Highest-earning counties in North Carolina

Written by:
July 24, 2025
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Highest-earning counties in North Carolina

Data shows that annual annual income depends heavily on an individual's educational attainment, race, ethnicity, gender, and even location. One cluster of the United States is particularly well off: The five of the seven counties with the highest median household income in the country can be found in the Washington D.C. metropolitan areas of Maryland and Northern Virginia. These counties can likely attribute their wealth to their proximity to Washington D.C., which attracts highly educated and skilled people in areas of law and public policy. And people in those fields often marry each other, making two high-earning households one very high-earning household.

The 2023 real median household income in the U.S. was $80,610, an increase of 4.0% from 2022, the first statistically significant annual increase in real median household income since 2019.

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-earning counties in North Carolina using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by 2023 5-year estimate median household income.

Keep reading to learn more about the highest-earning counties in North Carolina.

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#50. Randolph County

- Median household income: $59,047
- Households earning over $100k: 24.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.5%

#49. Caswell County

- Median household income: $59,407
- Households earning over $100k: 23.6%
- Households earning less than $25k: 22.7%

#48. Stokes County

- Median household income: $60,039
- Households earning over $100k: 22.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.9%

#47. Hoke County

- Median household income: $60,095
- Households earning over $100k: 25.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 22.2%

#46. Yadkin County

- Median household income: $60,321
- Households earning over $100k: 25.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 19.9%

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#45. Nash County

- Median household income: $60,704
- Households earning over $100k: 26.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.9%

#44. Haywood County

- Median household income: $61,001
- Households earning over $100k: 28.5%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.7%

#43. Polk County

- Median household income: $61,005
- Households earning over $100k: 28.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 20.1%

#42. Perquimans County

- Median household income: $61,224
- Households earning over $100k: 29.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 19.6%

#41. Gates County

- Median household income: $61,612
- Households earning over $100k: 22.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 19.2%

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#40. Pamlico County

- Median household income: $61,624
- Households earning over $100k: 30.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 22.2%

#39. Stanly County

- Median household income: $61,631
- Households earning over $100k: 29.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 19.6%

#38. Davidson County

- Median household income: $62,426
- Households earning over $100k: 27.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.4%

#37. Lee County

- Median household income: $63,060
- Households earning over $100k: 26.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.3%

#36. Rowan County

- Median household income: $63,196
- Households earning over $100k: 27.5%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.6%

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#35. Pasquotank County

- Median household income: $63,912
- Households earning over $100k: 27.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 16.3%

#34. Alamance County

- Median household income: $64,445
- Households earning over $100k: 29.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.3%

#33. Transylvania County

- Median household income: $64,523
- Households earning over $100k: 29.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 19.3%

#32. Catawba County

- Median household income: $64,544
- Households earning over $100k: 29.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 16.7%

#31. Onslow County

- Median household income: $64,568
- Households earning over $100k: 27.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 14.9%

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#30. Craven County

- Median household income: $64,635
- Households earning over $100k: 30.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.1%

#29. Person County

- Median household income: $64,927
- Households earning over $100k: 31.3%
- Households earning less than $25k: 20.8%

#28. Alexander County

- Median household income: $65,268
- Households earning over $100k: 23.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.2%

#27. Gaston County

- Median household income: $65,472
- Households earning over $100k: 30.5%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.9%

#26. Forsyth County

- Median household income: $65,541
- Households earning over $100k: 30.6%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.4%

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#25. Guilford County

- Median household income: $66,027
- Households earning over $100k: 31.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.2%

#24. Henderson County

- Median household income: $67,623
- Households earning over $100k: 30.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 14.2%

#23. Harnett County

- Median household income: $69,012
- Households earning over $100k: 29.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 17.3%

#22. Carteret County

- Median household income: $70,235
- Households earning over $100k: 33.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 16.7%

#21. Buncombe County

- Median household income: $70,578
- Households earning over $100k: 33.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 15.7%

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#20. Granville County

- Median household income: $70,975
- Households earning over $100k: 34.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 18.3%

#19. Franklin County

- Median household income: $71,386
- Households earning over $100k: 32.5%
- Households earning less than $25k: 15.0%

#18. New Hanover County

- Median household income: $72,892
- Households earning over $100k: 35.9%
- Households earning less than $25k: 15.5%

#17. Davie County

- Median household income: $73,234
- Households earning over $100k: 35.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 12.8%

#16. Brunswick County

- Median household income: $74,034
- Households earning over $100k: 34.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.5%

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#15. Pender County

- Median household income: $76,838
- Households earning over $100k: 37.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.9%

#14. Lincoln County

- Median household income: $78,490
- Households earning over $100k: 37.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 14.4%

#13. Iredell County

- Median household income: $78,678
- Households earning over $100k: 38.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 12.1%

#12. Durham County

- Median household income: $79,501
- Households earning over $100k: 40.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.3%

#11. Johnston County

- Median household income: $79,838
- Households earning over $100k: 40.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 13.7%

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#10. Dare County

- Median household income: $81,214
- Households earning over $100k: 40.1%
- Households earning less than $25k: 10.0%

#9. Moore County

- Median household income: $82,837
- Households earning over $100k: 39.7%
- Households earning less than $25k: 14.1%

#8. Mecklenburg County

- Median household income: $83,765
- Households earning over $100k: 42.2%
- Households earning less than $25k: 11.6%

#7. Cabarrus County

- Median household income: $86,084
- Households earning over $100k: 42.6%
- Households earning less than $25k: 11.9%

#6. Camden County

- Median household income: $87,781
- Households earning over $100k: 38.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 10.5%

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#5. Chatham County

- Median household income: $88,534
- Households earning over $100k: 45.6%
- Households earning less than $25k: 12.5%

#4. Orange County

- Median household income: $88,553
- Households earning over $100k: 44.4%
- Households earning less than $25k: 15.0%

#3. Currituck County

- Median household income: $91,548
- Households earning over $100k: 48.0%
- Households earning less than $25k: 10.2%

#2. Union County

- Median household income: $99,243
- Households earning over $100k: 49.5%
- Households earning less than $25k: 8.7%

#1. Wake County

- Median household income: $101,763
- Households earning over $100k: 50.8%
- Households earning less than $25k: 9.8%

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