Counties in North Carolina by unemployment rate

Hyde County had the highest unemployment rate of 100 counties in February 2026, at 10.7%. Camden County had the lowest, at 3%. The median was 3.8% and the figure for North Carolina was 3.8%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest10.7Hyde County
Median3.8100 counties
North Carolina3.8History

Top 40 counties, February 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Hyde CountyHyde County: 10.7 %10.7Dare CountyDare County: 6.9 %6.9Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 6.8 %6.8Edgecombe CountyEdgecombe County: 6.2 %6.2Halifax CountyHalifax County: 5.7 %5.7Bladen CountyBladen County: 5.3 %5.3Scotland CountyScotland County: 5.3 %5.3Bertie CountyBertie County: 5.2 %5.2Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 5.2 %5.2Robeson CountyRobeson County: 5.2 %5.2Wilson CountyWilson County: 5 %5Nash CountyNash County: 4.9 %4.9Washington CountyWashington County: 4.9 %4.9Hoke CountyHoke County: 4.8 %4.8Warren CountyWarren County: 4.8 %4.8Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 4.7 %4.7Vance CountyVance County: 4.7 %4.7Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 4.6 %4.6Cleveland CountyCleveland County: 4.6 %4.6Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 4.6 %4.6Alleghany CountyAlleghany County: 4.4 %4.4Anson CountyAnson County: 4.4 %4.4Columbus CountyColumbus County: 4.4 %4.4Graham CountyGraham County: 4.4 %4.4Guilford CountyGuilford County: 4.3 %4.3Mitchell CountyMitchell County: 4.3 %4.3Richmond CountyRichmond County: 4.3 %4.3Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 4.2 %4.2Hertford CountyHertford County: 4.2 %4.2Gaston CountyGaston County: 4.1 %4.1Jones CountyJones County: 4.1 %4.1Martin CountyMartin County: 4.1 %4.1Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 4.1 %4.1Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 4.1 %4.1Pasquotank CountyPasquotank County: 4.1 %4.1Rockingham CountyRockingham County: 4.1 %4.1Sampson CountySampson County: 4.1 %4.1Swain CountySwain County: 4.1 %4.1Craven CountyCraven County: 4 %4Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 4 %4
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesFebruary 2026 (%)Change on February 2025
1Hyde County10.7+0.3 pts
2Dare County6.9-0.7 pts
3Tyrrell County6.8-0.7 pts
4Edgecombe County6.2+0.5 pts
5Halifax County5.7+0.4 pts
6Bladen County5.3-0.2 pts
6Scotland County5.3-0.4 pts
8Bertie County5.2+0.1 pts
8Northampton County5.2+0.2 pts
8Robeson County5.2-0.2 pts
11Wilson County5-0.2 pts
12Nash County4.9+0.1 pts
12Washington County4.9-0.2 pts
14Hoke County4.8+0.5 pts
14Warren County4.8-0.4 pts
16Cumberland County4.7-0.2 pts
16Vance County4.7+0.2 pts
18Brunswick County4.6-0.1 pts
18Cleveland County4.6+0.2 pts
18Rutherford County4.6-0.7 pts
21Alleghany County4.4+0.3 pts
21Anson County4.4-0.5 pts
21Columbus County4.4-0.2 pts
21Graham County4.4-0.6 pts
25Guilford County4.30 pts
25Mitchell County4.3-3.3 pts
25Richmond County4.3-0.3 pts
28Cherokee County4.2+0.2 pts
28Hertford County4.2-0.3 pts
30Gaston County4.1-0.1 pts
30Jones County4.1-0.3 pts
30Martin County4.10 pts
30Mecklenburg County4.10 pts
30Montgomery County4.1-0.1 pts
30Pasquotank County4.10 pts
30Rockingham County4.1-0.2 pts
30Sampson County4.1-0.1 pts
30Swain County4.1-0.5 pts
39Craven County40 pts
39Forsyth County40 pts
39Harnett County4+0.1 pts
39Onslow County40 pts
39Perquimans County4-0.2 pts
39Pitt County40 pts
39Wayne County4+0.1 pts
46Lenoir County3.90 pts
46McDowell County3.9-1.4 pts
48Alamance County3.8+0.1 pts
48Beaufort County3.8+0.2 pts
48Cabarrus County3.8+0.1 pts
48Caldwell County3.8-0.2 pts
48Carteret County3.8-0.1 pts
48Lee County3.80 pts
48Macon County3.8-0.2 pts
48Madison County3.8-2.6 pts
48Randolph County3.8+0.2 pts
48Wilkes County3.8-0.1 pts
58Buncombe County3.7-3.1 pts
58Caswell County3.7-0.1 pts
58Catawba County3.7-0.1 pts
58Chowan County3.7+0.1 pts
58Davidson County3.7-0.3 pts
58Gates County3.7+0.3 pts
58Iredell County3.70 pts
58Rowan County3.7-0.2 pts
66Alexander County3.6-0.5 pts
66Burke County3.6-0.7 pts
66Granville County3.6-0.1 pts
66Pender County3.6-0.1 pts
66Stokes County3.6-0.2 pts
66Transylvania County3.6-0.3 pts
72Clay County3.5-0.3 pts
72Durham County3.5+0.2 pts
72Jackson County3.5-0.1 pts
72Lincoln County3.5+0.1 pts
72New Hanover County3.5-0.3 pts
72Person County3.50 pts
72Yancey County3.5-2.3 pts
79Avery County3.4-1.6 pts
79Davie County3.4-0.2 pts
79Franklin County3.40 pts
79Haywood County3.4-1.1 pts
79Moore County3.40 pts
79Polk County3.4-0.7 pts
79Surry County3.4-0.1 pts
79Union County3.40 pts
87Chatham County3.3+0.1 pts
87Greene County3.30 pts
87Johnston County3.3+0.1 pts
87Orange County3.3+0.3 pts
87Pamlico County3.3-0.9 pts
87Wake County3.3+0.1 pts
87Watauga County3.3+0.1 pts
94Ashe County3.2-0.6 pts
94Currituck County3.2-0.2 pts
94Duplin County3.2-0.1 pts
94Henderson County3.2-0.8 pts
94Yadkin County3.2-0.1 pts
99Stanly County3.1-0.1 pts
100Camden County3+0.2 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?

Hyde County, with 10.7% in February 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Camden County, with 3% in February 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