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

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

Brunswick County had the highest share of population aged 65 and over of 100 counties in 2020, at 34.4%. Onslow County had the lowest, at 10.5%. The median was 20.9% and the figure for North Carolina was 17.2%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest34.4Brunswick County
Lowest10.5Onslow County
Median20.9100 counties
North Carolina17.2History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 34.4 %34.4Clay CountyClay County: 33.4 %33.4Polk CountyPolk County: 31.8 %31.8Pamlico CountyPamlico County: 31.7 %31.7Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 30.7 %30.7Transylvania CountyTransylvania County: 30 %30Macon CountyMacon County: 29.7 %29.7Alleghany CountyAlleghany County: 28.3 %28.3Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 27.7 %27.7Perquimans CountyPerquimans County: 27.3 %27.3Ashe CountyAshe County: 27.2 %27.2Chowan CountyChowan County: 26.9 %26.9Henderson CountyHenderson County: 26.9 %26.9Washington CountyWashington County: 26.7 %26.7Yancey CountyYancey County: 26.7 %26.7Carteret CountyCarteret County: 26.6 %26.6Warren CountyWarren County: 26.4 %26.4Haywood CountyHaywood County: 26.2 %26.2Mitchell CountyMitchell County: 26.1 %26.1Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 25.9 %25.9Chatham CountyChatham County: 25.6 %25.6Graham CountyGraham County: 25.4 %25.4Dare CountyDare County: 24.9 %24.9Martin CountyMartin County: 24.8 %24.8Moore CountyMoore County: 24.6 %24.6Jones CountyJones County: 24.5 %24.5Avery CountyAvery County: 24.5 %24.5Madison CountyMadison County: 23.5 %23.5Hyde CountyHyde County: 23.2 %23.2Bertie CountyBertie County: 23.1 %23.1Caswell CountyCaswell County: 22.9 %22.9Wilkes CountyWilkes County: 22.6 %22.6Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 22.5 %22.5Stokes CountyStokes County: 22.4 %22.4Halifax CountyHalifax County: 22.4 %22.4Davie CountyDavie County: 22.1 %22.1Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 22 %22Bladen CountyBladen County: 22 %22Surry CountySurry County: 21.7 %21.7Rockingham CountyRockingham County: 21.6 %21.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020 (%)
1Brunswick County34.4
2Clay County33.4
3Polk County31.8
4Pamlico County31.7
5Cherokee County30.7
6Transylvania County30
7Macon County29.7
8Alleghany County28.3
9Northampton County27.7
10Perquimans County27.3
11Ashe County27.2
12Chowan County26.9
13Henderson County26.9
14Washington County26.7
15Yancey County26.7
16Carteret County26.6
17Warren County26.4
18Haywood County26.2
19Mitchell County26.1
20Beaufort County25.9
21Chatham County25.6
22Graham County25.4
23Dare County24.9
24Martin County24.8
25Moore County24.6
26Jones County24.5
27Avery County24.5
28Madison County23.5
29Hyde County23.2
30Bertie County23.1
31Caswell County22.9
32Wilkes County22.6
33Tyrrell County22.5
34Stokes County22.4
35Halifax County22.4
36Davie County22.1
37Rutherford County22
38Bladen County22
39Surry County21.7
40Rockingham County21.6
41Hertford County21.5
42Montgomery County21.4
43Craven County21.2
44McDowell County21.2
45Gates County21.1
46Burke County21.1
47Lenoir County21.1
48Caldwell County21
49Edgecombe County21
50Person County20.9
51Swain County20.8
52Columbus County20.8
53Yadkin County20.8
54Buncombe County20.7
55Alexander County20.4
56Jackson County20.2
57Anson County20.1
58Scotland County20
59Stanly County19.8
60Nash County19.7
61Vance County19.5
62New Hanover County19.5
63Wilson County19.4
64Pender County19.3
65Cleveland County19.3
66Duplin County19.2
67Davidson County19.1
68Lincoln County19.1
69Catawba County19
70Richmond County19
71Randolph County18.9
72Pasquotank County18.8
73Rowan County18.4
74Lee County18.3
75Sampson County17.9
76Currituck County17.9
77Greene County17.7
78Alamance County17.5
79Franklin County17.5
80Wayne County17.4
81Granville County17.2
82Forsyth County17.2
83Gaston County17.1
84Iredell County16.9
85Watauga County16.7
86Camden County16.3
87Robeson County16.3
88Guilford County16.2
89Orange County15.6
90Pitt County14.4
91Durham County14
92Johnston County14
93Cabarrus County13.6
94Harnett County13.4
95Union County13.3
96Cumberland County13
97Wake County12.4
98Mecklenburg County11.8
99Hoke County11.1
100Onslow County10.5

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?

Brunswick County, with 34.4% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Onslow County, with 10.5% in 2020.

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