CountyAtlas

CountyAtlas North Carolina

North Carolina County Map with Cities — All 100 Counties

All 100 of North Carolina's counties, mapped from official U.S. Census boundaries with population, income, and unemployment for every one. Colour the map by any measure, tap a county for its data, or download a print-ready copy.

North Carolina CountiesFIPS 37
Alamance CountyAlexander CountyAlleghany CountyAnson CountyAshe CountyAvery CountyBeaufort CountyBertie CountyBladen CountyBrunswick CountyBuncombe CountyBurke CountyCabarrus CountyCaldwell CountyCamden CountyCarteret CountyCaswell CountyCatawba CountyChatham CountyCherokee CountyChowan CountyClay CountyCleveland CountyColumbus CountyCraven CountyCumberland CountyCurrituck CountyDare CountyDavidson CountyDavie CountyDuplin CountyDurham CountyEdgecombe CountyForsyth CountyFranklin CountyGaston CountyGates CountyGraham CountyGranville CountyGreene CountyGuilford CountyHalifax CountyHarnett CountyHaywood CountyHenderson CountyHertford CountyHoke CountyHyde CountyIredell CountyJackson CountyJohnston CountyJones CountyLee CountyLenoir CountyLincoln CountyMcDowell CountyMacon CountyMadison CountyMartin CountyMecklenburg CountyMitchell CountyMontgomery CountyMoore CountyNash CountyNew Hanover CountyNorthampton CountyOnslow CountyOrange CountyPamlico CountyPasquotank CountyPender CountyPerquimans CountyPerson CountyPitt CountyPolk CountyRandolph CountyRichmond CountyRobeson CountyRockingham CountyRowan CountyRutherford CountySampson CountyScotland CountyStanly CountyStokes CountySurry CountySwain CountyTransylvania CountyTyrrell CountyUnion CountyVance CountyWake CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWatauga CountyWayne CountyWilkes CountyWilson CountyYadkin CountyYancey County
Albers Equal Area ConicDatum NAD83Census PEP · SAIPE · BLS LAUS · TIGER
CountyAtlasEdition
North Carolina’s 100 counties, projected equal-area. Hover or tap a county for its name; select it for full data.
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Tap any county for its population, income, and more.

North Carolina at a glance

  • Scale. North Carolina is divided into 100 counties across 48,624 sq mi of land — an average of 486 sq mi each. Census TIGER
  • People. Its counties are home to 10,835,491 residents — an average of 108,355 each, or 223 per square mile statewide. Census PEP 2023
  • Water. Another 5,195 sq mi is water — 9.7% of the state’s area, led by Dare County. Census TIGER

North Carolina’s 100 counties, by the numbers

Every county’s population, median household income, unemployment, density, and land area — sortable by any column, so you can find yours or rank by what matters to you. A few patterns run through the data:

  • Concentrated. Half of North Carolina’s 10,835,491 residents live in just 12 of 100 counties, and the five largest hold 33.5% of the total. Census PEP 2023
  • Income tracks poverty. The gap from richest to poorest runs 2.4×, and the 10 highest-income counties average 9.1% in poverty against 23.1% for the 10 lowest. Census SAIPE 2023
  • Mostly small. Half of North Carolina’s counties have fewer than 52,284 residents, and half report a median household income below $60,263 — a few metros lift the statewide totals well above both. Census PEP 2023 · SAIPE 2023
  • Lopsided density. Only 24 of 100 counties are denser than North Carolina’s statewide average of 223 people per square mile — the rest are more rural. Census PEP 2023 · TIGER
Alamance County179,165$66,3953.6%423/sq mi423 sq miGraham
Alexander County36,473$62,9763.4%140/sq mi260 sq miTaylorsville
Alleghany County11,342$46,5713.6%48/sq mi235 sq miSparta
Anson County21,897$50,5034.1%41/sq mi531 sq miWadesboro
Ashe County27,063$54,5892.9%63/sq mi426 sq miJefferson
Avery County17,561$55,9223.1%71/sq mi247 sq miNewland
Beaufort County44,481$55,9603.5%53/sq mi833 sq miWashington
Bertie County16,922$44,3714.6%24/sq mi699 sq miWindsor
Bladen County29,484$49,6614.9%34/sq mi875 sq miElizabethtown
Brunswick County159,964$76,7974.0%188/sq mi849 sq miBolivia
Buncombe County275,901$71,2183.3%420/sq mi656 sq miAsheville
Burke County88,338$55,6163.4%174/sq mi506 sq miMorganton
Cabarrus County240,016$85,5403.4%664/sq mi361 sq miConcord
Caldwell County80,574$56,2393.6%171/sq mi472 sq miLenoir
Camden County11,137$84,6562.9%46/sq mi240 sq miCamden
Carteret County69,615$76,3973.2%137/sq mi508 sq miBeaufort
Caswell County22,807$57,8653.4%54/sq mi426 sq miYanceyville
Catawba County164,645$65,8983.5%410/sq mi401 sq miNewton
Chatham County81,624$95,7163.1%120/sq mi681 sq miPittsboro
Cherokee County29,959$53,9263.9%66/sq mi456 sq miMurphy
Chowan County13,891$60,8083.4%80/sq mi173 sq miEdenton
Clay County11,864$53,2293.5%55/sq mi215 sq miHayesville
Cleveland County101,378$61,4114.2%218/sq mi464 sq miShelby
Columbus County50,121$50,8374.0%53/sq mi938 sq miWhiteville
Craven County102,391$61,7613.7%145/sq mi707 sq miNew Bern
Cumberland County337,890$61,5114.3%518/sq mi653 sq miFayetteville
Currituck County31,593$86,0472.7%121/sq mi262 sq mi—
Dare County38,110$79,6463.3%99/sq mi383 sq miManteo
Davidson County174,804$63,5513.5%316/sq mi553 sq miLexington
Davie County44,599$76,1533.4%169/sq mi264 sq miMocksville
Duplin County49,520$52,9473.1%61/sq mi815 sq miKenansville
Durham County336,892$81,4133.2%1,172/sq mi288 sq miDurham
Edgecombe County48,832$49,9725.2%97/sq mi505 sq miTarboro
Forsyth County392,921$65,5563.7%963/sq mi408 sq miWinston-Salem
Franklin County77,001$70,8983.3%157/sq mi492 sq miLouisburg
Gaston County237,242$67,0763.6%667/sq mi356 sq miGastonia
Gates County10,343$64,0473.2%30/sq mi341 sq miGatesville
Graham County8,052$51,8413.3%28/sq mi292 sq miRobbinsville
Granville County62,192$72,8963.3%117/sq mi532 sq miOxford
Greene County20,530$52,1453.3%77/sq mi267 sq miSnow Hill
Guilford County549,866$65,8903.9%851/sq mi646 sq miGreensboro
Halifax County47,298$48,5205.1%65/sq mi724 sq miHalifax
Harnett County141,477$70,0743.8%238/sq mi595 sq miLillington
Haywood County62,969$64,5533.2%114/sq mi554 sq miWaynesville
Henderson County119,230$63,7653.0%320/sq mi373 sq miHendersonville
Hertford County19,453$48,9644.0%55/sq mi353 sq miWinton
Hoke County54,446$60,2574.4%140/sq mi390 sq miRaeford
Hyde County4,607$49,7815.2%8/sq mi612 sq miSwan Quarter
Iredell County199,710$84,3353.3%348/sq mi574 sq miStatesville
Jackson County44,574$55,4623.1%91/sq mi491 sq miSylva
Johnston County241,955$79,6663.0%305/sq mi792 sq miSmithfield
Jones County9,401$53,0013.5%20/sq mi471 sq miTrenton
Lee County67,059$62,6803.4%263/sq mi255 sq miSanford
Lenoir County54,895$51,6013.8%138/sq mi399 sq miKinston
Lincoln County95,675$79,1093.2%323/sq mi296 sq miLincolnton
Macon County38,412$58,7653.4%75/sq mi516 sq miFranklin
Madison County22,071$59,5053.4%49/sq mi450 sq miMarshall
Martin County21,447$49,0333.8%47/sq mi456 sq miWilliamston
McDowell County44,893$53,6973.7%102/sq mi440 sq miMarion
Mecklenburg County1,163,701$84,7963.6%2,222/sq mi524 sq miCharlotte
Mitchell County14,999$56,7463.6%68/sq mi221 sq miBakersville
Montgomery County26,085$55,0053.7%53/sq mi492 sq miTroy
Moore County106,898$78,9553.2%153/sq mi698 sq miCarthage
Nash County96,551$65,4574.4%179/sq mi540 sq miNashville
New Hanover County238,852$79,1063.2%1,242/sq mi192 sq miWilmington
Northampton County16,715$44,1824.4%31/sq mi537 sq miJackson
Onslow County213,676$66,9823.8%280/sq mi762 sq miJacksonville
Orange County150,626$86,7363.2%379/sq mi398 sq miHillsborough
Pamlico County12,423$61,9963.4%37/sq mi337 sq miBayboro
Pasquotank County41,444$59,4633.6%183/sq mi227 sq miElizabeth City
Pender County68,521$72,1613.3%79/sq mi871 sq miBurgaw
Perquimans County13,377$61,1573.9%54/sq mi247 sq miHertford
Person County39,737$64,4663.1%101/sq mi392 sq miRoxboro
Pitt County175,119$60,2683.9%268/sq mi652 sq miGreenville
Polk County20,060$59,0123.2%84/sq mi238 sq miColumbus
Randolph County147,458$59,3363.5%188/sq mi782 sq miAsheboro
Richmond County42,324$50,2423.7%89/sq mi474 sq miRockingham
Robeson County117,365$42,1804.8%124/sq mi947 sq miLumberton
Rockingham County92,518$58,5083.8%164/sq mi566 sq miWentworth
Rowan County151,661$65,1393.4%296/sq mi512 sq miSalisbury
Rutherford County65,507$50,7144.1%116/sq mi565 sq miRutherfordton
Sampson County59,601$53,6373.6%63/sq mi946 sq miClinton
Scotland County34,376$45,6044.6%108/sq mi319 sq miLaurinburg
Stanly County65,699$65,7842.9%166/sq mi395 sq miAlbemarle
Stokes County45,532$61,3743.4%101/sq mi449 sq miDanbury
Surry County71,462$58,2113.2%134/sq mi533 sq miDobson
Swain County13,916$54,3573.0%26/sq mi528 sq miBryson City
Transylvania County33,549$62,0023.3%89/sq mi378 sq miBrevard
Tyrrell County3,461$46,0724.7%9/sq mi391 sq miColumbia
Union County256,452$98,7763.2%405/sq mi633 sq miMonroe
Vance County42,301$45,4084.5%168/sq mi252 sq miHenderson
Wake County1,190,275$103,0843.0%1,426/sq mi835 sq miRaleigh
Warren County18,836$47,8664.5%44/sq mi429 sq miWarrenton
Washington County10,713$47,2394.4%31/sq mi347 sq miPlymouth
Watauga County54,748$62,0453.2%175/sq mi312 sq miBoone
Wayne County118,686$56,3133.7%214/sq mi554 sq miGoldsboro
Wilkes County66,013$50,8483.6%88/sq mi754 sq miWilkesboro
Wilson County78,970$52,6204.7%215/sq mi368 sq miWilson
Yadkin County37,774$61,6263.2%113/sq mi335 sq miYadkinville
Yancey County18,938$54,9133.1%61/sq mi313 sq miBurnsville

All 100 counties, sortable by any column — click a heading. A suppressed estimate (coefficient of variation ≥ 0.30) shows a marker, never a guess. County seats are from Wikidata (CC0), each validated to a Census place inside its county; a county with no validated seat is left blank. See the methodology.

Download & print this North Carolina map

Map of North Carolina's 100 counties — on official U.S. Census boundaries

Free, print-ready maps of North Carolina — all 100 counties on official U.S. Census boundaries, no watermark. Public domain (CC0).

  • Full map — counties + major cities: PNG · PDF
  • Blank outline — print & label it yourself: PNG · PDF
  • Counties only — clean labeled reference: PNG · PDF

North Carolina maps, coloured by the data

Map of North Carolina counties shaded by population — official U.S. Census data
Population Map by County · Census PEP 2023
Map of North Carolina counties shaded by median household income — official U.S. Census data
Median Household Income Map by County · Census SAIPE 2023
Map of North Carolina counties shaded by unemployment rate — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Unemployment Rate Map by County · BLS LAUS

Cities in North Carolina

North Carolina has 552 incorporated cities, towns, and villages. The largest is Charlotte in Mecklenburg County with 886,283 residents. Use the search on the map above to find any city and highlight the county it sits in.

CharlotteMecklenburg County886,283
RaleighWake County470,763
GreensboroGuilford County298,564
DurhamDurham County288,465
Winston-SalemForsyth County250,887
FayettevilleCumberland County209,692
Cary (town)Wake County176,686
WilmingtonNew Hanover County118,578
High PointGuilford County115,263
ConcordCabarrus County106,518
AshevilleBuncombe County94,369
GreenvillePitt County88,540
GastoniaGaston County81,632
JacksonvilleOnslow County73,507
Apex (town)Wake County67,765
Huntersville (town)Mecklenburg County62,458
Chapel Hill (town)Orange County59,889
BurlingtonAlamance County58,599
KannapolisCabarrus County56,470
Rocky MountNash County54,175
Mooresville (town)Iredell County51,447
Wake Forest (town)Wake County51,199
WilsonWilson County47,740
HickoryCatawba County43,747
Holly Springs (town)Wake County43,429
Indian Trail (town)Union County41,146
Fuquay-Varina (town)Wake County37,749
SalisburyRowan County35,730
MonroeUnion County35,596
GoldsboroWayne County33,448
Garner (town)Wake County32,543
Cornelius (town)Mecklenburg County32,009
New BernCraven County31,563
SanfordLee County30,833
Morrisville (town)Wake County30,471
Matthews (town)Mecklenburg County29,959
StatesvilleIredell County29,161
Clayton (town)Johnston County28,043
Kernersville (town)Forsyth County27,439
AsheboroRandolph County27,353
ThomasvilleDavidson County27,261
Mint Hill (town)Mecklenburg County26,954
Leland (town)Brunswick County26,307
ShelbyCleveland County21,868
Clemmons (village)Forsyth County21,574
Waxhaw (town)Union County21,565
Carrboro (town)Orange County21,170
LexingtonDavidson County19,691
KinstonLenoir County19,576
Boone (town)Watauga County19,534

Showing the 50 most populous — and 502 more. Search the map above for any North Carolina city or village.

A city can span more than one county; each is listed in its primary county — the one its center falls in.

Which North Carolina county is the richest, largest, most crowded? The answers

  • North Carolina’s highest median household income is in Wake County ($103,084); the lowest is in Robeson County ($42,180). Census SAIPE 2023
  • North Carolina’s most populous county is Wake County (1,190,275); the least populous is Tyrrell County (3,461) — a 344× spread. Census PEP 2023
  • North Carolina’s largest county by land area is Robeson County (947 sq mi); the smallest is Chowan County (173 sq mi). Census TIGER
  • North Carolina’s highest population density is in Mecklenburg County (2,222/sq mi); the lowest is in Hyde County (8/sq mi). Census PEP 2023 · TIGER
  • North Carolina’s highest poverty rate is in Scotland County (28.6%); the lowest is in Wake County (7.2%). Census SAIPE 2023
  • In North Carolina, unemployment is highest in Edgecombe County (5.2%) and lowest in Currituck County (2.7%), for May 2026. BLS LAUS
  • North Carolina’s highest median age is in Brunswick County (56.1); the lowest is in Onslow County (27.1). Census ACS 2019–2023
  • North Carolina’s highest share of bachelor’s degrees is in Orange County (61.8% of adults); the lowest is in Gates County (10.8%). Census ACS 2019–2023

Every figure is a current official estimate from the source named — not a crowd-sourced or copied value. Suppressed estimates (coefficient of variation ≥ 0.30) are omitted, never guessed. See the full methodology.

North Carolina counties: common questions

How many counties are in North Carolina?

North Carolina has 100 counties covering 48,624 sq mi and about 10.8M residents. Every one is on the map above and in the table below.

What is the largest county in North Carolina?

It depends on the measure. By land area it’s Robeson County (947 sq mi); by population it’s Wake County (1,190,275 residents).

What county is Charlotte in?

Charlotte (population 886,283) is in Mecklenburg County. Use the search on the map to find any North Carolina city’s county.

What is the richest county in North Carolina?

By median household income, Wake County is the richest at $103,084; the poorest is Robeson County at $42,180 (Census SAIPE 2023).

What is the most populous county in North Carolina?

Wake County, with 1,190,275 residents — about 11.0% of North Carolina’s people, and 344× the least populous, Tyrrell County (3,461).

Sources & vintages

  • Population — PEP Vintage 2023 (July 1, 2023) — pep/charv
  • Median household income & poverty — SAIPE 2023
  • Unemployment — BLS LAUS May 2026 (preliminary)
  • Geometry & boundaries — Census TIGERweb
  • Cities & city population — Census TIGERweb Incorporated Places + ACS 5-year 2019–2023

Data current through .