: 9.3 %Jackson County: 33.7 %Johnston County: 6.2 %Jones County: 12.2 %Lee County: 7.4 %Lenoir County: 13.1 %Lincoln County: 6.8 %McDowell County: 13.6 %Macon County: 32.4 %Madison County: 26.5 %Martin County: 14.1 %Mecklenburg County: 7.3 %Mitchell County: 24.3 %Montgomery County: 29 %Moore County: 12.5 %Nash County: 11.4 %New Hanover County: 12.7 %Northampton County: 26.2 %Onslow County: 13.8 %Orange County: 8.8 %Pamlico County: 25.5 %Pasquotank County: 10.9 %Pender County: 20.6 %Perquimans County: 19.4 %Person County: 13.6 %Pitt County: 9.8 %Polk County: 18.7 %Randolph County: 8.2 %Richmond County: 14.4 %Robeson County: 12.2 %Rockingham County: 9.7 %Rowan County: 9.4 %Rutherford County: 18.7 %Sampson County: 16.4 %Scotland County: 12.9 %Stanly County: 11.9 %Stokes County: 9.1 %Surry County: 11.5 %Swain County: 30.3 %Transylvania County: 24.3 %Tyrrell County: 30.6 %Union County: 5.2 %Vance County: 17.2 %Wake County: 7.2 %Warren County: 30.5 %Washington County: 21.5 %Watauga County: 36.5 %Wayne County: 11.2 %Wilkes County: 14.9 %Wilson County: 10.8 %Yadkin County: 13 %Yancey County: 28.5 %
  • Under 9.1
  • 9.1 to 11
  • 11 to 13
  • 13 to 19
  • 19 to 29
  • 29 and over
%, 2024. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2024

Dare County: 52.3 %Dare County52.3Avery County: 52.2 %Avery County52.2Carteret County: 38.7 %Carteret County38.7Watauga County: 36.5 %Watauga County36.5Hyde County: 34.3 %Hyde County34.3Jackson County: 33.7 %Jackson County33.7Alleghany County: 33.7 %Alleghany County33.7Graham County: 32.8 %Graham County32.8Macon County: 32.4 %Macon County32.4Clay County: 32.2 %Clay County32.2Currituck County: 30.7 %Currituck County30.7Tyrrell County: 30.6 %Tyrrell County30.6Warren County: 30.5 %Warren County30.5Swain County: 30.3 %Swain County30.3Brunswick County: 30.2 %Brunswick County30.2Ashe County: 29.1 %Ashe County29.1Montgomery County: 29 %Montgomery County29Yancey County: 28.5 %Yancey County28.5Cherokee County: 28.1 %Cherokee County28.1Madison County: 26.5 %Madison County26.5Northampton County: 26.2 %Northampton County26.2Pamlico County: 25.5 %Pamlico County25.5Transylvania County: 24.3 %Transylvania County24.3Buncombe County: 24.3 %Buncombe County24.3Mitchell County: 24.3 %Mitchell County24.3Haywood County: 23.7 %Haywood County23.7Bladen County: 22.7 %Bladen County22.7Washington County: 21.5 %Washington County21.5Beaufort County: 21 %Beaufort County21Pender County: 20.6 %Pender County20.6Bertie County: 20.5 %Bertie County20.5Perquimans County: 19.4 %Perquimans County19.4Polk County: 18.7 %Polk County18.7Rutherford County: 18.7 %Rutherford County18.7Halifax County: 18.1 %Halifax County18.1Vance County: 17.2 %Vance County17.2Sampson County: 16.4 %Sampson County16.4Caswell County: 16.1 %Caswell County16.1Hertford County: 15.6 %Hertford County15.6Edgecombe County: 15.6 %Edgecombe County15.6Dare County: 52.3 %Dare County52.3Avery County: 52.2 %Avery County52.2Carteret County: 38.7 %Carteret County38.7Watauga County: 36.5 %Watauga County36.5Hyde County: 34.3 %Hyde County34.3Jackson County: 33.7 %Jackson County33.7Alleghany County: 33.7 %Alleghany County33.7Graham County: 32.8 %Graham County32.8Macon County: 32.4 %Macon County32.4Clay County: 32.2 %Clay County32.2Currituck County: 30.7 %Currituck County30.7Tyrrell County: 30.6 %Tyrrell County30.6Warren County: 30.5 %Warren County30.5Swain County: 30.3 %Swain County30.3Brunswick County: 30.2 %Brunswick County30.2Ashe County: 29.1 %Ashe County29.1Montgomery County: 29 %Montgomery County29Yancey County: 28.5 %Yancey County28.5Cherokee County: 28.1 %Cherokee County28.1Madison County: 26.5 %Madison County26.5Northampton County: 26.2 %Northampton County26.2Pamlico County: 25.5 %Pamlico County25.5Transylvania County: 24.3 %Transylvania County24.3Buncombe County: 24.3 %Buncombe County24.3Mitchell County: 24.3 %Mitchell County24.3Haywood County: 23.7 %Haywood County23.7Bladen County: 22.7 %Bladen County22.7Washington County: 21.5 %Washington County21.5Beaufort County: 21 %Beaufort County21Pender County: 20.6 %Pender County20.6Bertie County: 20.5 %Bertie County20.5Perquimans County: 19.4 %Perquimans County19.4Polk County: 18.7 %Polk County18.7Rutherford County: 18.7 %Rutherford County18.7Halifax County: 18.1 %Halifax County18.1Vance County: 17.2 %Vance County17.2Sampson County: 16.4 %Sampson County16.4Caswell County: 16.1 %Caswell County16.1Hertford County: 15.6 %Hertford County15.6Edgecombe County: 15.6 %Edgecombe County15.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Dare County52.3-0.4 pts
2Avery County52.2-1.1 pts
3Carteret County38.7-0.8 pts
4Watauga County36.5+0.6 pts
5Hyde County34.3+1.1 pts
6Jackson County33.70 pts
7Alleghany County33.7-1.2 pts
8Graham County32.8-4.1 pts
9Macon County32.4-0.8 pts
10Clay County32.2+0.3 pts
11Currituck County30.7-0.2 pts
12Tyrrell County30.6+1.8 pts
13Warren County30.5-0.8 pts
14Swain County30.3-1.2 pts
15Brunswick County30.2-1.2 pts
16Ashe County29.1-0.7 pts
17Montgomery County29-3.5 pts
18Yancey County28.5+0.9 pts
19Cherokee County28.1-0.2 pts
20Madison County26.5+1.5 pts
21Northampton County26.2-2.3 pts
22Pamlico County25.5-2.3 pts
23Transylvania County24.3+0.5 pts
24Buncombe County24.3+1.9 pts
24Mitchell County24.3-1.8 pts
26Haywood County23.7-0.4 pts
27Bladen County22.7-1.2 pts
28Washington County21.5+1.4 pts
29Beaufort County21-0.7 pts
30Pender County20.6-1.5 pts
31Bertie County20.5-1.4 pts
32Perquimans County19.4+0.1 pts
33Polk County18.7-1.6 pts
33Rutherford County18.7+0.1 pts
35Halifax County18.1-0.4 pts
36Vance County17.2-0.1 pts
37Sampson County16.4-0.7 pts
38Caswell County16.1-1.2 pts
39Hertford County15.6+0.3 pts
40Edgecombe County15.6-0.4 pts
41Columbus County14.9-3.5 pts
42Wilkes County14.9-0.2 pts
43Chowan County14.7-1.8 pts
44Richmond County14.4-0.6 pts
45Anson County14.1-2.2 pts
46Martin County14.1-1.6 pts
47Onslow County13.8-1.8 pts
48McDowell County13.6-0.5 pts
49Person County13.6+1.3 pts
50Gates County13.2+0.9 pts
51Lenoir County13.1-1.2 pts
52Yadkin County13-0.2 pts
53Greene County12.9-0.7 pts
54Alexander County12.9-0.9 pts
55Scotland County12.9-1.3 pts
56Duplin County12.9-2.8 pts
57New Hanover County12.7-0 pts
58Moore County12.5-0.9 pts
59Cleveland County12.3-3.1 pts
60Jones County12.2-4.1 pts
61Robeson County12.2-0.4 pts
62Henderson County12-0 pts
63Caldwell County12-0 pts
64Stanly County11.9-1.8 pts
65Craven County11.7-0.8 pts
66Surry County11.5-1.1 pts
67Nash County11.4-1 pts
68Wayne County11.2-0.5 pts
69Pasquotank County10.9-1.4 pts
70Wilson County10.8+0.3 pts
71Davie County10.6-1 pts
72Franklin County10.2-0.7 pts
73Cabarrus County10.1-1.9 pts
74Burke County10-0.4 pts
75Pitt County9.8-0.3 pts
76Cumberland County9.8-0.8 pts
77Rockingham County9.7-1 pts
78Catawba County9.4-0 pts
79Rowan County9.4-0.8 pts
80Granville County9.3-0.5 pts
80Iredell County9.3-0.3 pts
82Harnett County9.2-0.8 pts
83Alamance County9.1-0.2 pts
84Stokes County9.1-0.2 pts
85Forsyth County8.9-1.2 pts
86Orange County8.8-0.4 pts
87Davidson County8.6-0.8 pts
88Randolph County8.2-0.7 pts
89Chatham County8.1+0.2 pts
90Gaston County8+0.2 pts
91Hoke County8-0.9 pts
92Guilford County7.7-0.8 pts
93Lee County7.4-0.7 pts
94Durham County7.3+0.2 pts
95Mecklenburg County7.3-0.1 pts
96Wake County7.2-0.3 pts
97Lincoln County6.8-0.7 pts
98Camden County6.7+0.2 pts
99Johnston County6.2-0.7 pts
100Union County5.20 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 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 B25002: vacant housing units as a percentage of all housing units, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-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 (Counties in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-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, Counties in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25002.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-counties. 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. Counties in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25002.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-counties.

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, Counties in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25002.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2024,
  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: Counties in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25002.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-counties. 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. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-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: Counties in North Carolina by housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US), 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25002.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-vacancy-rate-all-vacant-units/north-carolina-counties.
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. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b25002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Dare County, with 52.3% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Union County, with 5.2% in 2024.

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. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings