Counties in North Carolina by population speaking a language other than English at home, 2024

Duplin County had the highest population speaking a language other than English at home of 100 counties in 2024, at 23%. Madison County had the lowest, at 1.8%. The median was 8% and the figure for North Carolina was 13.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest23Duplin County
Median8100 counties
North Carolina13.5History

Top 40 counties, 2024

Duplin County: 23 %Duplin County23Mecklenburg County: 22.3 %Mecklenburg County22.3Durham County: 21.2 %Durham County21.2Lee County: 20.6 %Lee County20.6Wake County: 19.4 %Wake County19.4Sampson County: 19.3 %Sampson County19.3Union County: 17.4 %Union County17.4Orange County: 17 %Orange County17Guilford County: 16.9 %Guilford County16.9Cabarrus County: 16.6 %Cabarrus County16.6Forsyth County: 16.2 %Forsyth County16.2Montgomery County: 15.9 %Montgomery County15.9Johnston County: 15.5 %Johnston County15.5Alamance County: 15.5 %Alamance County15.5Chatham County: 15.1 %Chatham County15.1Wayne County: 14.8 %Wayne County14.8Greene County: 14.4 %Greene County14.4Randolph County: 13.5 %Randolph County13.5Catawba County: 12.8 %Catawba County12.8Cumberland County: 12.5 %Cumberland County12.5Harnett County: 12.3 %Harnett County12.3Henderson County: 12.1 %Henderson County12.1Wilson County: 12 %Wilson County12Hoke County: 11.7 %Hoke County11.7Surry County: 11.4 %Surry County11.4Rowan County: 10.9 %Rowan County10.9Yadkin County: 10.8 %Yadkin County10.8Onslow County: 10.4 %Onslow County10.4Robeson County: 10.3 %Robeson County10.3Iredell County: 10.3 %Iredell County10.3Alleghany County: 10.2 %Alleghany County10.2Gaston County: 10 %Gaston County10Granville County: 9.7 %Granville County9.7Franklin County: 9.5 %Franklin County9.5Buncombe County: 9.4 %Buncombe County9.4Burke County: 9.3 %Burke County9.3Davidson County: 9.1 %Davidson County9.1Vance County: 9.1 %Vance County9.1Nash County: 9 %Nash County9Dare County: 8.6 %Dare County8.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Duplin County23+0.9 pts
2Mecklenburg County22.3+0.7 pts
3Durham County21.2+0.8 pts
4Lee County20.6+0.9 pts
5Wake County19.4+0.6 pts
6Sampson County19.3-0.1 pts
7Union County17.4+0.6 pts
8Orange County17+0.5 pts
9Guilford County16.9+1 pts
10Cabarrus County16.6+1.5 pts
11Forsyth County16.2+0.8 pts
12Montgomery County15.9-0.4 pts
13Johnston County15.5+0.2 pts
14Alamance County15.5+0.3 pts
15Chatham County15.1+0.1 pts
16Wayne County14.8+1 pts
17Greene County14.4-0.5 pts
18Randolph County13.5+0.1 pts
19Catawba County12.80 pts
20Cumberland County12.5+0.2 pts
21Harnett County12.3+0.5 pts
22Henderson County12.1+0.6 pts
23Wilson County12+0.5 pts
24Hoke County11.7+0.2 pts
25Surry County11.4+0.6 pts
26Rowan County10.90 pts
27Yadkin County10.8-0.3 pts
28Onslow County10.4+0.1 pts
29Robeson County10.3+0.8 pts
30Iredell County10.3-0.1 pts
31Alleghany County10.2+0.8 pts
32Gaston County10+0.7 pts
33Granville County9.7+0.3 pts
34Franklin County9.5+0.5 pts
35Buncombe County9.4-0.2 pts
36Burke County9.3-0.8 pts
37Davidson County9.1+0.2 pts
38Vance County9.1+1.9 pts
39Nash County9+0.8 pts
40Dare County8.6+0.4 pts
41Lincoln County8.5+1 pts
41Pitt County8.5+0.2 pts
43Lenoir County8.4+0.5 pts
44Macon County8.2-0.2 pts
45Tyrrell County8.2-3.1 pts
46Davie County8.2-0.3 pts
47Richmond County8.1+0.1 pts
48Jackson County8.1-0.6 pts
49New Hanover County8.1-0.5 pts
50Craven County8-0.1 pts
51Pender County7.9+0.4 pts
52Hyde County7.9+3.3 pts
53Swain County7.7+1.2 pts
54Wilkes County7.5+0.5 pts
55Moore County7.3-0.5 pts
56McDowell County7.2-0.4 pts
57Stanly County7+0.6 pts
58Bladen County6.9-0.1 pts
59Edgecombe County6.7+0.5 pts
60Caswell County6.4+0.8 pts
61Alexander County6.3-0 pts
62Beaufort County6.2-0.2 pts
63Graham County6+1 pts
64Watauga County5.9-0.1 pts
65Anson County5.9+0.2 pts
65Rockingham County5.9+0.2 pts
67Columbus County5.9+0.9 pts
68Yancey County5.8+0.8 pts
69Caldwell County5.7-0.6 pts
70Polk County5.5-1.8 pts
71Jones County5.5+0.6 pts
72Carteret County5.4-0.2 pts
73Scotland County5.2+0.9 pts
74Cleveland County5.1+0.4 pts
75Person County5-0.4 pts
76Brunswick County5+0.2 pts
77Ashe County4.9-0.4 pts
78Hertford County4.9-0.7 pts
79Avery County4.8-0.2 pts
80Warren County4.7-0.6 pts
81Currituck County4.7+0.2 pts
82Rutherford County4.6-1.3 pts
83Chowan County4.5+0.4 pts
84Halifax County4.4+0.3 pts
85Mitchell County4.4+0.1 pts
86Perquimans County4.1-0.5 pts
87Pasquotank County3.9+0.2 pts
88Bertie County3.9+0.4 pts
89Pamlico County3.9+0.4 pts
90Haywood County3.8+0.6 pts
91Martin County3.80 pts
92Cherokee County3.4+0.5 pts
93Gates County3.2-0.8 pts
94Northampton County3+0.6 pts
95Stokes County3-0.4 pts
96Washington County2.9+2.3 pts
97Transylvania County2.9+0.4 pts
98Clay County2.4-0.4 pts
99Camden County2.3+0.3 pts
100Madison County1.8-0 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of all people aged 5 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Measures the language used at home, not English ability: most people in this group also speak English. Spanish speakers are shown separately in spanish_at_home_share.

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 C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-c16001.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 C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs (Counties in North Carolina by population speaking a language other than English at home, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-c16001.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs, Counties in North Carolina by population speaking a language other than English at home, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-c16001.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/language-other-than-english-at-home/north-carolina-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs. Counties in North Carolina by population speaking a language other than English at home, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-c16001.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/language-other-than-english-at-home/north-carolina-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs, Counties in North Carolina by population speaking a language other than English at home, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-c16001.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/language-other-than-english-at-home/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 C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs: Counties in North Carolina by population speaking a language other than English at home, 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-c16001.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/language-other-than-english-at-home/north-carolina-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-c16001.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs: Counties in North Carolina by population speaking a language other than English at home, 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-c16001.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/language-other-than-english-at-home/north-carolina-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/language-other-than-english-at-home/north-carolina-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-c16001.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest population speaking a language other than English at home?

Duplin County, with 23% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population speaking a language other than English at home?

Madison County, with 1.8% 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 C16001: people aged 5 and over who speak a language other than English at home, as a percentage of the population aged 5 and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population speaking a language other than English at home: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings