Counties in North Carolina by unemployment rate

Hyde County had the highest unemployment rate of 100 counties in March 2026, at 8.5%. Stanly County had the lowest, at 2.8%. The median was 3.5% and the figure for North Carolina was 3.7%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest8.5Hyde County
Lowest2.8Stanly County
Median3.5100 counties
North Carolina3.7History

Top 40 counties, March 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Hyde CountyHyde County: 8.5 %8.5Edgecombe CountyEdgecombe County: 5.4 %5.4Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 5.3 %5.3Dare CountyDare County: 5.1 %5.1Halifax CountyHalifax County: 5.1 %5.1Bladen CountyBladen County: 4.7 %4.7Robeson CountyRobeson County: 4.7 %4.7Scotland CountyScotland County: 4.7 %4.7Bertie CountyBertie County: 4.5 %4.5Wilson CountyWilson County: 4.5 %4.5Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 4.4 %4.4Hoke CountyHoke County: 4.4 %4.4Nash CountyNash County: 4.4 %4.4Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 4.4 %4.4Warren CountyWarren County: 4.4 %4.4Cleveland CountyCleveland County: 4.2 %4.2Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 4.2 %4.2Vance CountyVance County: 4.2 %4.2Washington CountyWashington County: 4.2 %4.2Anson CountyAnson County: 4.1 %4.1Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 4 %4Columbus CountyColumbus County: 3.9 %3.9Graham CountyGraham County: 3.9 %3.9Guilford CountyGuilford County: 3.9 %3.9Hertford CountyHertford County: 3.9 %3.9Mitchell CountyMitchell County: 3.9 %3.9Alleghany CountyAlleghany County: 3.8 %3.8Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 3.8 %3.8Rockingham CountyRockingham County: 3.8 %3.8Gaston CountyGaston County: 3.7 %3.7Harnett CountyHarnett County: 3.7 %3.7Martin CountyMartin County: 3.7 %3.7Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 3.7 %3.7Onslow CountyOnslow County: 3.7 %3.7Pitt CountyPitt County: 3.7 %3.7Richmond CountyRichmond County: 3.7 %3.7Craven CountyCraven County: 3.6 %3.6Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 3.6 %3.6Lenoir CountyLenoir County: 3.6 %3.6McDowell CountyMcDowell County: 3.6 %3.6
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesMarch 2026 (%)Change on March 2025
1Hyde County8.5+0.7 pts
2Edgecombe County5.4+0.1 pts
3Tyrrell County5.3-0.9 pts
4Dare County5.1-0.5 pts
4Halifax County5.1+0.2 pts
6Bladen County4.7-0.4 pts
6Robeson County4.7-0.5 pts
6Scotland County4.7-0.5 pts
9Bertie County4.5-0.3 pts
9Wilson County4.5-0.5 pts
11Cumberland County4.4-0.3 pts
11Hoke County4.4+0.1 pts
11Nash County4.4-0.2 pts
11Northampton County4.4-0.1 pts
11Warren County4.4-0.6 pts
16Cleveland County4.2-0.1 pts
16Rutherford County4.2-0.6 pts
16Vance County4.2-0.2 pts
16Washington County4.2-0.5 pts
20Anson County4.1-0.3 pts
21Brunswick County4-0.2 pts
22Columbus County3.9-0.4 pts
22Graham County3.9-0.1 pts
22Guilford County3.9-0.4 pts
22Hertford County3.9-0.5 pts
22Mitchell County3.9-2 pts
27Alleghany County3.8+0.1 pts
27Cherokee County3.8-0.1 pts
27Rockingham County3.8-0.3 pts
30Gaston County3.7-0.2 pts
30Harnett County3.7-0.2 pts
30Martin County3.7-0.1 pts
30Mecklenburg County3.7-0.2 pts
30Onslow County3.7-0.3 pts
30Pitt County3.7-0.4 pts
30Richmond County3.7-0.4 pts
37Craven County3.6-0.2 pts
37Forsyth County3.6-0.3 pts
37Lenoir County3.6-0.2 pts
37McDowell County3.6-0.9 pts
37Montgomery County3.6-0.3 pts
37Pasquotank County3.6-0.3 pts
37Perquimans County3.6-0.2 pts
37Sampson County3.6-0.3 pts
37Wayne County3.6-0.2 pts
46Alamance County3.5-0.3 pts
46Beaufort County3.50 pts
46Caldwell County3.5-0.3 pts
46Davidson County3.5-0.3 pts
46Jones County3.5-0.7 pts
46Madison County3.5-1.8 pts
46Wilkes County3.5-0.4 pts
53Alexander County3.4-0.4 pts
53Buncombe County3.4-2.1 pts
53Burke County3.4-0.5 pts
53Cabarrus County3.4-0.2 pts
53Catawba County3.4-0.2 pts
53Chowan County3.4-0.1 pts
53Iredell County3.4-0.1 pts
53Lee County3.4-0.4 pts
53Macon County3.4-0.3 pts
53Randolph County3.4-0.1 pts
53Rowan County3.4-0.4 pts
53Swain County3.4-0.8 pts
65Carteret County3.3-0.4 pts
65Caswell County3.3-0.2 pts
65Clay County3.3-0.4 pts
65Davie County3.3-0.2 pts
65Granville County3.3-0.3 pts
65Pender County3.3-0.2 pts
65Stokes County3.3-0.3 pts
65Transylvania County3.3-0.5 pts
73Avery County3.2-1.1 pts
73Durham County3.2-0.1 pts
73Gates County3.2-0.3 pts
73Jackson County3.2-0.7 pts
73Lincoln County3.2-0.2 pts
73New Hanover County3.2-0.4 pts
73Person County3.2-0.2 pts
73Union County3.2-0.2 pts
73Watauga County3.2-0.6 pts
73Yancey County3.2-1.7 pts
83Chatham County3.1-0.2 pts
83Franklin County3.1-0.2 pts
83Haywood County3.1-0.9 pts
83Moore County3.1-0.2 pts
83Orange County3.1-0.3 pts
83Pamlico County3.1-0.6 pts
83Polk County3.1-0.6 pts
83Surry County3.1-0.3 pts
83Yadkin County3.1-0.2 pts
92Greene County3-0.3 pts
92Henderson County3-0.6 pts
92Johnston County3-0.2 pts
92Wake County3-0.2 pts
96Ashe County2.9-0.7 pts
96Camden County2.90 pts
96Duplin County2.9-0.4 pts
99Currituck County2.8-0.2 pts
99Stanly County2.8-0.3 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.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Hyde County, with 8.5% in March 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Stanly County, with 2.8% in March 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