North Carolina County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 100 counties in North Carolina, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 55.3. 16 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
North Carolina Snapshot
100 Counties Scored
55.3 Mean Score
54.6 Median Score
86.6 Edgecombe County Most Distressed
23.5 Camden County Least Distressed
9 very high county distress7 high county distress19 moderate-high county distress27 moderate county distress20 moderate-low county distress15 low-moderate county distress3 low county distress
Score Label Distribution North Carolina County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 100 North Carolina counties colored by county distress score range. 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 | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | Edgecombe County | 86.6 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | 43 | Halifax County | 85.5 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 3 | 70 | Vance County | 83.8 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 4 | 93 | Robeson County | 82.5 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 5 | 94 | Scotland County | 82.5 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 6 | 106 | Bertie County | 81.9 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 7 | 132 | Washington County | 80.6 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 8 | 139 | Northampton County | 80.5 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 9 | 144 | Hertford County | 80.1 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 10 | 185 | Anson County | 78.4 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 11 | 205 | Wilson County | 77.8 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 12 | 255 | Bladen County | 76.1 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 13 | 372 | Cumberland County | 73.2 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 14 | 373 | Warren County | 73.2 | high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 15 | 427 | Richmond County | 71.6 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 16 | 461 | Hyde County | 70.7 | high county distress | Labor |
| 17 | 501 | Martin County | 69.9 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 18 | 545 | Pitt County | 69.1 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 19 | 578 | Lenoir County | 68.6 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 20 | 595 | Columbus County | 68.3 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 21 | 632 | Nash County | 67.6 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 22 | 646 | Hoke County | 67.3 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 23 | 665 | Wayne County | 67.1 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 24 | 710 | Cleveland County | 66.0 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 25 | 716 | Greene County | 66.0 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 26 | 734 | Jones County | 65.4 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 27 | 794 | Gaston County | 64.4 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 28 | 815 | Sampson County | 64.0 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 29 | 825 | Rutherford County | 63.9 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 30 | 873 | Pasquotank County | 63.0 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 31 | 885 | Guilford County | 62.8 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 32 | 954 | Tyrrell County | 61.6 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 33 | 967 | Randolph County | 61.4 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 34 | 983 | Duplin County | 61.1 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 35 | 1,039 | Chowan County | 60.2 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 36 | 1,056 | Rockingham County | 59.9 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 37 | 1,074 | Franklin County | 59.3 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 38 | 1,092 | Forsyth County | 58.9 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 39 | 1,125 | Craven County | 58.5 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 40 | 1,129 | Burke County | 58.4 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 41 | 1,154 | Beaufort County | 58.1 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 42 | 1,158 | Gates County | 58.0 | moderate county distress | Default & Legal |
| 43 | 1,174 | Rowan County | 57.6 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 44 | 1,206 | Onslow County | 57.0 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 45 | 1,243 | Person County | 56.2 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 46 | 1,271 | Graham County | 55.8 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 47 | 1,281 | Granville County | 55.7 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 48 | 1,285 | Caswell County | 55.6 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 49 | 1,301 | Caldwell County | 55.3 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 50 | 1,317 | Alamance County | 55.0 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 51 | 1,355 | Wilkes County | 54.3 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 52 | 1,356 | Perquimans County | 54.3 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 53 | 1,361 | Lee County | 54.2 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 54 | 1,380 | Harnett County | 53.7 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 55 | 1,402 | Montgomery County | 53.4 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 56 | 1,409 | Mecklenburg County | 53.3 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 57 | 1,474 | Swain County | 52.3 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 58 | 1,475 | Alleghany County | 52.3 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 59 | 1,478 | Madison County | 52.3 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 60 | 1,487 | McDowell County | 52.0 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 61 | 1,560 | Davidson County | 50.5 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 62 | 1,567 | Clay County | 50.4 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 63 | 1,610 | Johnston County | 49.5 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 64 | 1,655 | Cherokee County | 48.7 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 65 | 1,688 | Jackson County | 48.2 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 66 | 1,733 | Durham County | 47.6 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 67 | 1,749 | Surry County | 47.3 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 68 | 1,773 | Brunswick County | 46.9 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 69 | 1,788 | Buncombe County | 46.6 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 70 | 1,796 | Alexander County | 46.4 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 71 | 1,810 | Cabarrus County | 46.1 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 72 | 1,834 | New Hanover County | 45.7 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 73 | 1,846 | Stokes County | 45.6 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 74 | 1,848 | Pamlico County | 45.6 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 75 | 1,863 | Macon County | 45.3 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 76 | 1,874 | Haywood County | 45.1 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 77 | 1,893 | Yadkin County | 44.7 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 78 | 1,896 | Catawba County | 44.6 | moderate-low county distress | Delinquency |
| 79 | 1,944 | Pender County | 43.8 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 80 | 1,969 | Transylvania County | 43.4 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 81 | 2,064 | Avery County | 41.5 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 82 | 2,084 | Mitchell County | 41.1 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 83 | 2,160 | Davie County | 39.7 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 84 | 2,177 | Stanly County | 39.4 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 85 | 2,188 | Polk County | 39.1 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 86 | 2,198 | Iredell County | 39.0 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 87 | 2,206 | Yancey County | 38.9 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 88 | 2,240 | Lincoln County | 38.0 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 89 | 2,269 | Henderson County | 37.5 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 90 | 2,284 | Watauga County | 37.3 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 91 | 2,422 | Ashe County | 34.4 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 92 | 2,456 | Wake County | 33.7 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 93 | 2,467 | Orange County | 33.4 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 94 | 2,481 | Moore County | 33.1 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 95 | 2,513 | Dare County | 32.6 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 96 | 2,514 | Carteret County | 32.6 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 97 | 2,523 | Union County | 32.4 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 98 | 2,686 | Chatham County | 28.2 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 99 | 2,700 | Currituck County | 28.1 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 100 | 2,861 | Camden County | 23.5 | low county distress | 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.
extreme county distress — 0 North Carolina counties
very high county distress — 9 North Carolina counties
high county distress — 7 North Carolina counties
moderate-high county distress — 19 North Carolina counties
moderate county distress — 27 North Carolina counties
moderate-low county distress — 20 North Carolina counties
low-moderate county distress — 15 North Carolina counties
low county distress — 3 North Carolina counties
very low county distress — 0 North Carolina counties
exceptionally low county distress — 0 North Carolina counties