The gap between Wake County and Robeson County in North Carolina tells a striking story about economic inequality within a single state. Wake County households earn a median of $101,763 per year, while Robeson County households earn just $40,318, a difference of $61,445. That gap reflects deep structural differences in industry, education, and geography that shape daily life across the state's 100 counties.
North Carolina's statewide median household income sits at approximately $58,949, compared to the national median of $63,162 across all counties in this dataset. The state's median poverty rate of 14.5% reflects a mix of prosperous metro-adjacent counties and persistently low-income rural communities. Understanding these internal contrasts is as important as the statewide headline number.
The wealthiest counties by median household income tend to cluster around the Research Triangle, Charlotte suburbs, and western mountain resort areas. These top five counties lead the state:
At the other end of the spectrum, the five counties with the lowest median household incomes are concentrated in the coastal plain and mountain regions, areas with limited economic diversification and long histories of underinvestment:
Poverty rates across North Carolina range widely. The five counties with the highest share of residents living below the federal poverty line face compounding challenges around employment, healthcare access, and educational attainment:
Meanwhile, several counties have managed to keep poverty rates in the low single digits. These tend to benefit from proximity to major employment centers, strong local economies, or a high concentration of retirees with fixed incomes:
Chatham County leads the state on per capita income at $56,724, a figure that reflects both high individual earnings and the demographic composition of that county. The statewide average per capita income across North Carolina counties is $33,920, though that average masks wide county-level dispersion. Per capita income can diverge sharply from household income in counties with large household sizes or concentrations of single-earner families.
Income and poverty figures from the American Community Survey capture a snapshot of economic conditions at the county level. They inform decisions on everything from federal program eligibility to local tax base projections and business investment. Counties at both extremes of the income distribution face distinct planning challenges. High-income counties often grapple with rising housing costs and affordability pressures, while low-income counties seek strategies to attract jobs and retain working-age residents. Reviewing these numbers alongside education attainment, housing costs, and labor force participation rates gives a more complete picture of each county's economic landscape.
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates