Counties in North Carolina by personal income

Mecklenburg County had the highest personal income of 100 counties in 2015, at $55.35 billion. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at $114.51 million. The median was $1.8 billion and the figure for North Carolina was $414.89 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest55,352.9Mecklenburg County
Lowest114.5Tyrrell County
Median1,801.3100 counties
North Carolina414,885.7History

Map of counties, 2015

Alamance County: 5,701.1 USD millionAlexander County: 1,225.9 USD millionAlleghany County: 368.5 USD millionAnson County: 824.6 USD millionAshe County: 834.9 USD millionAvery County: 547.2 USD millionBeaufort County: 1,803.5 USD millionBertie County: 660.2 USD millionBladen County: 1,112 USD millionBrunswick County: 4,772.4 USD millionBuncombe County: 10,703.9 USD millionBurke County: 2,782.2 USD millionCabarrus County: 8,074.2 USD millionCaldwell County: 2,558.9 USD millionCamden County: 433.4 USD millionCarteret County: 3,045 USD millionCaswell County: 714.5 USD millionCatawba County: 6,188.7 USD millionChatham County: 3,766.3 USD millionCherokee County: 823.3 USD millionChowan County: 511.3 USD millionClay County: 332.5 USD millionCleveland County: 3,274.8 USD millionColumbus County: 1,663 USD millionCraven County: 4,178.1 USD millionCumberland County: 11,807.7 USD millionCurrituck County: 1,059.3 USD millionDare County: 1,724.2 USD millionDavidson County: 5,749.6 USD millionDavie County: 1,799.1 USD millionDuplin County: 1,955.8 USD millionDurham County: 13,337.1 USD millionEdgecombe County: 1,699.3 USD millionForsyth County: 16,177.5 USD millionFranklin County: 2,040 USD millionGaston County: 7,901.7 USD millionGates County: 401.2 USD millionGraham County: 256.6 USD millionGranville County: 1,985.4 USD millionGreene County: 608 USD millionGuilford County: 21,918.2 USD millionHalifax County: 1,703.8 USD millionHarnett County: 4,090.2 USD millionHaywood County: 2,159.6 USD millionHenderson County: 4,326.4 USD millionHertford County: 711.7 USD millionHoke County: 1,524 USD millionHyde County: 184.9 USD millionIredell County: 7,858.6 USD millionJackson County: 1,249 USD millionJohnston County: 6,732.4 USD millionJones County: 362.5 USD millionLee County: 2,193.7 USD millionLenoir County: 2,071 USD millionLincoln County: 3,229.7 USD millionMcDowell County: 1,374.7 USD millionMacon County: 1,231.2 USD millionMadison County: 644.6 USD millionMartin County: 713.1 USD millionMecklenburg County: 55,352.9 USD millionMitchell County: 491.2 USD millionMontgomery County: 893.2 USD millionMoore County: 4,464.9 USD millionNash County: 3,567.2 USD millionNew Hanover County: 9,081 USD millionNorthampton County: 617.5 USD millionOnslow County: 8,240.4 USD millionOrange County: 8,058.8 USD millionPamlico County: 484.4 USD millionPasquotank County: 1,405.3 USD millionPender County: 1,992.2 USD millionPerquimans County: 487 USD millionPerson County: 1,342.3 USD millionPitt County: 6,513 USD millionPolk County: 835.9 USD millionRandolph County: 4,796.3 USD millionRichmond County: 1,469.1 USD millionRobeson County: 3,605.5 USD millionRockingham County: 3,068.9 USD millionRowan County: 4,785.5 USD millionRutherford County: 1,973.3 USD millionSampson County: 2,143.5 USD millionScotland County: 1,057.6 USD millionStanly County: 2,089.7 USD millionStokes County: 1,525.8 USD millionSurry County: 2,514.6 USD millionSwain County: 499.6 USD millionTransylvania County: 1,208.9 USD millionTyrrell County: 114.5 USD millionUnion County: 10,410.5 USD millionVance County: 1,405 USD millionWake County: 54,444.7 USD millionWarren County: 553.3 USD millionWashington County: 398.5 USD millionWatauga County: 1,724.3 USD millionWayne County: 4,317.3 USD millionWilkes County: 2,327.3 USD millionWilson County: 2,956.3 USD millionYadkin County: 1,303.2 USD millionYancey County: 557.5 USD million
  • Under 600
  • 600 to 1,200
  • 1,200 to 1,800
  • 1,800 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 and over
USD million, 2015. Source: BEA, CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2015

Mecklenburg County: 55,352.9 USD millionMecklenburg County55,352.9Wake County: 54,444.7 USD millionWake County54,444.7Guilford County: 21,918.2 USD millionGuilford County21,918.2Forsyth County: 16,177.5 USD millionForsyth County16,177.5Durham County: 13,337.1 USD millionDurham County13,337.1Cumberland County: 11,807.7 USD millionCumberland County11,807.7Buncombe County: 10,703.9 USD millionBuncombe County10,703.9Union County: 10,410.5 USD millionUnion County10,410.5New Hanover County: 9,081 USD millionNew Hanover County9,081Onslow County: 8,240.4 USD millionOnslow County8,240.4Cabarrus County: 8,074.2 USD millionCabarrus County8,074.2Orange County: 8,058.8 USD millionOrange County8,058.8Gaston County: 7,901.7 USD millionGaston County7,901.7Iredell County: 7,858.6 USD millionIredell County7,858.6Johnston County: 6,732.4 USD millionJohnston County6,732.4Pitt County: 6,513 USD millionPitt County6,513Catawba County: 6,188.7 USD millionCatawba County6,188.7Davidson County: 5,749.6 USD millionDavidson County5,749.6Alamance County: 5,701.1 USD millionAlamance County5,701.1Randolph County: 4,796.3 USD millionRandolph County4,796.3Rowan County: 4,785.5 USD millionRowan County4,785.5Brunswick County: 4,772.4 USD millionBrunswick County4,772.4Moore County: 4,464.9 USD millionMoore County4,464.9Henderson County: 4,326.4 USD millionHenderson County4,326.4Wayne County: 4,317.3 USD millionWayne County4,317.3Craven County: 4,178.1 USD millionCraven County4,178.1Harnett County: 4,090.2 USD millionHarnett County4,090.2Chatham County: 3,766.3 USD millionChatham County3,766.3Robeson County: 3,605.5 USD millionRobeson County3,605.5Nash County: 3,567.2 USD millionNash County3,567.2Cleveland County: 3,274.8 USD millionCleveland County3,274.8Lincoln County: 3,229.7 USD millionLincoln County3,229.7Rockingham County: 3,068.9 USD millionRockingham County3,068.9Carteret County: 3,045 USD millionCarteret County3,045Wilson County: 2,956.3 USD millionWilson County2,956.3Burke County: 2,782.2 USD millionBurke County2,782.2Caldwell County: 2,558.9 USD millionCaldwell County2,558.9Surry County: 2,514.6 USD millionSurry County2,514.6Wilkes County: 2,327.3 USD millionWilkes County2,327.3Lee County: 2,193.7 USD millionLee County2,193.7Mecklenburg County: 55,352.9 USD millionMecklenburg County55,352.9Wake County: 54,444.7 USD millionWake County54,444.7Guilford County: 21,918.2 USD millionGuilford County21,918.2Forsyth County: 16,177.5 USD millionForsyth County16,177.5Durham County: 13,337.1 USD millionDurham County13,337.1Cumberland County: 11,807.7 USD millionCumberland County11,807.7Buncombe County: 10,703.9 USD millionBuncombe County10,703.9Union County: 10,410.5 USD millionUnion County10,410.5New Hanover County: 9,081 USD millionNew Hanover County9,081Onslow County: 8,240.4 USD millionOnslow County8,240.4Cabarrus County: 8,074.2 USD millionCabarrus County8,074.2Orange County: 8,058.8 USD millionOrange County8,058.8Gaston County: 7,901.7 USD millionGaston County7,901.7Iredell County: 7,858.6 USD millionIredell County7,858.6Johnston County: 6,732.4 USD millionJohnston County6,732.4Pitt County: 6,513 USD millionPitt County6,513Catawba County: 6,188.7 USD millionCatawba County6,188.7Davidson County: 5,749.6 USD millionDavidson County5,749.6Alamance County: 5,701.1 USD millionAlamance County5,701.1Randolph County: 4,796.3 USD millionRandolph County4,796.3Rowan County: 4,785.5 USD millionRowan County4,785.5Brunswick County: 4,772.4 USD millionBrunswick County4,772.4Moore County: 4,464.9 USD millionMoore County4,464.9Henderson County: 4,326.4 USD millionHenderson County4,326.4Wayne County: 4,317.3 USD millionWayne County4,317.3Craven County: 4,178.1 USD millionCraven County4,178.1Harnett County: 4,090.2 USD millionHarnett County4,090.2Chatham County: 3,766.3 USD millionChatham County3,766.3Robeson County: 3,605.5 USD millionRobeson County3,605.5Nash County: 3,567.2 USD millionNash County3,567.2Cleveland County: 3,274.8 USD millionCleveland County3,274.8Lincoln County: 3,229.7 USD millionLincoln County3,229.7Rockingham County: 3,068.9 USD millionRockingham County3,068.9Carteret County: 3,045 USD millionCarteret County3,045Wilson County: 2,956.3 USD millionWilson County2,956.3Burke County: 2,782.2 USD millionBurke County2,782.2Caldwell County: 2,558.9 USD millionCaldwell County2,558.9Surry County: 2,514.6 USD millionSurry County2,514.6Wilkes County: 2,327.3 USD millionWilkes County2,327.3Lee County: 2,193.7 USD millionLee County2,193.7
USD million. Source: BEA, CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015
USD million
Change on 2014
1Mecklenburg County55,352.9+7.7%
2Wake County54,444.7+7.7%
3Guilford County21,918.2+6.4%
4Forsyth County16,177.5+4.4%
5Durham County13,337.1+5.1%
6Cumberland County11,807.7+2.2%
7Buncombe County10,703.9+6.6%
8Union County10,410.5+9.5%
9New Hanover County9,081+5.8%
10Onslow County8,240.4+1.6%
11Cabarrus County8,074.2+8.1%
