Counties in North Carolina by personal income

Mecklenburg County had the highest personal income of 100 counties in 2020, at $76.52 billion. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at $138.14 million. The median was $2.31 billion and the figure for North Carolina was $541.57 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest76,524.9Mecklenburg County
Lowest138.1Tyrrell County
Median2,308.2100 counties
North Carolina541,570.8History

Map of counties, 2020

Alamance County: 7,592.2 USD millionAlexander County: 1,544.4 USD millionAlleghany County: 453.6 USD millionAnson County: 924.5 USD millionAshe County: 1,086 USD millionAvery County: 718.7 USD millionBeaufort County: 2,204.7 USD millionBertie County: 741.7 USD millionBladen County: 1,282.6 USD millionBrunswick County: 7,435.2 USD millionBuncombe County: 14,312.5 USD millionBurke County: 3,586.9 USD millionCabarrus County: 11,234.3 USD millionCaldwell County: 3,249.9 USD millionCamden County: 536.2 USD millionCarteret County: 3,858 USD millionCaswell County: 866.8 USD millionCatawba County: 7,900.7 USD millionChatham County: 5,363.2 USD millionCherokee County: 1,060.3 USD millionChowan County: 628.1 USD millionClay County: 449.2 USD millionCleveland County: 4,118.2 USD millionColumbus County: 2,012.1 USD millionCraven County: 5,024.1 USD millionCumberland County: 14,306.8 USD millionCurrituck County: 1,489.1 USD millionDare County: 2,367.2 USD millionDavidson County: 7,419.4 USD millionDavie County: 2,277.4 USD millionDuplin County: 2,151 USD millionDurham County: 17,775.4 USD millionEdgecombe County: 1,976.1 USD millionForsyth County: 19,861.5 USD millionFranklin County: 2,869.2 USD millionGaston County: 10,315.5 USD millionGates County: 467 USD millionGraham County: 317 USD millionGranville County: 2,614.1 USD millionGreene County: 718.5 USD millionGuilford County: 27,010 USD millionHalifax County: 1,961.5 USD millionHarnett County: 5,268.6 USD millionHaywood County: 2,801.6 USD millionHenderson County: 5,655.2 USD millionHertford County: 838.7 USD millionHoke County: 1,950.5 USD millionHyde County: 205.8 USD millionIredell County: 10,626.1 USD millionJackson County: 1,694.4 USD millionJohnston County: 9,808.3 USD millionJones County: 391.7 USD millionLee County: 2,870.7 USD millionLenoir County: 2,464.5 USD millionLincoln County: 4,499.7 USD millionMcDowell County: 1,770.4 USD millionMacon County: 1,632.4 USD millionMadison County: 840.1 USD millionMartin County: 844.3 USD millionMecklenburg County: 76,524.9 USD millionMitchell County: 601.2 USD millionMontgomery County: 1,079.1 USD millionMoore County: 5,757.2 USD millionNash County: 4,443.4 USD millionNew Hanover County: 12,153.8 USD millionNorthampton County: 723.9 USD millionOnslow County: 9,601.1 USD millionOrange County: 10,100.6 USD millionPamlico County: 600.3 USD millionPasquotank County: 1,739.5 USD millionPender County: 2,722.6 USD millionPerquimans County: 602 USD millionPerson County: 1,673.2 USD millionPitt County: 8,365.7 USD millionPolk County: 1,067.5 USD millionRandolph County: 6,012 USD millionRichmond County: 1,730 USD millionRobeson County: 4,295.9 USD millionRockingham County: 3,764.9 USD millionRowan County: 6,207.2 USD millionRutherford County: 2,475.2 USD millionSampson County: 2,417.4 USD millionScotland County: 1,299.1 USD millionStanly County: 2,704.8 USD millionStokes County: 1,859.2 USD millionSurry County: 3,061.7 USD millionSwain County: 632 USD millionTransylvania County: 1,567.1 USD millionTyrrell County: 138.1 USD millionUnion County: 13,926.4 USD millionVance County: 1,692.2 USD millionWake County: 74,527.4 USD millionWarren County: 654.1 USD millionWashington County: 453.8 USD millionWatauga County: 2,338.9 USD millionWayne County: 5,186 USD millionWilkes County: 2,716.6 USD millionWilson County: 3,520.6 USD millionYadkin County: 1,551.6 USD millionYancey County: 730.3 USD million
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 1,600
  • 1,600 to 2,300
  • 2,300 to 3,800
  • 3,800 to 7,700
  • 7,700 and over
USD million, 2020. 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, 2020

Mecklenburg County: 76,524.9 USD millionMecklenburg County76,524.9Wake County: 74,527.4 USD millionWake County74,527.4Guilford County: 27,010 USD millionGuilford County27,010Forsyth County: 19,861.5 USD millionForsyth County19,861.5Durham County: 17,775.4 USD millionDurham County17,775.4Buncombe County: 14,312.5 USD millionBuncombe County14,312.5Cumberland County: 14,306.8 USD millionCumberland County14,306.8Union County: 13,926.4 USD millionUnion County13,926.4New Hanover County: 12,153.8 USD millionNew Hanover County12,153.8Cabarrus County: 11,234.3 USD millionCabarrus County11,234.3Iredell County: 10,626.1 USD millionIredell County10,626.1Gaston County: 10,315.5 USD millionGaston County10,315.5Orange County: 10,100.6 USD millionOrange County10,100.6Johnston County: 9,808.3 USD millionJohnston County9,808.3Onslow County: 9,601.1 USD millionOnslow County9,601.1Pitt County: 8,365.7 USD millionPitt County8,365.7Catawba County: 7,900.7 USD millionCatawba County7,900.7Alamance County: 7,592.2 USD millionAlamance County7,592.2Brunswick County: 7,435.2 USD millionBrunswick County7,435.2Davidson County: 7,419.4 USD millionDavidson County7,419.4Rowan County: 6,207.2 USD millionRowan County6,207.2Randolph County: 6,012 USD millionRandolph County6,012Moore County: 5,757.2 USD millionMoore County5,757.2Henderson County: 5,655.2 USD millionHenderson County5,655.2Chatham County: 5,363.2 USD millionChatham County5,363.2Harnett County: 5,268.6 USD millionHarnett County5,268.6Wayne County: 5,186 USD millionWayne County5,186Craven County: 5,024.1 USD millionCraven County5,024.1Lincoln County: 4,499.7 USD millionLincoln County4,499.7Nash County: 4,443.4 USD millionNash County4,443.4Robeson County: 4,295.9 USD millionRobeson County4,295.9Cleveland County: 4,118.2 USD millionCleveland County4,118.2Carteret County: 3,858 USD millionCarteret County3,858Rockingham County: 3,764.9 USD millionRockingham County3,764.9Burke County: 3,586.9 USD millionBurke County3,586.9Wilson County: 3,520.6 USD millionWilson County3,520.6Caldwell County: 3,249.9 USD millionCaldwell County3,249.9Surry County: 3,061.7 USD millionSurry County3,061.7Lee County: 2,870.7 USD millionLee County2,870.7Franklin County: 2,869.2 USD millionFranklin County2,869.2Mecklenburg County: 76,524.9 USD millionMecklenburg County76,524.9Wake County: 74,527.4 USD millionWake County74,527.4Guilford County: 27,010 USD millionGuilford County27,010Forsyth County: 19,861.5 USD millionForsyth County19,861.5Durham County: 17,775.4 USD millionDurham County17,775.4Buncombe County: 14,312.5 USD millionBuncombe County14,312.5Cumberland County: 14,306.8 USD millionCumberland County14,306.8Union County: 13,926.4 USD millionUnion County13,926.4New Hanover County: 12,153.8 USD millionNew Hanover County12,153.8Cabarrus County: 11,234.3 USD millionCabarrus County11,234.3Iredell County: 10,626.1 USD millionIredell County10,626.1Gaston County: 10,315.5 USD millionGaston County10,315.5Orange County: 10,100.6 USD millionOrange County10,100.6Johnston County: 9,808.3 USD millionJohnston County9,808.3Onslow County: 9,601.1 USD millionOnslow County9,601.1Pitt County: 8,365.7 USD millionPitt County8,365.7Catawba County: 7,900.7 USD millionCatawba County7,900.7Alamance County: 7,592.2 USD millionAlamance County7,592.2Brunswick County: 7,435.2 USD millionBrunswick County7,435.2Davidson County: 7,419.4 USD millionDavidson County7,419.4Rowan County: 6,207.2 USD millionRowan County6,207.2Randolph County: 6,012 USD millionRandolph County6,012Moore County: 5,757.2 USD millionMoore County5,757.2Henderson County: 5,655.2 USD millionHenderson County5,655.2Chatham County: 5,363.2 USD millionChatham County5,363.2Harnett County: 5,268.6 USD millionHarnett County5,268.6Wayne County: 5,186 USD millionWayne County5,186Craven County: 5,024.1 USD millionCraven County5,024.1Lincoln County: 4,499.7 USD millionLincoln County4,499.7Nash County: 4,443.4 USD millionNash County4,443.4Robeson County: 4,295.9 USD millionRobeson County4,295.9Cleveland County: 4,118.2 USD millionCleveland County4,118.2Carteret County: 3,858 USD millionCarteret County3,858Rockingham County: 3,764.9 USD millionRockingham County3,764.9Burke County: 3,586.9 USD millionBurke County3,586.9Wilson County: 3,520.6 USD millionWilson County3,520.6Caldwell County: 3,249.9 USD millionCaldwell County3,249.9Surry County: 3,061.7 USD millionSurry County3,061.7Lee County: 2,870.7 USD millionLee County2,870.7Franklin County: 2,869.2 USD millionFranklin County2,869.2
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

RankCounties2020
USD million
Change on 2019
1Mecklenburg County76,524.9+8.8%
2Wake County74,527.4+8%
3Guilford County27,010+6.7%
4Forsyth County19,861.5+6.6%
5Durham County17,775.4+6.3%
6Buncombe County14,312.5+6%
7Cumberland County14,306.8+9.1%
8Union County13,926.4+6.4%
9New Hanover County12,153.8+7.6%
10Cabarrus County11,234.3+10%
11Iredell County10,626.1+9.4%
12Gaston County10,315.5+10.4%
13Orange County10,100.6+3.5%
14Johnston County9,808.3+11.2%
15Onslow County9,601.1+7.6%
16Pitt County8,365.7+8.2%
17Catawba County7,900.7+7.8%
18Alamance County7,592.2+8.7%
19Brunswick County7,435.2+12.7%
20Davidson County7,419.4+8.2%
21Rowan County6,207.2+8.7%
22Randolph County6,012+7.2%
23Moore County5,757.2+8.7%
24Henderson County5,655.2+5.9%
25Chatham County5,363.2+8.1%
26Harnett County5,268.6+8.3%
27Wayne County5,186+6.7%
28Craven County5,024.1+7.5%
29Lincoln County4,499.7+9.2%
30Nash County4,443.4+7.6%
31Robeson County4,295.9+8.4%
32Cleveland County4,118.2+9.2%
33Carteret County3,858+7.4%
34Rockingham County3,764.9+7.6%
35Burke County3,586.9+8.8%
36Wilson County3,520.6+7.4%
37Caldwell County3,249.9+8.4%
38Surry County3,061.7+8.2%
39Lee County2,870.7+8.9%
40Franklin County2,869.2+10.8%
41Haywood County2,801.6+6.8%
42Pender County2,722.6+8.3%
43Wilkes County2,716.6+5.9%
44Stanly County2,704.8+8.2%
45Granville County2,614.1+7.7%
46Rutherford County2,475.2+8.1%
47Lenoir County2,464.5+7.8%
48Sampson County2,417.4+7.5%
49Dare County2,367.2+8.4%
50Watauga County2,338.9+7.5%
51Davie County2,277.4+6.7%
52Beaufort County2,204.7+6.6%
53Duplin County2,151+5.3%
54Columbus County2,012.1+8.2%
55Edgecombe County1,976.1+7.9%
56Halifax County1,961.5+5.4%
57Hoke County1,950.5+9.2%
58Stokes County1,859.2+5.6%
59McDowell County1,770.4+9.2%
60Pasquotank County1,739.5+9.1%
61Richmond County1,730+8.8%
62Jackson County1,694.4+8.8%
63Vance County1,692.2+8.7%
64Person County1,673.2+8.6%
65Macon County1,632.4+8.2%
66Transylvania County1,567.1+5.1%
67Yadkin County1,551.6+5.6%
68Alexander County1,544.4+8.3%
69Currituck County1,489.1+10.8%
70Scotland County1,299.1+9.6%
71Bladen County1,282.6+9.8%
72Ashe County1,086+8.7%
73Montgomery County1,079.1+9%
74Polk County1,067.5+7.4%
75Cherokee County1,060.3+9%
76Anson County924.5+4.7%
77Caswell County866.8+5.6%
78Martin County844.3+6%
79Madison County840.1+6.3%
80Hertford County838.7+8.2%
81Bertie County741.7+5%
82Yancey County730.3+7.5%
83Northampton County723.9+3.9%
84Avery County718.7+11.7%
85Greene County718.5+7.9%
86Warren County654.1+9.8%
87Swain County632+8.4%
88Chowan County628.1+7.5%
89Perquimans County602+7.3%
90Mitchell County601.2+7.9%
91Pamlico County600.3+6.4%
92Camden County536.2+6.8%
93Gates County467+5%
94Washington County453.8+6.9%
95Alleghany County453.6+5.9%
96Clay County449.2+11.5%
97Jones County391.7+1.4%
98Graham County317+6.7%
99Hyde County205.8+4.5%
100Tyrrell County138.1+8%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC1.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_carolina_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/personal-income/north-carolina-counties?period=2020.
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 $76.52 billion in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest personal income?

Tyrrell County, with $138.14 million in 2020.

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