Counties in North Carolina by population aged 18 to 64

Watauga County had the highest population aged 18 to 64 of 100 counties in 2021, at 70.3%. Clay County had the lowest, at 49.9%. The median was 58.1% and the figure for North Carolina was 60.6%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest70.3Watauga County
Lowest49.9Clay County
Median58.1100 counties
North Carolina60.6History

Map of counties, 2021

Alamance County: 60.4 %Alexander County: 59.5 %Alleghany County: 53.5 %Anson County: 59.2 %Ashe County: 55.3 %Avery County: 58.9 %Beaufort County: 54 %Bertie County: 58.8 %Bladen County: 56.2 %Brunswick County: 50.6 %Buncombe County: 60.9 %Burke County: 58.9 %Cabarrus County: 60.8 %Caldwell County: 58.5 %Camden County: 59.5 %Carteret County: 55.8 %Caswell County: 58.5 %Catawba County: 59.5 %Chatham County: 54.4 %Cherokee County: 52.6 %Chowan County: 54.1 %Clay County: 49.9 %Cleveland County: 58.7 %Columbus County: 57.7 %Craven County: 57.4 %Cumberland County: 62.4 %Currituck County: 59.7 %Dare County: 56.6 %Davidson County: 59 %Davie County: 57 %Duplin County: 55.3 %Durham County: 65.8 %Edgecombe County: 56.3 %Forsyth County: 60.2 %Franklin County: 59.9 %Gaston County: 60.7 %Gates County: 58.3 %Graham County: 53.9 %Granville County: 61.4 %Greene County: 62.4 %Guilford County: 61.6 %Halifax County: 57 %Harnett County: 60 %Haywood County: 56 %Henderson County: 54.1 %Hertford County: 57.3 %Hoke County: 60.4 %Hyde County: 59.7 %Iredell County: 60.4 %Jackson County: 62.6 %Johnston County: 60.5 %Jones County: 56.3 %Lee County: 58 %Lenoir County: 56.2 %Lincoln County: 59.6 %McDowell County: 58.8 %Macon County: 52.1 %Madison County: 59.1 %Martin County: 54.2 %Mecklenburg County: 65.1 %Mitchell County: 56 %Montgomery County: 56.8 %Moore County: 53.6 %Nash County: 58.4 %New Hanover County: 62 %Northampton County: 53.4 %Onslow County: 64.8 %Orange County: 65.1 %Pamlico County: 53.7 %Pasquotank County: 59.7 %Pender County: 58 %Perquimans County: 54.1 %Person County: 57.8 %Pitt County: 63.4 %Polk County: 51.8 %Randolph County: 58.7 %Richmond County: 57.8 %Robeson County: 58.2 %Rockingham County: 58.1 %Rowan County: 59.8 %Rutherford County: 57.5 %Sampson County: 57.3 %Scotland County: 56.9 %Stanly County: 58.9 %Stokes County: 58.2 %Surry County: 57.1 %Swain County: 56.5 %Transylvania County: 52.8 %Tyrrell County: 57.6 %Union County: 59.8 %Vance County: 56.6 %Wake County: 63.8 %Warren County: 55.1 %Washington County: 52.6 %Watauga County: 70.3 %Wayne County: 58.8 %Wilkes County: 56.8 %Wilson County: 57.8 %Yadkin County: 58.1 %Yancey County: 55.2 %
  • Under 54
  • 54 to 57
  • 57 to 58
  • 58 to 59
  • 59 to 60
  • 60 and over
%, 2021. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Watauga County: 70.3 %Watauga County70.3Durham County: 65.8 %Durham County65.8Mecklenburg County: 65.1 %Mecklenburg County65.1Orange County: 65.1 %Orange County65.1Onslow County: 64.8 %Onslow County64.8Wake County: 63.8 %Wake County63.8Pitt County: 63.4 %Pitt County63.4Jackson County: 62.6 %Jackson County62.6Cumberland County: 62.4 %Cumberland County62.4Greene County: 62.4 %Greene County62.4New Hanover County: 62 %New Hanover County62Guilford County: 61.6 %Guilford County61.6Granville County: 61.4 %Granville County61.4Buncombe County: 60.9 %Buncombe County60.9Cabarrus County: 60.8 %Cabarrus County60.8Gaston County: 60.7 %Gaston County60.7Johnston County: 60.5 %Johnston County60.5Hoke County: 60.4 %Hoke County60.4Alamance County: 60.4 %Alamance County60.4Iredell County: 60.4 %Iredell County60.4Forsyth County: 60.2 %Forsyth County60.2Harnett County: 60 %Harnett County60Franklin County: 59.9 %Franklin County59.9Union County: 59.8 %Union County59.8Rowan County: 59.8 %Rowan County59.8Currituck County: 59.7 %Currituck County59.7Pasquotank County: 59.7 %Pasquotank County59.7Hyde County: 59.7 %Hyde County59.7Lincoln County: 59.6 %Lincoln County59.6Alexander County: 59.5 %Alexander County59.5Camden County: 59.5 %Camden County59.5Catawba County: 59.5 %Catawba County59.5Anson County: 59.2 %Anson County59.2Madison County: 59.1 %Madison County59.1Davidson County: 59 %Davidson County59Avery County: 58.9 %Avery County58.9Burke County: 58.9 %Burke County58.9Stanly County: 58.9 %Stanly County58.9Bertie County: 58.8 %Bertie County58.8Wayne County: 58.8 %Wayne County58.8Watauga County: 70.3 %Watauga County70.3Durham County: 65.8 %Durham County65.8Mecklenburg County: 65.1 %Mecklenburg County65.1Orange County: 65.1 %Orange County65.1Onslow County: 64.8 %Onslow County64.8Wake County: 63.8 %Wake County63.8Pitt County: 63.4 %Pitt County63.4Jackson County: 62.6 %Jackson County62.6Cumberland County: 62.4 %Cumberland County62.4Greene County: 62.4 %Greene County62.4New Hanover County: 62 %New Hanover County62Guilford County: 61.6 %Guilford County61.6Granville County: 61.4 %Granville County61.4Buncombe County: 60.9 %Buncombe County60.9Cabarrus County: 60.8 %Cabarrus County60.8Gaston County: 60.7 %Gaston County60.7Johnston County: 60.5 %Johnston County60.5Hoke County: 60.4 %Hoke County60.4Alamance County: 60.4 %Alamance County60.4Iredell County: 60.4 %Iredell County60.4Forsyth County: 60.2 %Forsyth County60.2Harnett County: 60 %Harnett County60Franklin County: 59.9 %Franklin County59.9Union County: 59.8 %Union County59.8Rowan County: 59.8 %Rowan County59.8Currituck County: 59.7 %Currituck County59.7Pasquotank County: 59.7 %Pasquotank County59.7Hyde County: 59.7 %Hyde County59.7Lincoln County: 59.6 %Lincoln County59.6Alexander County: 59.5 %Alexander County59.5Camden County: 59.5 %Camden County59.5Catawba County: 59.5 %Catawba County59.5Anson County: 59.2 %Anson County59.2Madison County: 59.1 %Madison County59.1Davidson County: 59 %Davidson County59Avery County: 58.9 %Avery County58.9Burke County: 58.9 %Burke County58.9Stanly County: 58.9 %Stanly County58.9Bertie County: 58.8 %Bertie County58.8Wayne County: 58.8 %Wayne County58.8
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Watauga County70.3+0.6 pts
2Durham County65.8+0.2 pts
3Mecklenburg County65.1+0.1 pts
4Orange County65.1+1 pts
5Onslow County64.8-1 pts
6Wake County63.8+0.1 pts
7Pitt County63.4-0.2 pts
8Jackson County62.6+0.1 pts
9Cumberland County62.4-0.3 pts
10Greene County62.4-0.5 pts
11New Hanover County62+0.1 pts
12Guilford County61.6-0.1 pts
13Granville County61.4-0.3 pts
14Buncombe County60.9-0 pts
15Cabarrus County60.8+0.1 pts
16Gaston County60.7-0.2 pts
17Johnston County60.5+0.3 pts
18Hoke County60.4-0.2 pts
19Alamance County60.4-0.1 pts
20Iredell County60.4+0.2 pts
21Forsyth County60.2-0.2 pts
22Harnett County60-0.1 pts
23Franklin County59.9-0.1 pts
24Union County59.8+0.1 pts
25Rowan County59.80 pts
26Currituck County59.7-0.5 pts
27Pasquotank County59.7-0.1 pts
28Hyde County59.7+0.2 pts
29Lincoln County59.6-0.2 pts
30Alexander County59.5-0.2 pts
31Camden County59.5-0.1 pts
32Catawba County59.5-0 pts
33Anson County59.2-1.1 pts
34Madison County59.1+0.2 pts
35Davidson County59-0.1 pts
36Avery County58.9-0.7 pts
37Burke County58.9-0.1 pts
38Stanly County58.9-0.1 pts
39Bertie County58.8-0.6 pts
40Wayne County58.8-0.3 pts
41McDowell County58.8-0.3 pts
42Cleveland County58.7-0.1 pts
43Randolph County58.7-0.2 pts
44Caswell County58.5-0.3 pts
45Caldwell County58.5-0.2 pts
46Nash County58.4-0.4 pts
47Gates County58.3-0.4 pts
48Stokes County58.2-0.3 pts
49Robeson County58.2-0.4 pts
50Rockingham County58.1-0.1 pts
51Yadkin County58.1-0.3 pts
52Lee County580 pts
53Pender County58+0.1 pts
54Person County57.8-0.6 pts
55Wilson County57.8-0.2 pts
56Richmond County57.8-0.2 pts
57Columbus County57.7-0.4 pts
58Tyrrell County57.6+0.4 pts
59Rutherford County57.5-0 pts
60Craven County57.4-0.2 pts
61Sampson County57.3-0.1 pts
62Hertford County57.3-2.9 pts