12Orange County8,058.8+6%
13Gaston County7,901.7+4.5%
14Iredell County7,858.6+7.4%
15Johnston County6,732.4+5.9%
16Pitt County6,513+2.9%
17Catawba County6,188.7+5.7%
18Davidson County5,749.6+3.6%
19Alamance County5,701.1+3.4%
20Randolph County4,796.3+2.6%
21Rowan County4,785.5+4.3%
22Brunswick County4,772.4+9.4%
23Moore County4,464.9+5.3%
24Henderson County4,326.4+5.5%
25Wayne County4,317.3+1.4%
26Craven County4,178.1+2.7%
27Harnett County4,090.2+4.1%
28Chatham County3,766.3+6.4%
29Robeson County3,605.5-0.3%
30Nash County3,567.2+2.9%
31Cleveland County3,274.8+3.8%
32Lincoln County3,229.7+5.5%
33Rockingham County3,068.9+1.4%
34Carteret County3,045+4.2%
35Wilson County2,956.3+3.5%
36Burke County2,782.2+4.4%
37Caldwell County2,558.9+5.3%
38Surry County2,514.6+3.9%
39Wilkes County2,327.3+7.3%
40Lee County2,193.7+5.9%
41Haywood County2,159.6+5.3%
42Sampson County2,143.5-1.7%
43Stanly County2,089.7+4%
44Lenoir County2,071+0.8%
45Franklin County2,040+4.4%
46Pender County1,992.2+4.5%
47Granville County1,985.4+2.7%
48Rutherford County1,973.3+2.2%
49Duplin County1,955.8-1.9%
50Beaufort County1,803.5+1.3%
51Davie County1,799.1+5.7%
52Watauga County1,724.3+5%
53Dare County1,724.2+4.1%
54Halifax County1,703.8+1.8%
55Edgecombe County1,699.3-0.4%
56Columbus County1,663-1.2%
57Stokes County1,525.8+3.1%
58Hoke County1,524+2.7%
59Richmond County1,469.1+3.7%
60Pasquotank County1,405.3+2.8%
61Vance County1,405+2.3%
62McDowell County1,374.7+4.7%
63Person County1,342.3+1.5%
64Yadkin County1,303.2+3.8%
65Jackson County1,249+6.6%
66Macon County1,231.2+6%
67Alexander County1,225.9+6.1%
68Transylvania County1,208.9+6.3%
69Bladen County1,112+0.7%
70Currituck County1,059.3+5.6%
71Scotland County1,057.6+2.2%
72Montgomery County893.2+6.8%
73Polk County835.9+5.2%
74Ashe County834.9+0.9%
75Anson County824.6+4.3%
76Cherokee County823.3+5.6%
77Caswell County714.5+2.4%
78Martin County713.1-4.6%
79Hertford County711.7+2.8%
80Bertie County660.2-0.6%
81Madison County644.6+4.8%
82Northampton County617.5-1.6%
83Greene County608-4.5%
84Yancey County557.5+0.8%
85Warren County553.3+0.1%
86Avery County547.2+1.7%
87Chowan County511.3+0.3%
88Swain County499.6+5.6%
89Mitchell County491.2+2.6%
90Perquimans County487+1.6%
91Pamlico County484.4+2.2%
92Camden County433.4+2.9%
93Gates County401.2+1.6%
94Washington County398.5-0.4%
95Alleghany County368.5+5.5%
96Jones County362.5-5.1%
97Clay County332.5+5.9%
98Graham County256.6+2.8%
99Hyde County184.9+0.2%
100Tyrrell County114.5-6.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total income received by the residents of a place from work, own businesses, property and government benefits, before income taxes, in millions of current US dollars. United States: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional accounts, table SAINC1 line 1 for the nation and states and CAINC1 line 1 for counties.

Counted where people live, not where they work. The national figure is the total of the states, which differs slightly from personal income in the national accounts. Divided by BEA population it gives per_capita_personal_income.

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. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip. 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. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2026). CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents (Counties in North Carolina by personal income, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip

MLA 9

CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents, Counties in North Carolina by personal income, 2015. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 5 Feb. 2026, https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2026. CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Counties in North Carolina by personal income, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2026) CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents, Counties in North Carolina by personal income, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_carolina_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis}},
  title = {{CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents: Counties in North Carolina by personal income, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
TI  - CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents: Counties in North Carolina by personal income, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/05
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest personal income?

Mecklenburg County, with $55.35 billion in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest personal income?

Tyrrell County, with $114.51 million in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC1: county annual personal income summary, personal income (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Personal income: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings