Counties in North Carolina by area median family income (HUD)

Franklin County had the highest area median family income (HUD) of 100 counties in 2018, at $84,300. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at $38,100. The median was $55,000. Source: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research.

Highest84,300Franklin County
Lowest38,100Tyrrell County
Median55,000100 counties

Top 40 counties, 2018

Franklin County: 84,300 USDFranklin County84,300Johnston County: 84,300 USDJohnston County84,300Wake County: 84,300 USDWake County84,300Chatham County: 80,600 USDChatham County80,600Durham County: 80,600 USDDurham County80,600Orange County: 80,600 USDOrange County80,600Currituck County: 75,000 USDCurrituck County75,000Camden County: 74,300 USDCamden County74,300Cabarrus County: 74,100 USDCabarrus County74,100Gaston County: 74,100 USDGaston County74,100Mecklenburg County: 74,100 USDMecklenburg County74,100Union County: 74,100 USDUnion County74,100Iredell County: 73,400 USDIredell County73,400New Hanover County: 72,200 USDNew Hanover County72,200Carteret County: 68,800 USDCarteret County68,800Dare County: 67,000 USDDare County67,000Moore County: 66,300 USDMoore County66,300Brunswick County: 65,800 USDBrunswick County65,800Lincoln County: 64,500 USDLincoln County64,500Watauga County: 63,800 USDWatauga County63,800Craven County: 63,100 USDCraven County63,100Davie County: 62,500 USDDavie County62,500Forsyth County: 62,500 USDForsyth County62,500Harnett County: 62,500 USDHarnett County62,500Stokes County: 62,500 USDStokes County62,500Yadkin County: 62,500 USDYadkin County62,500Pitt County: 61,400 USDPitt County61,400Buncombe County: 61,300 USDBuncombe County61,300Henderson County: 61,300 USDHenderson County61,300Madison County: 61,300 USDMadison County61,300Davidson County: 60,500 USDDavidson County60,500Guilford County: 60,500 USDGuilford County60,500Randolph County: 60,500 USDRandolph County60,500Granville County: 60,100 USDGranville County60,100Pender County: 59,300 USDPender County59,300Gates County: 58,200 USDGates County58,200Lee County: 58,000 USDLee County58,000Pamlico County: 58,000 USDPamlico County58,000Wayne County: 57,100 USDWayne County57,100Polk County: 56,400 USDPolk County56,400
USD. Source: HUD, HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
USD
Change on 2017
1Franklin County84,300+5.1%
1Johnston County84,300+5.1%
1Wake County84,300+5.1%
4Chatham County80,600+10%
4Durham County80,600+10%
4Orange County80,600+10%
7Currituck County75,000+2.7%
8Camden County74,300+1.4%
9Cabarrus County74,100+4.8%
9Gaston County74,100+4.8%
9Mecklenburg County74,100+4.8%
9Union County74,100+4.8%
13Iredell County73,400+12.1%
14New Hanover County72,200+5.9%
15Carteret County68,800+5.7%
16Dare County67,000+2.1%
17Moore County66,300+1.1%
18Brunswick County65,800+14.6%
19Lincoln County64,500+20.3%
20Watauga County63,800+3.1%
21Craven County63,100+23.7%
22Davie County62,500+9.8%
22Forsyth County62,500+9.8%
22Harnett County62,500+22.1%
22Stokes County62,500+9.8%
22Yadkin County62,500+9.8%
27Pitt County61,400+13.3%
28Buncombe County61,3000%
28Henderson County61,3000%
28Madison County61,3000%
31Davidson County60,500+7.8%
31Guilford County60,500+5.8%
31Randolph County60,500+5.8%
34Granville County60,100+5.4%
35Pender County59,300+3.9%
36Gates County58,200+2.6%
37Lee County58,000-0.2%
37Pamlico County58,000-2.2%
39Wayne County57,100+26.9%
40Polk County56,400-3.6%
41Haywood County56,300+5.6%
42Surry County56,000+20.2%
43Rowan County55,900-0.7%
44Pasquotank County55,700+0.2%
45Rockingham County55,200+13.8%
46Alamance County55,100+4.2%
46Transylvania County55,100+2.2%
48Alexander County55,000+5.8%
48Burke County55,000+5.8%
48Caldwell County55,000+5.8%
48Catawba County55,000+5.8%
52Stanly County54,700-1.4%
53Beaufort County54,100+3.2%
53Wilson County54,100+16.3%
55Person County53,900+3.1%
56Hoke County53,600-2.2%
57Cumberland County53,500+2.3%
57Jackson County53,500+4.5%
59Edgecombe County53,000+7.9%
59Nash County53,000+7.9%
59Onslow County53,000-4.5%
62Wilkes County52,700+17.1%
63Mitchell County52,200+6.1%
64Cleveland County52,000+5.1%
65Perquimans County51,600-3.7%
66Greene County50,900-1%
67Caswell County50,700+1%
68Macon County50,300+3.7%
69Montgomery County49,800+2.9%
70Hyde County49,400-0.8%
70Swain County49,400+6%
72Avery County49,200+4%
73Chowan County48,900+6.1%
74Martin County48,800-3.2%
75Warren County48,700+5.2%
76Graham County48,600+9.5%
77Ashe County48,000+1.7%
78Clay County47,900+6%
79Jones County47,800-2.8%
79Yancey County47,800-1.8%
81Columbus County47,200+1.7%
82Rutherford County47,100+4.4%
83McDowell County46,900+1.1%
84Washington County46,400+10.2%
85Sampson County46,300+4.5%
86Lenoir County46,200-0.9%
87Cherokee County46,100+3.1%
88Alleghany County45,300+6.1%
89Vance County45,2000%
90Duplin County44,700+0.7%
91Bladen County43,700-0.5%
91Halifax County43,700+1.4%
93Hertford County43,500+3.6%
94Bertie County43,100+8.3%
95Anson County42,400+4.7%
96Robeson County41,500+15.9%
97Richmond County40,600-5.8%
98Northampton County39,000-1.5%
99Scotland County38,900+2.1%
100Tyrrell County38,100-4.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Median annual family income, in US dollars, that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates for the HUD area that contains the county, for the fiscal year. HUD bases it on American Community Survey family incomes, brought forward to the fiscal year, and uses it to set income limits for its programs: the very low income limit is 50 percent and the low income limit 80 percent of the area median for a family of four, with adjustments. Often called AMI.