63Surry County57.1-0.2 pts
64Halifax County57-0.3 pts
65Davie County57+0.1 pts
66Scotland County56.9-0.4 pts
67Wilkes County56.8-0.2 pts
68Montgomery County56.8-0 pts
69Vance County56.6-0.4 pts
70Dare County56.6-0.6 pts
71Swain County56.5-0.3 pts
72Edgecombe County56.3-0.4 pts
73Jones County56.3-0.6 pts
74Lenoir County56.2-0.5 pts
75Bladen County56.2-0.4 pts
76Haywood County560 pts
77Mitchell County56-0.1 pts
78Carteret County55.8-0.6 pts
79Ashe County55.3-0.2 pts
80Duplin County55.3-0.4 pts
81Yancey County55.2-0.1 pts
82Warren County55.1-0.4 pts
83Chatham County54.4+0.1 pts
84Martin County54.2-0.6 pts
85Henderson County54.1-0.1 pts
86Chowan County54.1+0.1 pts
87Perquimans County54.1+0.1 pts
88Beaufort County54-0.2 pts
89Graham County53.9-0.1 pts
90Pamlico County53.7+0.1 pts
91Moore County53.60 pts
92Alleghany County53.5-0.6 pts
93Northampton County53.4-0.6 pts
94Transylvania County52.8-0.2 pts
95Washington County52.6-0.7 pts
96Cherokee County52.6-0.5 pts
97Macon County52.1-0.2 pts
98Polk County51.8-0.2 pts
99Brunswick County50.6-0.1 pts
100Clay County49.9-0.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of total population on 1 July. United States: Census Bureau county population estimates by age; states and the nation are sums of their counties.

Not comparable with working-age shares for ages 15 to 64 used in EU and World Bank statistics.

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. Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. 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). Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties (Counties in North Carolina by population aged 18 to 64, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html

MLA 9

Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties, Counties in North Carolina by population aged 18 to 64, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 June 2026, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population-18-64/north-carolina-counties?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties. Counties in North Carolina by population aged 18 to 64, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population-18-64/north-carolina-counties?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties, Counties in North Carolina by population aged 18 to 64, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population-18-64/north-carolina-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties: Counties in North Carolina by population aged 18 to 64, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population-18-64/north-carolina-counties?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties: Counties in North Carolina by population aged 18 to 64, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population-18-64/north-carolina-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population-18-64/north-carolina-counties?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. 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 population aged 18 to 64 using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population_18_64_share","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population_18_64_share&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 population aged 18 to 64?

Watauga County, with 70.3% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population aged 18 to 64?

Clay County, with 49.9% 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, Population Estimates Program, county population by age and sex: residents aged 18 to 64 as a percentage of the total on 1 July, 2010 to 2019 from the 2010 to 2020 intercensal file and 2020 onwards from the latest vintage; states and the nation summed from counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population aged 18 to 64: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings