Data / Rankings / Social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index) / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index), 2025

Hyde County had the highest social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index) of 100 counties in 2025, at 98.9. Wake County had the lowest, at 10.6. The median was 64.5. Source: the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Highest98.9Hyde County
Lowest10.6Wake County
Median64.5100 counties

Top 40 counties, 2025

Hyde County: 98.9 indexHyde County98.9Robeson County: 98.4 indexRobeson County98.4Jones County: 98.2 indexJones County98.2Scotland County: 97.5 indexScotland County97.5Northampton County: 97.2 indexNorthampton County97.2Clay County: 95.2 indexClay County95.2Tyrrell County: 94.9 indexTyrrell County94.9Alleghany County: 94.5 indexAlleghany County94.5Washington County: 94 indexWashington County94Swain County: 93.8 indexSwain County93.8Halifax County: 93.1 indexHalifax County93.1Anson County: 93 indexAnson County93Hertford County: 92.3 indexHertford County92.3Warren County: 91.4 indexWarren County91.4Lenoir County: 89.8 indexLenoir County89.8Yancey County: 89.6 indexYancey County89.6Greene County: 89.4 indexGreene County89.4Jackson County: 89.2 indexJackson County89.2Sampson County: 88.3 indexSampson County88.3Columbus County: 88.3 indexColumbus County88.3Edgecombe County: 87.6 indexEdgecombe County87.6Bertie County: 87.5 indexBertie County87.5Wilkes County: 86 indexWilkes County86Ashe County: 84.9 indexAshe County84.9Polk County: 84.7 indexPolk County84.7Vance County: 84.7 indexVance County84.7Duplin County: 83.5 indexDuplin County83.5Pamlico County: 83.1 indexPamlico County83.1Richmond County: 78.9 indexRichmond County78.9Bladen County: 78.8 indexBladen County78.8Beaufort County: 78.1 indexBeaufort County78.1Alexander County: 77.8 indexAlexander County77.8Avery County: 76.7 indexAvery County76.7Transylvania County: 75.4 indexTransylvania County75.4Brunswick County: 75.3 indexBrunswick County75.3Person County: 75.2 indexPerson County75.2Montgomery County: 74.4 indexMontgomery County74.4Macon County: 73.7 indexMacon County73.7Lee County: 73.3 indexLee County73.3Wayne County: 73 indexWayne County73
index. Source: FEMA National Risk Index, National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
index
1Hyde County98.9
2Robeson County98.4
3Jones County98.2
4Scotland County97.5
5Northampton County97.2
6Clay County95.2
7Tyrrell County94.9
8Alleghany County94.5
9Washington County94
10Swain County93.8
11Halifax County93.1
12Anson County93
13Hertford County92.3
14Warren County91.4
15Lenoir County89.8
16Yancey County89.6
17Greene County89.4
18Jackson County89.2
19Sampson County88.3
20Columbus County88.3
21Edgecombe County87.6
22Bertie County87.5
23Wilkes County86
24Ashe County84.9
25Polk County84.7
25Vance County84.7
27Duplin County83.5
28Pamlico County83.1
29Richmond County78.9
30Bladen County78.8
31Beaufort County78.1
32Alexander County77.8
33Avery County76.7
34Transylvania County75.4
35Brunswick County75.3
36Person County75.2
37Montgomery County74.4
38Macon County73.7
39Lee County73.3
40Wayne County73
41Rutherford County72.5
42Graham County71.8
43Henderson County69.3
44Perquimans County68.5
45Burke County67.8
46Cherokee County66.6
47McDowell County66.3
48Yadkin County65.7
49Caswell County64.8
50Hoke County64.7
51Craven County64.3
52Rockingham County63.8
53Martin County62.7
54Chowan County62.1
55Mitchell County61.5
55Nash County61.5
55Watauga County61.5
55Wilson County61.5
59Haywood County61.1
60Surry County61
61Pasquotank County57.8
62Stokes County53.5
63Carteret County52.4
64Randolph County49.9
65Chatham County46.9
66Dare County45.2
67Caldwell County45
68Granville County44.9
69Cleveland County44.1
70Rowan County42.9
71Gates County42.8
71Guilford County42.8
73Davidson County42.4
74Pitt County42.2
75Moore County40
76Forsyth County39.9
77Lincoln County39.8
78Franklin County38.4
79Madison County37.4
80Davie County37.2
81Buncombe County35
82Pender County34.2
83Catawba County32.4
84Stanly County29.4
85Johnston County29.2
86Gaston County29.1
87Harnett County27.5
88Durham County26.2
89Alamance County24.4
90Cumberland County23.2
91New Hanover County19
92Mecklenburg County17.9
93Iredell County16.6
93Orange County16.6
95Onslow County14.4
96Cabarrus County12.2
97Camden County10.6
97Currituck County10.6
97Union County10.6
97Wake County10.6

About this ranking

Social vulnerability of a US county as used in FEMA's National Risk Index, from 0 to 100: the county's national percentile rank among all counties, based on the Census Bureau's Community Resilience Estimates, which count residents with social and economic risk factors such as low income, age, disability and household conditions. Higher means more vulnerable.

The period is the year of the National Risk Index edition (the December 2025 edition is 2025), not a year of events. FEMA rebuilds the index with new data and methods in each edition, so values from different editions are not a time series. The index is meant for nationwide comparison and planning, not as a local risk assessment.

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

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE). https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355. Retrieved 2026-10-12. This product uses the FEMA National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

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

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2025). National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE) (Counties in North Carolina by social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index), 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355

MLA 9

National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE), Counties in North Carolina by social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index), 2025. Federal Emergency Management Agency, 16 Dec. 2025, https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/social-vulnerability-score/north-carolina-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2025. National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE). Counties in North Carolina by social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index), 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/social-vulnerability-score/north-carolina-counties.

Harvard

Federal Emergency Management Agency (2025) National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE), Counties in North Carolina by social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index), 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/social-vulnerability-score/north-carolina-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{federal_counties_in_north_carolina_2025,
  author = {{Federal Emergency Management Agency}},
  title = {{National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI\_SCORE): Counties in North Carolina by social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index), 2025}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/social-vulnerability-score/north-carolina-counties. Publisher attribution: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI\_SCORE). https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355. Retrieved 2026-10-12. This product uses the FEMA National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Federal Emergency Management Agency
TI  - National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE): Counties in North Carolina by social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index), 2025
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/16
PB  - Federal Emergency Management Agency
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/social-vulnerability-score/north-carolina-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/social-vulnerability-score/north-carolina-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE). https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=39485e8035d446a5bff03259508ae355. Retrieved 2026-10-12. This product uses the FEMA National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
ER  -
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Rank Counties in North Carolina by social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index)?

Hyde County, with 98.9 in 2025, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Which county has the lowest social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index)?

Wake County, with 10.6 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Risk Index Counties, Social Vulnerability Score (SOVI_SCORE). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Social vulnerability score (FEMA National Risk Index): other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings