Counties in North Carolina by median household income

Wake County had the highest median household income of 100 counties in 2021, at $88,471. Washington County had the lowest, at $32,937. The median was $51,497 and the figure for North Carolina was $60,516. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest88,471Wake County
Lowest32,937Washington County
Median51,497100 counties
North Carolina60,516History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Wake CountyWake County: 88,471 USD88,471Union CountyUnion County: 88,465 USD88,465Currituck CountyCurrituck County: 79,416 USD79,416Orange CountyOrange County: 79,205 USD79,205Chatham CountyChatham County: 76,791 USD76,791Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 75,765 USD75,765Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 73,124 USD73,124Dare CountyDare County: 69,500 USD69,500Camden CountyCamden County: 68,560 USD68,560Moore CountyMoore County: 67,440 USD67,440Durham CountyDurham County: 67,000 USD67,000Iredell CountyIredell County: 66,824 USD66,824Johnston CountyJohnston County: 66,026 USD66,026Pender CountyPender County: 65,681 USD65,681Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 65,399 USD65,399Davie CountyDavie County: 64,657 USD64,657Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 64,400 USD64,400New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County: 62,362 USD62,362Franklin CountyFranklin County: 62,332 USD62,332Carteret CountyCarteret County: 61,805 USD61,805Granville CountyGranville County: 60,606 USD60,606Henderson CountyHenderson County: 59,928 USD59,928Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 59,699 USD59,699Harnett CountyHarnett County: 59,676 USD59,676Guilford CountyGuilford County: 58,646 USD58,646Catawba CountyCatawba County: 57,840 USD57,840Transylvania CountyTransylvania County: 57,830 USD57,830Lee CountyLee County: 57,674 USD57,674Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 56,830 USD56,830Gaston CountyGaston County: 56,819 USD56,819Pasquotank CountyPasquotank County: 56,510 USD56,510Stanly CountyStanly County: 56,462 USD56,462Craven CountyCraven County: 56,325 USD56,325Person CountyPerson County: 55,759 USD55,759Alamance CountyAlamance County: 55,078 USD55,078Polk CountyPolk County: 55,058 USD55,058Alexander CountyAlexander County: 55,041 USD55,041Onslow CountyOnslow County: 54,732 USD54,732Rowan CountyRowan County: 53,600 USD53,600Hoke CountyHoke County: 53,456 USD53,456
USD. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
USD
1Wake County88,471
2Union County88,465
3Currituck County79,416
4Orange County79,205
5Chatham County76,791
6Cabarrus County75,765
7Mecklenburg County73,124
8Dare County69,500
9Camden County68,560
10Moore County67,440
11Durham County67,000
12Iredell County66,824
13Johnston County66,026
14Pender County65,681
15Lincoln County65,399
16Davie County64,657
17Brunswick County64,400
18New Hanover County62,362
19Franklin County62,332
20Carteret County61,805
21Granville County60,606
22Henderson County59,928
23Buncombe County59,699
24Harnett County59,676
25Guilford County58,646
26Catawba County57,840
27Transylvania County57,830
28Lee County57,674
29Forsyth County56,830
30Gaston County56,819
31Pasquotank County56,510
32Stanly County56,462
33Craven County56,325
34Person County55,759
35Alamance County55,078
36Polk County55,058
37Alexander County55,041
38Onslow County54,732
39Rowan County53,600
40Hoke County53,456
41Caswell County53,279
42Perquimans County53,138
43Davidson County53,083
44Nash County52,837
45Stokes County52,637
46Pamlico County52,124
47Haywood County52,063
48Beaufort County51,894
49Gates County51,599
50Randolph County51,598
51Madison County51,396
52Yadkin County51,348
53Surry County50,881
54Cumberland County50,746
55Montgomery County50,618
56McDowell County50,615
57Pitt County50,422
58Wayne County49,488
59Watauga County48,786
60Swain County48,608
61Hyde County48,577
62Caldwell County48,549
63Mitchell County48,320
64Macon County48,169
65Burke County48,142
66Jackson County47,989
67Wilson County47,348
68Clay County47,155
69Rockingham County46,993
70Avery County46,383
71Chowan County46,288
72Wilkes County46,079
73Greene County45,766
74Duplin County45,744
75Cleveland County45,646
76Rutherford County45,500
77Yancey County45,324
78Vance County45,243
79Sampson County45,127
80Ashe County43,938
81Hertford County43,523
82Cherokee County43,319
83Jones County42,401
84Graham County41,977
85Edgecombe County41,974
86Martin County41,798
87Lenoir County41,092
88Tyrrell County40,938
89Columbus County40,562
90Scotland County39,866
91Anson County39,862
92Northampton County39,764
93Warren County39,588
94Bladen County39,259
95Alleghany County38,930
96Richmond County38,926
97Halifax County37,832
98Bertie County37,571
99Robeson County36,736
100Washington County32,937

Other periods

About this ranking

Household income in the past 12 months at the middle of the distribution, in US dollars adjusted to the last year of the period. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

US dollars. For Spanish places use net_income_per_household (average, EUR).

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 B19013: median household income in the past 12 months. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b19013.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest median household income?

Wake County, with $88,471 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest median household income?

Washington County, with $32,937 in 2021.

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 B19013: median household income in the past 12 months. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Median household income: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings