North Carolina County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 100 counties in North Carolina, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 55.9. 49counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
North Carolina Snapshot
100 Counties Scored
55.9 Mean Score
55.0 Median Score
87.7 Edgecombe County Most Distressed
25.2 Camden County Least Distressed
24 Most distressed fifth25 Second-most distressed fifth27 Middle fifth21 Second-least distressed fifth3 Least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution North Carolina County Map
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Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 100 North Carolina counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How North Carolina's 100 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All North Carolina Counties
100 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Edgecombe County | 87.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 2 | 39 | Halifax County | 85.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 3 | 67 | Scotland County | 83.8 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 4 | 73 | Vance County | 83.5 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 5 | 76 | Robeson County | 83.3 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 6 | 98 | Bertie County | 81.8 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 7 | 118 | Washington County | 80.9 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 8 | 125 | Northampton County | 80.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 9 | 129 | Hertford County | 80.5 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 10 | 174 | Anson County | 78.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 11 | 179 | Wilson County | 78.4 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 12 | 214 | Bladen County | 76.8 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 13 | 253 | Cumberland County | 75.5 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 14 | 329 | Warren County | 73.4 | Most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 15 | 337 | Richmond County | 73.1 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 16 | 423 | Martin County | 71.0 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 17 | 436 | Hyde County | 70.7 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 18 | 487 | Nash County | 69.7 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 19 | 511 | Pitt County | 69.1 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 20 | 527 | Columbus County | 68.8 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 21 | 544 | Hoke County | 68.4 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 22 | 555 | Lenoir County | 68.3 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 23 | 572 | Wayne County | 68.1 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 24 | 615 | Cleveland County | 67.3 | Most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 25 | 646 | Jones County | 66.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 26 | 661 | Gaston County | 66.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 27 | 738 | Sampson County | 64.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 28 | 746 | Greene County | 64.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 29 | 776 | Guilford County | 64.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 30 | 778 | Pasquotank County | 64.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 31 | 786 | Rutherford County | 64.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 32 | 895 | Tyrrell County | 62.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 33 | 930 | Rockingham County | 61.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 34 | 938 | Chowan County | 61.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 35 | 959 | Randolph County | 60.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 36 | 960 | Duplin County | 60.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 37 | 985 | Gates County | 60.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Default & Legal |
| 38 | 1,043 | Rowan County | 59.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 39 | 1,062 | Franklin County | 59.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 40 | 1,079 | Forsyth County | 59.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 41 | 1,093 | Craven County | 58.8 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 42 | 1,109 | Person County | 58.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 43 | 1,129 | Beaufort County | 58.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 44 | 1,131 | Burke County | 58.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 45 | 1,166 | Onslow County | 57.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 46 | 1,188 | Graham County | 57.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 47 | 1,240 | Caswell County | 56.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 48 | 1,241 | Granville County | 56.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 49 | 1,242 | Alamance County | 56.3 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 50 | 1,309 | Caldwell County | 55.1 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 51 | 1,329 | Harnett County | 54.8 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 52 | 1,339 | Montgomery County | 54.6 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 53 | 1,345 | Wilkes County | 54.5 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 54 | 1,359 | Mecklenburg County | 54.3 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 55 | 1,367 | Lee County | 54.2 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 56 | 1,402 | Madison County | 53.5 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 57 | 1,428 | McDowell County | 53.2 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 58 | 1,435 | Perquimans County | 53.1 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 59 | 1,436 | Swain County | 53.1 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 60 | 1,499 | Alleghany County | 51.7 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 61 | 1,553 | Johnston County | 50.9 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 62 | 1,556 | Davidson County | 50.8 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 63 | 1,666 | Clay County | 48.8 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 64 | 1,687 | Surry County | 48.4 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 65 | 1,695 | Durham County | 48.3 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 66 | 1,708 | Cabarrus County | 48.1 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 67 | 1,712 | Jackson County | 48.0 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 68 | 1,717 | Cherokee County | 47.9 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 69 | 1,768 | Brunswick County | 47.1 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 70 | 1,778 | Stokes County | 46.9 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 71 | 1,833 | Haywood County | 46.0 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 72 | 1,844 | Buncombe County | 45.8 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 73 | 1,847 | Alexander County | 45.8 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 74 | 1,866 | New Hanover County | 45.4 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 75 | 1,870 | Yadkin County | 45.4 | Middle fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 76 | 1,875 | Catawba County | 45.3 | Middle fifth | Delinquency |
| 77 | 1,887 | Pamlico County | 45.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 78 | 1,896 | Macon County | 44.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 79 | 1,912 | Pender County | 44.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 80 | 1,947 | Transylvania County | 43.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 81 | 2,008 | Mitchell County | 43.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 82 | 2,115 | Avery County | 40.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 83 | 2,120 | Stanly County | 40.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 84 | 2,155 | Iredell County | 40.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 85 | 2,189 | Yancey County | 39.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 86 | 2,192 | Davie County | 39.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 87 | 2,255 | Lincoln County | 38.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 88 | 2,291 | Henderson County | 37.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 89 | 2,311 | Polk County | 37.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 90 | 2,366 | Watauga County | 36.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 91 | 2,398 | Dare County | 35.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 92 | 2,444 | Wake County | 34.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 93 | 2,452 | Ashe County | 34.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 94 | 2,471 | Orange County | 33.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 95 | 2,481 | Moore County | 33.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 96 | 2,486 | Carteret County | 33.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 97 | 2,503 | Union County | 32.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 98 | 2,687 | Currituck County | 28.7 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 99 | 2,729 | Chatham County | 27.7 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 100 | 2,819 | Camden County | 25.2 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Most distressed fifth — 24 North Carolina counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 25 North Carolina counties
Middle fifth — 27 North Carolina counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 21 North Carolina counties
Least distressed fifth — 3 North Carolina counties