Data / Rankings / Population aged 65 and over / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by share of population aged 65 and over, 2025

Clay County had the highest share of population aged 65 and over of 100 counties in 2025, at 37.4%. Onslow County had the lowest, at 12.8%. The median was 22.6% and the figure for North Carolina was 18.9%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest37.4Clay County
Lowest12.8Onslow County
Median22.6100 counties
North Carolina18.9History

Top 40 counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Clay CountyClay County: 37.4 %37.4Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 36.6 %36.6Pamlico CountyPamlico County: 34.9 %34.9Polk CountyPolk County: 34.3 %34.3Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 33.7 %33.7Transylvania CountyTransylvania County: 31.7 %31.7Macon CountyMacon County: 31.7 %31.7Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 31.5 %31.5Alleghany CountyAlleghany County: 31.4 %31.4Carteret CountyCarteret County: 30.1 %30.1Ashe CountyAshe County: 29.9 %29.9Perquimans CountyPerquimans County: 29.8 %29.8Washington CountyWashington County: 29.6 %29.6Warren CountyWarren County: 29.5 %29.5Chowan CountyChowan County: 29.4 %29.4Dare CountyDare County: 29.3 %29.3Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 29.1 %29.1Henderson CountyHenderson County: 29.1 %29.1Yancey CountyYancey County: 29 %29Hyde CountyHyde County: 28.5 %28.5Haywood CountyHaywood County: 28.2 %28.2Chatham CountyChatham County: 28 %28Mitchell CountyMitchell County: 27.6 %27.6Graham CountyGraham County: 27.4 %27.4Hertford CountyHertford County: 27.1 %27.1Bertie CountyBertie County: 26.9 %26.9Martin CountyMartin County: 26.9 %26.9Avery CountyAvery County: 26.9 %26.9Jones CountyJones County: 26.8 %26.8Caswell CountyCaswell County: 25.4 %25.4Moore CountyMoore County: 25.4 %25.4Madison CountyMadison County: 25.3 %25.3Halifax CountyHalifax County: 25.2 %25.2Wilkes CountyWilkes County: 24.7 %24.7Stokes CountyStokes County: 24.6 %24.6Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 24.5 %24.5Craven CountyCraven County: 24.2 %24.2Davie CountyDavie County: 24.2 %24.2Gates CountyGates County: 24 %24Bladen CountyBladen County: 23.9 %23.9
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025 (%)Change on 2024
1Clay County37.4+0.4 pts
2Brunswick County36.6+0.5 pts
3Pamlico County34.9+0.7 pts
4Polk County34.3+0.9 pts
5Cherokee County33.7+0.6 pts
6Transylvania County31.7+0.3 pts
7Macon County31.7+0.4 pts
8Northampton County31.5+0.5 pts
9Alleghany County31.4+0.4 pts
10Carteret County30.1+0.7 pts
11Ashe County29.9+0.6 pts
12Perquimans County29.8+0.6 pts
13Washington County29.6+0.3 pts
14Warren County29.5+0.9 pts
15Chowan County29.4+0.8 pts
16Dare County29.3+1 pts
17Beaufort County29.1+0.7 pts
18Henderson County29.1+0.5 pts
19Yancey County29+0.8 pts
20Hyde County28.5+0.9 pts
21Haywood County28.2+0.4 pts
22Chatham County28+0.6 pts
23Mitchell County27.6+0.7 pts
24Graham County27.4+0.4 pts
25Hertford County27.1+0.8 pts
26Bertie County26.9+0.6 pts
27Martin County26.9+0.2 pts
28Avery County26.9+0.5 pts
29Jones County26.8+0.3 pts
30Caswell County25.4+0.4 pts
31Moore County25.4+0.1 pts
32Madison County25.3+0.6 pts
33Halifax County25.2+0.7 pts
34Wilkes County24.7+0.4 pts
35Stokes County24.6+0.5 pts
36Montgomery County24.5+0.8 pts
37Craven County24.2+0.5 pts
38Davie County24.2+0.5 pts
39Gates County24+0.7 pts
40Bladen County23.9+0.3 pts
41Rutherford County23.6+0.4 pts
42Rockingham County23.5+0.4 pts
43Person County23.4+0.4 pts
44Tyrrell County23.3+0.3 pts
45Burke County23.2+0.5 pts
46Buncombe County23.2+0.7 pts
47Edgecombe County23.1+0.3 pts
48McDowell County23.1+0.4 pts
49Surry County22.9+0.3 pts
50Caldwell County22.8+0.3 pts
51Lenoir County22.4+0.2 pts
52Yadkin County22.4+0.4 pts
53Columbus County22.2+0.1 pts
54Swain County22+0.4 pts
55Alexander County21.9+0.4 pts
56Lincoln County21.7+0.7 pts
57Nash County21.7+0.4 pts
58Scotland County21.6+0.6 pts
59Jackson County21.5+0.6 pts
60Anson County21.4-0.1 pts
61Vance County21.4+0.2 pts
62New Hanover County21.3+0.4 pts
63Pasquotank County21.1+0.4 pts
64Wilson County21.1+0.4 pts
65Davidson County20.8+0.3 pts
66Randolph County20.7+0.4 pts
67Currituck County20.7+0.8 pts
68Catawba County20.5+0.2 pts
69Stanly County20.3+0.2 pts
70Richmond County20.3+0.2 pts
71Cleveland County20.2+0.2 pts
72Granville County20+0.8 pts
73Duplin County20+0.1 pts
74Rowan County19.9+0.4 pts
75Pender County19.8+0.3 pts
76Greene County19.7+0.4 pts
77Lee County19.5+0.2 pts
78Forsyth County19+0.3 pts
79Franklin County18.9+0.5 pts
80Sampson County18.9+0.3 pts
81Wayne County18.8+0.2 pts
82Camden County18.8+0.7 pts
83Watauga County18.7+0.3 pts
84Alamance County18.7+0.3 pts
85Iredell County18.3+0.3 pts
86Gaston County18.1+0.3 pts
87Orange County18.1+0.5 pts
88Guilford County18+0.4 pts
89Robeson County17.2+0.3 pts
90Pitt County16.2+0.3 pts
91Durham County15.9+0.3 pts
92Johnston County15.2+0.4 pts
92Union County15.2+0.5 pts
94Cumberland County15+0.4 pts
95Cabarrus County14.7+0.3 pts
96Harnett County14.7+0.2 pts
97Wake County14.4+0.4 pts
98Hoke County13.1+0.3 pts
99Mecklenburg County13+0.2 pts
100Onslow County12.8+0.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents aged 65 or over as a percentage of total population. Spain: 1 January, INE annual census. United States: 1 July, Census Bureau population estimates. World Bank figures for other countries and the World refer to mid-year.

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 (cc-est agesex): residents aged 65 and over as a percentage of the total, 1 July; states and the nation summed from counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/counties/asrh/cc-est2025-agesex-all.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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 share of population aged 65 and over using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population_65_plus_share","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population_65_plus_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 share of population aged 65 and over?

Clay County, with 37.4% in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest share of population aged 65 and over?

Onslow County, with 12.8% in 2025.

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 (cc-est agesex): residents aged 65 and over as a percentage of the total, 1 July; states and the nation summed from counties. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Population aged 65 and over: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings