Cost of living in North Carolina

North Carolina at a glance

Median rent

$1,228

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$72,388

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$288,900

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$1,896

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

25 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

4.7%

Census ACS, DP03

North Carolina's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 6% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in North Carolina

These are the most populous places in North Carolina, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Wake County

  Population

  1.18M

  Rent

  $1,623

  Household income

  $105,768

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $3,260

  Set as targetPlan

• Mecklenburg County

  Population

  1.15M

  Rent

  $1,627

  Household income

  $87,005

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $2,890

  Set as targetPlan

• Guilford County

  Population

  548K

  Rent

  $1,163

  Household income

  $68,642

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $2,174

  Set as targetPlan

North Carolina, worth the trip

Ratified the Constitution on November 21, 1789, as the 12th state. Roanoke Island was the site of the lost colony, which vanished some time after its landing in 1587. The capital was selected in 1788 and laid out from a tract of forest in 1792.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  Forested ridges on the Tennessee border, known for plant and animal diversity and remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture.

• Cape Hatteras National Seashore

  Islands with ocean beach, salt marsh and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

• Wright Brothers National Memorial

  The Kitty Hawk site of the first successful airplane flights, made on December 17, 1903.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in North Carolina

Current owners in North Carolina pay a median 0.66% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $1,896 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $778 in Bertie County to $4,162 in Orange County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in North Carolina

Life expectancy

75.9 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

11.2%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

17.8%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

93

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for North Carolina as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in North Carolina

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$4.4B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.74

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$2.1B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

Wake County, NC is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 100 counties in North Carolina

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.