Counties in North Carolina by unemployment rate, August 2026

Edgecombe County had the highest unemployment rate of 100 counties in August 2026, at 5.4%. Currituck County had the lowest, at 2.7%. The median was 3.55% and the figure for North Carolina was 3.5%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median3.55100 counties
North Carolina3.5History

Top 40 counties, August 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Edgecombe CountyEdgecombe County: 5.4 %5.4Halifax CountyHalifax County: 5.3 %5.3Robeson CountyRobeson County: 5.1 %5.1Wilson CountyWilson County: 5 %5Bladen CountyBladen County: 4.8 %4.8Washington CountyWashington County: 4.8 %4.8Scotland CountyScotland County: 4.7 %4.7Bertie CountyBertie County: 4.6 %4.6Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 4.6 %4.6Nash CountyNash County: 4.6 %4.6Anson CountyAnson County: 4.5 %4.5Hoke CountyHoke County: 4.5 %4.5Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 4.5 %4.5Vance CountyVance County: 4.5 %4.5Warren CountyWarren County: 4.5 %4.5Cleveland CountyCleveland County: 4.3 %4.3Pitt CountyPitt County: 4.3 %4.3Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 4.3 %4.3Columbus CountyColumbus County: 4.2 %4.2Guilford CountyGuilford County: 4.2 %4.2Hertford CountyHertford County: 4.2 %4.2Hyde CountyHyde County: 4.2 %4.2Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 4.1 %4.1Harnett CountyHarnett County: 4 %4Martin CountyMartin County: 4 %4Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 3.9 %3.9Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 3.9 %3.9Lenoir CountyLenoir County: 3.9 %3.9Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 3.9 %3.9Onslow CountyOnslow County: 3.9 %3.9Perquimans CountyPerquimans County: 3.9 %3.9Richmond CountyRichmond County: 3.9 %3.9Wayne CountyWayne County: 3.9 %3.9Alamance CountyAlamance County: 3.8 %3.8Craven CountyCraven County: 3.8 %3.8Jones CountyJones County: 3.8 %3.8Rockingham CountyRockingham County: 3.8 %3.8Caswell CountyCaswell County: 3.7 %3.7Gaston CountyGaston County: 3.7 %3.7McDowell CountyMcDowell County: 3.7 %3.7
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Edgecombe County Provisional5.4-0.8 pts
2Halifax County Provisional5.3-1 pts
3Robeson County Provisional5.1-0.7 pts
4Wilson County Provisional5-0.8 pts
5Bladen County Provisional4.8-1.3 pts
5Washington County Provisional4.8-0.5 pts
7Scotland County Provisional4.7-0.9 pts
8Bertie County Provisional4.6-0.9 pts
8Cumberland County Provisional4.6-0.6 pts
8Nash County Provisional4.6-0.8 pts
11Anson County Provisional4.5-0.5 pts
11Hoke County Provisional4.5-0.4 pts
11Northampton County Provisional4.5-1.3 pts
11Vance County Provisional4.5-0.4 pts
11Warren County Provisional4.5-0.7 pts
16Cleveland County Provisional4.3-0.5 pts
16Pitt County Provisional4.3-0.3 pts
16Tyrrell County Provisional4.3-0.8 pts
19Columbus County Provisional4.2-0.4 pts
19Guilford County Provisional4.2-0.5 pts
19Hertford County Provisional4.2-0.6 pts
19Hyde County Provisional4.2-0.8 pts
23Rutherford County Provisional4.1-0.9 pts
24Harnett County Provisional4-0.4 pts
24Martin County Provisional4-0.4 pts
26Brunswick County Provisional3.9-0.7 pts
26Forsyth County Provisional3.9-0.5 pts
26Lenoir County Provisional3.9-0.5 pts
26Montgomery County Provisional3.9-0.6 pts
26Onslow County Provisional3.9-0.5 pts
26Perquimans County Provisional3.9-0.5 pts
26Richmond County Provisional3.9-0.9 pts
26Wayne County Provisional3.9-0.5 pts
34Alamance County Provisional3.8-0.5 pts
34Craven County Provisional3.8-0.4 pts
34Jones County Provisional3.8-0.7 pts
34Rockingham County Provisional3.8-0.7 pts
38Caswell County Provisional3.7-0.5 pts
38Gaston County Provisional3.7-0.6 pts
38McDowell County Provisional3.7-0.7 pts
38Mecklenburg County Provisional3.7-0.5 pts
38Pasquotank County Provisional3.7-0.7 pts
38Watauga County Provisional3.70 pts
38Wilkes County Provisional3.7-0.7 pts
45Cherokee County Provisional3.6-0.8 pts
45Davidson County Provisional3.6-0.6 pts
45Gates County Provisional3.6-0.5 pts
45Lee County Provisional3.6-0.6 pts
45Rowan County Provisional3.6-0.5 pts
45Sampson County Provisional3.6-0.7 pts
51Alleghany County Provisional3.5-0.5 pts
51Beaufort County Provisional3.5-0.4 pts
51Cabarrus County Provisional3.5-0.5 pts
51Caldwell County Provisional3.5-0.7 pts
51Catawba County Provisional3.5-0.5 pts
51Jackson County Provisional3.5-0.2 pts
51Orange County Provisional3.5-0.2 pts
51Randolph County Provisional3.5-0.5 pts
59Alexander County Provisional3.4-0.6 pts
59Burke County Provisional3.4-0.8 pts
59Chowan County Provisional3.4-0.6 pts
59Clay County Provisional3.4-0.7 pts
59Davie County Provisional3.4-0.5 pts
59Granville County Provisional3.4-0.6 pts
59Mitchell County Provisional3.4-1.3 pts
59Stokes County Provisional3.4-0.8 pts
59Union County Provisional3.4-0.3 pts
68Duplin County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
68Durham County Provisional3.3-0.5 pts
68Franklin County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
68Greene County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
68Iredell County Provisional3.3-0.6 pts
68Lincoln County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
68Macon County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
68Madison County Provisional3.3-1.1 pts
68New Hanover County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
68Pamlico County Provisional3.3-0.6 pts
68Pender County Provisional3.3-0.6 pts
68Person County Provisional3.3-0.7 pts
68Surry County Provisional3.3-0.5 pts
81Buncombe County Provisional3.2-1.2 pts
81Graham County Provisional3.2-0.5 pts
81Moore County Provisional3.2-0.6 pts
81Transylvania County Provisional3.2-0.6 pts
81Yadkin County Provisional3.2-0.4 pts
86Carteret County Provisional3.1-0.6 pts
86Chatham County Provisional3.1-0.6 pts
86Haywood County Provisional3.1-0.9 pts
86Johnston County Provisional3.1-0.4 pts
86Polk County Provisional3.1-0.8 pts
86Stanly County Provisional3.1-0.6 pts
86Wake County Provisional3.1-0.4 pts
93Avery County Provisional3-0.8 pts
93Camden County Provisional3-0.4 pts
93Henderson County Provisional3-0.6 pts
93Swain County Provisional3-0.6 pts
93Yancey County Provisional3-1.2 pts
98Ashe County Provisional2.9-0.7 pts
98Dare County Provisional2.9-0.4 pts
100Currituck County Provisional2.7-0.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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 unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&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 unemployment rate?

Edgecombe County, with 5.4% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Currituck County, with 2.7% in August 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings