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

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

Clay County had the highest share of population aged 65 and over of 100 counties in 2022, at 35.2%. Onslow County had the lowest, at 11.6%. The median was 21.7% and the figure for North Carolina was 17.9%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest35.2Clay County
Lowest11.6Onslow County
Median21.7100 counties
North Carolina17.9History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Clay CountyClay County: 35.2 %35.2Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 35.2 %35.2Pamlico CountyPamlico County: 33.3 %33.3Polk CountyPolk County: 32.2 %32.2Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 32.2 %32.2Transylvania CountyTransylvania County: 30.9 %30.9Macon CountyMacon County: 30.4 %30.4Alleghany CountyAlleghany County: 29.8 %29.8Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 29.4 %29.4Ashe CountyAshe County: 28.2 %28.2Washington CountyWashington County: 28.2 %28.2Perquimans CountyPerquimans County: 28 %28Carteret CountyCarteret County: 27.9 %27.9Henderson CountyHenderson County: 27.7 %27.7Warren CountyWarren County: 27.7 %27.7Yancey CountyYancey County: 27.3 %27.3Chowan CountyChowan County: 27.2 %27.2Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 27.1 %27.1Haywood CountyHaywood County: 26.9 %26.9Dare CountyDare County: 26.6 %26.6Chatham CountyChatham County: 26.6 %26.6Graham CountyGraham County: 26.3 %26.3Martin CountyMartin County: 26.1 %26.1Avery CountyAvery County: 26 %26Mitchell CountyMitchell County: 25.9 %25.9Jones CountyJones County: 25.5 %25.5Bertie CountyBertie County: 25.2 %25.2Hyde CountyHyde County: 25.1 %25.1Moore CountyMoore County: 24.6 %24.6Hertford CountyHertford County: 24.5 %24.5Caswell CountyCaswell County: 24.1 %24.1Madison CountyMadison County: 24.1 %24.1Wilkes CountyWilkes County: 23.5 %23.5Stokes CountyStokes County: 23.3 %23.3Halifax CountyHalifax County: 23.2 %23.2Bladen CountyBladen County: 22.9 %22.9Davie CountyDavie County: 22.8 %22.8Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 22.6 %22.6Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 22.6 %22.6Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 22.5 %22.5
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Clay County35.2+0.8 pts
2Brunswick County35.2+0.3 pts
3Pamlico County33.3+1.1 pts
4Polk County32.2+0.2 pts
5Cherokee County32.2+0.7 pts
6Transylvania County30.9+0.5 pts
7Macon County30.4+0.4 pts
8Alleghany County29.8+0.9 pts
9Northampton County29.4+0.9 pts
10Ashe County28.2+0.5 pts
11Washington County28.2+0.5 pts
12Perquimans County28+0.6 pts
13Carteret County27.9+0.8 pts
14Henderson County27.7+0.3 pts
15Warren County27.7+0.9 pts
16Yancey County27.3+0.4 pts
17Chowan County27.2+0.5 pts
18Beaufort County27.1+0.8 pts
19Haywood County26.9+0.5 pts
20Dare County26.6+0.9 pts
21Chatham County26.6+0.6 pts
22Graham County26.3+0.6 pts
23Martin County26.1+0.7 pts
24Avery County26+0.7 pts
25Mitchell County25.9-0.1 pts
26Jones County25.5+0.3 pts
27Bertie County25.2+1 pts
28Hyde County25.1+1.5 pts
29Moore County24.6+0.1 pts
30Hertford County24.5+1.3 pts
31Caswell County24.1+0.8 pts
32Madison County24.1+0.6 pts
33Wilkes County23.5+0.5 pts
34Stokes County23.3+0.2 pts
35Halifax County23.2+0.5 pts
36Bladen County22.9+0.4 pts
37Davie County22.8+0.5 pts
38Tyrrell County22.6+0.1 pts
39Montgomery County22.6+0.6 pts
40Rutherford County22.5+0.3 pts
41Craven County22.4+0.6 pts
42Rockingham County22.2+0.4 pts
43Surry County22.1+0.2 pts
44Gates County22+0.3 pts
45McDowell County22+0.4 pts
46Person County22+0.6 pts
47Burke County21.9+0.4 pts
48Edgecombe County21.9+0.5 pts
49Caldwell County21.7+0.4 pts
50Lenoir County21.7+0.2 pts
51Buncombe County21.6+0.5 pts
52Yadkin County21.5+0.3 pts
53Columbus County21.4+0.2 pts
54Swain County21.1+0.2 pts
55Anson County20.9+0.3 pts
56Alexander County20.8+0.3 pts
57Nash County20.5+0.4 pts
58Scotland County20.3+0.2 pts
59Jackson County20.3-0.2 pts
60Vance County20.3+0.4 pts
61New Hanover County20.1+0.3 pts
62Wilson County20.1+0.4 pts
63Stanly County20+0.1 pts
64Lincoln County19.9+0.4 pts
65Davidson County19.8+0.4 pts
66Cleveland County19.7+0.3 pts
67Duplin County19.7+0.2 pts
68Catawba County19.7+0.4 pts
69Pasquotank County19.6+0.4 pts
70Randolph County19.5+0.3 pts
71Richmond County19.4+0.3 pts
72Pender County19.2-0 pts
73Rowan County18.9+0.2 pts
74Greene County18.7+0.4 pts
75Lee County18.60 pts
76Currituck County18.4+0.2 pts
77Sampson County18.4+0.3 pts
78Wayne County18.2+0.3 pts
79Granville County18+0.5 pts
80Forsyth County17.9+0.4 pts
81Alamance County17.9+0.3 pts
82Franklin County17.9+0.3 pts
83Gaston County17.5+0.2 pts
84Watauga County17.4+0.6 pts
85Iredell County17.3+0.3 pts
86Guilford County16.9+0.3 pts
87Camden County16.8+0.5 pts
88Robeson County16.7+0.2 pts
89Orange County16.4+0.6 pts
90Pitt County15.1+0.4 pts
91Durham County14.9+0.5 pts
92Johnston County14.3+0.2 pts
93Union County14+0.4 pts
94Cabarrus County14+0.3 pts
95Harnett County14+0.3 pts
96Cumberland County13.7+0.4 pts
97Wake County13.3+0.5 pts
98Mecklenburg County12.4+0.3 pts
99Hoke County11.9+0.5 pts
100Onslow County11.6+0.5 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 35.2% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Onslow County, with 11.6% in 2022.

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