Counties in North Carolina by personal income

Mecklenburg County had the highest personal income of 100 counties in 2017, at $62.46 billion. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at $131.07 million. The median was $1.93 billion and the figure for North Carolina was $449.91 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest62,458.3Mecklenburg County
Lowest131.1Tyrrell County
Median1,934.2100 counties
North Carolina449,910.8History

Map of counties, 2017

Alamance County: 6,204.3 USD millionAlexander County: 1,314.4 USD millionAlleghany County: 387.3 USD millionAnson County: 848.2 USD millionAshe County: 896.5 USD millionAvery County: 595 USD millionBeaufort County: 1,906.1 USD millionBertie County: 678.7 USD millionBladen County: 1,142.3 USD millionBrunswick County: 5,569.8 USD millionBuncombe County: 11,805.6 USD millionBurke County: 3,025.8 USD millionCabarrus County: 9,063.2 USD millionCaldwell County: 2,763.7 USD millionCamden County: 462.5 USD millionCarteret County: 3,248.3 USD millionCaswell County: 759.2 USD millionCatawba County: 6,757.1 USD millionChatham County: 4,240.8 USD millionCherokee County: 865.5 USD millionChowan County: 545.3 USD millionClay County: 351.5 USD millionCleveland County: 3,468.3 USD millionColumbus County: 1,726.3 USD millionCraven County: 4,269.1 USD millionCumberland County: 12,060.3 USD millionCurrituck County: 1,171.2 USD millionDare County: 1,910.9 USD millionDavidson County: 6,225.3 USD millionDavie County: 1,951.8 USD millionDuplin County: 2,014 USD millionDurham County: 14,666 USD millionEdgecombe County: 1,750.4 USD millionForsyth County: 17,385 USD millionFranklin County: 2,269.1 USD millionGaston County: 8,605.6 USD millionGates County: 427.8 USD millionGraham County: 270.2 USD millionGranville County: 2,194.3 USD millionGreene County: 633 USD millionGuilford County: 22,981.4 USD millionHalifax County: 1,763.7 USD millionHarnett County: 4,384 USD millionHaywood County: 2,357.8 USD millionHenderson County: 4,753.3 USD millionHertford County: 735.8 USD millionHoke County: 1,612.9 USD millionHyde County: 187.9 USD millionIredell County: 8,477.9 USD millionJackson County: 1,380.6 USD millionJohnston County: 7,589.1 USD millionJones County: 379.9 USD millionLee County: 2,324.3 USD millionLenoir County: 2,181.1 USD millionLincoln County: 3,595.6 USD millionMcDowell County: 1,493.8 USD millionMacon County: 1,326.3 USD millionMadison County: 698.9 USD millionMartin County: 746.5 USD millionMecklenburg County: 62,458.3 USD millionMitchell County: 519.4 USD millionMontgomery County: 928.1 USD millionMoore County: 4,742.1 USD millionNash County: 3,717.1 USD millionNew Hanover County: 9,864.7 USD millionNorthampton County: 656 USD millionOnslow County: 8,234.8 USD millionOrange County: 8,949.2 USD millionPamlico County: 520.7 USD millionPasquotank County: 1,492.1 USD millionPender County: 2,197 USD millionPerquimans County: 535.1 USD millionPerson County: 1,427.8 USD millionPitt County: 6,951.8 USD millionPolk County: 893.6 USD millionRandolph County: 5,094.3 USD millionRichmond County: 1,503.3 USD millionRobeson County: 3,677.8 USD millionRockingham County: 3,214.7 USD millionRowan County: 5,098.4 USD millionRutherford County: 2,060.4 USD millionSampson County: 2,193.1 USD millionScotland County: 1,090.8 USD millionStanly County: 2,293.7 USD millionStokes County: 1,627.2 USD millionSurry County: 2,632.4 USD millionSwain County: 544.8 USD millionTransylvania County: 1,337 USD millionTyrrell County: 131.1 USD millionUnion County: 11,578.9 USD millionVance County: 1,453.8 USD millionWake County: 59,909.4 USD millionWarren County: 563.6 USD millionWashington County: 405.5 USD millionWatauga County: 1,916.6 USD millionWayne County: 4,517.3 USD millionWilkes County: 2,453.1 USD millionWilson County: 3,071.2 USD millionYadkin County: 1,363.3 USD millionYancey County: 597.7 USD million
  • Under 600
  • 600 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 1,900
  • 1,900 to 3,200
  • 3,200 to 6,500
  • 6,500 and over
USD million, 2017. 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, 2017

Mecklenburg County: 62,458.3 USD millionMecklenburg County62,458.3Wake County: 59,909.4 USD millionWake County59,909.4Guilford County: 22,981.4 USD millionGuilford County22,981.4Forsyth County: 17,385 USD millionForsyth County17,385Durham County: 14,666 USD millionDurham County14,666Cumberland County: 12,060.3 USD millionCumberland County12,060.3Buncombe County: 11,805.6 USD millionBuncombe County11,805.6Union County: 11,578.9 USD millionUnion County11,578.9New Hanover County: 9,864.7 USD millionNew Hanover County9,864.7Cabarrus County: 9,063.2 USD millionCabarrus County9,063.2Orange County: 8,949.2 USD millionOrange County8,949.2Gaston County: 8,605.6 USD millionGaston County8,605.6Iredell County: 8,477.9 USD millionIredell County8,477.9Onslow County: 8,234.8 USD millionOnslow County8,234.8Johnston County: 7,589.1 USD millionJohnston County7,589.1Pitt County: 6,951.8 USD millionPitt County6,951.8Catawba County: 6,757.1 USD millionCatawba County6,757.1Davidson County: 6,225.3 USD millionDavidson County6,225.3Alamance County: 6,204.3 USD millionAlamance County6,204.3Brunswick County: 5,569.8 USD millionBrunswick County5,569.8Rowan County: 5,098.4 USD millionRowan County5,098.4Randolph County: 5,094.3 USD millionRandolph County5,094.3Henderson County: 4,753.3 USD millionHenderson County4,753.3Moore County: 4,742.1 USD millionMoore County4,742.1Wayne County: 4,517.3 USD millionWayne County4,517.3Harnett County: 4,384 USD millionHarnett County4,384Craven County: 4,269.1 USD millionCraven County4,269.1Chatham County: 4,240.8 USD millionChatham County4,240.8Nash County: 3,717.1 USD millionNash County3,717.1Robeson County: 3,677.8 USD millionRobeson County3,677.8Lincoln County: 3,595.6 USD millionLincoln County3,595.6Cleveland County: 3,468.3 USD millionCleveland County3,468.3Carteret County: 3,248.3 USD millionCarteret County3,248.3Rockingham County: 3,214.7 USD millionRockingham County3,214.7Wilson County: 3,071.2 USD millionWilson County3,071.2Burke County: 3,025.8 USD millionBurke County3,025.8Caldwell County: 2,763.7 USD millionCaldwell County2,763.7Surry County: 2,632.4 USD millionSurry County2,632.4Wilkes County: 2,453.1 USD millionWilkes County2,453.1Haywood County: 2,357.8 USD millionHaywood County2,357.8Mecklenburg County: 62,458.3 USD millionMecklenburg County62,458.3Wake County: 59,909.4 USD millionWake County59,909.4Guilford County: 22,981.4 USD millionGuilford County22,981.4Forsyth County: 17,385 USD millionForsyth County17,385Durham County: 14,666 USD millionDurham County14,666Cumberland County: 12,060.3 USD millionCumberland County12,060.3Buncombe County: 11,805.6 USD millionBuncombe County11,805.6Union County: 11,578.9 USD millionUnion County11,578.9New Hanover County: 9,864.7 USD millionNew Hanover County9,864.7Cabarrus County: 9,063.2 USD millionCabarrus County9,063.2Orange County: 8,949.2 USD millionOrange County8,949.2Gaston County: 8,605.6 USD millionGaston County8,605.6Iredell County: 8,477.9 USD millionIredell County8,477.9Onslow County: 8,234.8 USD millionOnslow County8,234.8Johnston County: 7,589.1 USD millionJohnston County7,589.1Pitt County: 6,951.8 USD millionPitt County6,951.8Catawba County: 6,757.1 USD millionCatawba County6,757.1Davidson County: 6,225.3 USD millionDavidson County6,225.3Alamance County: 6,204.3 USD millionAlamance County6,204.3Brunswick County: 5,569.8 USD millionBrunswick County5,569.8Rowan County: 5,098.4 USD millionRowan County5,098.4Randolph County: 5,094.3 USD millionRandolph County5,094.3Henderson County: 4,753.3 USD millionHenderson County4,753.3Moore County: 4,742.1 USD millionMoore County4,742.1Wayne County: 4,517.3 USD millionWayne County4,517.3Harnett County: 4,384 USD millionHarnett County4,384Craven County: 4,269.1 USD millionCraven County4,269.1Chatham County: 4,240.8 USD millionChatham County4,240.8Nash County: 3,717.1 USD millionNash County3,717.1Robeson County: 3,677.8 USD millionRobeson County3,677.8Lincoln County: 3,595.6 USD millionLincoln County3,595.6Cleveland County: 3,468.3 USD millionCleveland County3,468.3Carteret County: 3,248.3 USD millionCarteret County3,248.3Rockingham County: 3,214.7 USD millionRockingham County3,214.7Wilson County: 3,071.2 USD millionWilson County3,071.2Burke County: 3,025.8 USD millionBurke County3,025.8Caldwell County: 2,763.7 USD millionCaldwell County2,763.7Surry County: 2,632.4 USD millionSurry County2,632.4Wilkes County: 2,453.1 USD millionWilkes County2,453.1Haywood County: 2,357.8 USD millionHaywood County2,357.8
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

RankCounties2017
USD million
Change on 2016
1Mecklenburg County62,458.3+7.6%
2Wake County59,909.4+5.1%
3Guilford County22,981.4+3.8%
4Forsyth County17,385+5.2%
5Durham County14,666+5.2%
6Cumberland County12,060.3+2%
7Buncombe County11,805.6+5.5%
8Union County11,578.9+5.5%
9New Hanover County9,864.7+3.8%
10Cabarrus County9,063.2+5.6%
11Orange County8,949.2+6.4%
12Gaston County8,605.6+5.6%
13Iredell County8,477.9+4.1%
14Onslow County8,234.8-2.1%
15Johnston County7,589.1+6.1%
16Pitt County6,951.8+3.7%
17Catawba County6,757.1+5.1%
18Davidson County6,225.3+4.8%
19Alamance County6,204.3+4.7%
20Brunswick County5,569.8+6.8%
21Rowan County5,098.4+4.1%
22Randolph County5,094.3+3.9%
23Henderson County4,753.3+3.6%
24Moore County4,742.1+4.2%
25Wayne County4,517.3+3.9%
26Harnett County4,384+4.9%
27Craven County4,269.1+1.1%
28Chatham County4,240.8+4.4%
29Nash County3,717.1+3.1%
30Robeson County3,677.8+1.2%
31Lincoln County3,595.6+7.2%
32Cleveland County3,468.3+5%
33Carteret County3,248.3+2.2%
34Rockingham County3,214.7+3.3%
35Wilson County3,071.2+2.2%
36Burke County3,025.8+5.5%
37Caldwell County2,763.7+5.6%
38Surry County2,632.4+3.4%
39Wilkes County2,453.1+4.7%
40Haywood County2,357.8+4.5%
41Lee County2,324.3+3.5%
42Stanly County2,293.7+5.1%
43Franklin County2,269.1+6.5%
44Pender County2,197+4.7%
45Granville County2,194.3+5.1%
46Sampson County2,193.1+5.4%
47Lenoir County2,181.1+4.4%
48Rutherford County2,060.4+3.3%
49Duplin County2,014+6.3%
50Davie County1,951.8+6.1%
51Watauga County1,916.6+5.5%
52Dare County1,910.9+3.8%
53Beaufort County1,906.1+3%
54Halifax County1,763.7+2%
55Edgecombe County1,750.4+2.5%
56Columbus County1,726.3+1.9%
57Stokes County1,627.2+4.6%
58Hoke County1,612.9+4.3%
59Richmond County1,503.3+2.3%
60McDowell County1,493.8+6.1%
61Pasquotank County1,492.1+3.1%
62Vance County1,453.8+1.8%
63Person County1,427.8+4.7%
64Jackson County1,380.6+6%
65Yadkin County1,363.3+4.7%
66Transylvania County1,337+2.4%
67Macon County1,326.3+5.8%
68Alexander County1,314.4+6.3%
69Currituck County1,171.2+5%
70Bladen County1,142.3+4.4%
71Scotland County1,090.8+3.7%
72Montgomery County928.1+5.2%
73Ashe County896.5+3.8%
74Polk County893.6+4%
75Cherokee County865.5+4.6%
76Anson County848.2+5.6%
77Caswell County759.2+3.4%
78Martin County746.5+1.1%
79Hertford County735.8+3.2%
80Madison County698.9+5.5%
81Bertie County678.7+4.3%
82Northampton County656+4.9%
83Greene County633+4.6%
84Yancey County597.7+4.9%
85Avery County595+5.8%
86Warren County563.6+1.7%
87Chowan County545.3+5.6%
88Swain County544.8+5.8%
89Perquimans County535.1+4.8%
90Pamlico County520.7+5.9%
91Mitchell County519.4+5.4%
92Camden County462.5+2.8%
93Gates County427.8+4.1%
94Washington County405.5+0.4%
95Alleghany County387.3+2.8%
96Jones County379.9+5.4%
97Clay County351.5+4.7%
98Graham County270.2+7.3%
99Hyde County187.9+0.4%
100Tyrrell County131.1+4.3%

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_carolina_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2017.
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  - 
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 personal income using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"personal_income","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=personal_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 personal income?

Mecklenburg County, with $62.46 billion in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest personal income?

Tyrrell County, with $131.07 million in 2017.

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