A program parameter, not a survey estimate for the county itself: it differs from the Census Bureau median household income and from the American Community Survey median family income of the county. HUD sets one value per HUD area, a metropolitan area (sometimes split into HUD Metro FMR Areas) or a non-metropolitan county, so every county of a metropolitan area shows the same figure. Counties in the six New England states have no value, because HUD defines their areas by town and a county can span several areas. Where HUD splits off part of a county, the county value is the rest of the county: Howard County, Maryland, without Columbia until FY2015, and Crawford County, Missouri, without its part of Sullivan. The year is HUD's federal fiscal year: FY2027 runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.

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. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx. 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. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. (2018). HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars (Counties in North Carolina by area median family income (HUD), 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx

MLA 9

HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars, Counties in North Carolina by area median family income (HUD), 2018. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 27 Mar. 2018, https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. 2018. HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. Counties in North Carolina by area median family income (HUD), 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research (2018) HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars, Counties in North Carolina by area median family income (HUD), 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_north_carolina_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research}},
  title = {{HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars: Counties in North Carolina by area median family income (HUD), 2018}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2018. Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
TI  - HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars: Counties in North Carolina by area median family income (HUD), 2018
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/03/27
PB  - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il18/Section8-FY18.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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 area median family income (HUD) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"area_median_family_income","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=area_median_family_income&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 area median family income (HUD)?

Franklin County, with $84,300 in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research.

Which county has the lowest area median family income (HUD)?

Tyrrell County, with $38,100 in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Area median family income (HUD): other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings