Counties with the oldest homes in North Carolina
Counties with the oldest homes in North Carolina
There's an undeniable charm that comes with pre-World War II American architecture, characterized by high ceilings, crown molding, hardwood floors, and ornate details. In fact, 11.4% of all housing units in America were built in 1939 or before, showing the popularity of the preservation of these units. Owning a piece of history can sometimes come with a cost: Many old homes come with asbestos, lead piping, knob-and-tube wiring, and other outdated building styles that can rack up a hefty price tag to modernize. However, with more and more modernized pre-war homes on the market, generally located just outside bustling downtown metros, investing in property that has withstood the test of time is an attractive prospect.
Stacker compiled a list of the counties in North Carolina with the oldest homes using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by median year the structure was built according to 2023 5-year estimates. Ties broken by the highest percentage of homes built before 1939.
The country's domestic architecture is perhaps best characterized by a rugged individualism as opposed to the hybridization of disparate architectural elements. As Maya Angelou once perceptively observed, "the ache for home lives in all of us," a phrase that has meant very different things to different people.
Modest or palatial, there is no shortage of noteworthy homes in the U.S. Log cabins constructed by industrious pioneers have dotted the landscape alongside traditional Native American dwellings ever since immigrant Swedes introduced them to the New World in 1638. The unprecedented personal fortunes amassed by the so-called "Robber Barons" at the close of the 19th century gave way to the construction of a staggering number of Gilded Age estates.
The ravages of time spared neither the sumptuous nor the humble. Stately mansions, often prohibitively costly to maintain in the modern era, were frequently neglected; simple structures were forgotten, discarded by their owners, and damaged by natural elements. However, the tireless efforts of architectural preservationists and local historical societies have saved many of these homes from demolition, leading to their inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and thereby safeguarding them for future generations.
Keep reading to learn more about which counties in North Carolina have the oldest homes.
#50. Alexander County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.9% (783 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (89 homes)
- Total homes built: 16,126
#49. Randolph County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.4% (3,356 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (492 homes)
- Total homes built: 62,544
#48. Avery County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.6% (780 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (36 homes)
- Total homes built: 14,051
#47. Davidson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.4% (4,821 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (782 homes)
- Total homes built: 75,615
#46. Wilson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.6% (2,422 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (304 homes)
- Total homes built: 36,702
#45. Nash County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.9% (3,864 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (452 homes)
- Total homes built: 43,537
#44. Catawba County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.7% (4,102 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.9% (630 homes)
- Total homes built: 72,028
#43. Greene County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.5% (596 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (22 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,909
#42. Person County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.6% (1,411 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.2% (227 homes)
- Total homes built: 18,482
#41. Bladen County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.0% (606 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (157 homes)
- Total homes built: 15,272
#40. Stokes County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.9% (1,047 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (167 homes)
- Total homes built: 21,353
#39. Transylvania County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.2% (1,002 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (131 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,147
#38. Wayne County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.7% (3,046 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (436 homes)
- Total homes built: 53,134
#37. Forsyth County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.2% (10,702 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (1,906 homes)
- Total homes built: 173,220
#36. McDowell County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.2% (1,550 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (223 homes)
- Total homes built: 21,475
#35. Haywood County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.0% (2,833 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (285 homes)
- Total homes built: 35,307
#34. Montgomery County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 9.4% (1,410 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (112 homes)
- Total homes built: 14,930
#33. Tyrrell County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 16.1% (323 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.0% (0 homes)
- Total homes built: 2,004
#32. Alleghany County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.1% (397 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.5% (115 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,752
#31. Caswell County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.9% (726 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (25 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,490
#30. Gaston County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.4% (7,454 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.5% (1,469 homes)
- Total homes built: 100,109
#29. Polk County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 9.8% (1,069 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (89 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,949
#28. Rowan County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 10.2% (6,573 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (739 homes)
- Total homes built: 64,263
#27. Scotland County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.5% (786 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (59 homes)
- Total homes built: 14,421
#26. Caldwell County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.5% (2,038 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (191 homes)
- Total homes built: 37,231
#25. Yadkin County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.9% (1,013 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (50 homes)
- Total homes built: 17,165
#24. Columbus County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.5% (1,540 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (194 homes)
- Total homes built: 23,560
#23. Ashe County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.7% (1,144 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (19 homes)
- Total homes built: 17,111
#22. Vance County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.8% (1,318 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (129 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,423
#21. Bertie County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.9% (532 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (9 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,988
#20. Wilkes County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.5% (2,060 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (123 homes)
- Total homes built: 31,744
#19. Rutherford County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.6% (2,485 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (322 homes)
- Total homes built: 32,682
#18. Burke County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.0% (3,203 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.0% (383 homes)
- Total homes built: 40,058
#17. Surry County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.6% (2,906 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (142 homes)
- Total homes built: 33,609
#16. Northampton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.2% (659 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (80 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,620
#15. Cleveland County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.8% (2,982 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (324 homes)
- Total homes built: 43,999
#14. Beaufort County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.4% (2,043 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (64 homes)
- Total homes built: 24,385
#13. Rockingham County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.6% (3,752 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (293 homes)
- Total homes built: 43,685
#12. Halifax County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.9% (2,223 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (158 homes)
- Total homes built: 24,849
#11. Chowan County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 11.3% (809 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (16 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,169
#10. Mitchell County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 10.6% (923 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (19 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,673
#9. Hyde County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 17.6% (558 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (22 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,168
#8. Lenoir County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.1% (1,643 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (29 homes)
- Total homes built: 26,767
#7. Edgecombe County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 9.5% (2,210 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (98 homes)
- Total homes built: 23,258
#6. Hertford County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 8.3% (815 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (69 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,831
#5. Martin County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 9.0% (1,002 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (15 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,100
#4. Richmond County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.4% (1,276 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (53 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,840
#3. Stanly County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 11.9% (3,364 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 1.2% (344 homes)
- Total homes built: 28,292
#2. Washington County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 13.4% (809 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (6 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,045
#1. Anson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 9.3% (920 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (49 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,932