North Carolina

How North Carolina ranks among the states

North Carolina is a middle-of-the-pack state on distress whose borrowers still fall badly behind more often than most. In early 2025, 10.9% of its car-loan borrowers were 90 or more days late, 8th highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 8.5% for the country (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia). Mortgages are the exception: 1.1% of mortgage borrowers were that far behind, against 1.2% nationwide. Low unemployment is what keeps the score down. The jobs part, at 34, is the state’s lowest, and unemployment has run under the U.S. rate every month with data since May 2023 (see jobs).

North Carolina was among the 10 most distressed states in 2012; one quarter in 2013 moved it to the middle

North Carolina’s poorest and most distressed counties are in the east

Robeson County, around Lumberton, is the poorest county in North Carolina: 23.7% of its people lived below the poverty line in 2024, the highest rate among the state’s 100 counties, the Census Bureau estimates. Edgecombe County, around Tarboro, is the most distressed on our County Distress Index, which measures the strain on household budgets in every U.S. county. It scores 99 and ranks 30th of 3,144 counties nationwide; Halifax and Robeson also make the national top 100 (see the national list). Camden County, in the state’s northeast corner, is the least distressed, at 3.

Every county, by score

Of North Carolina’s 100 counties, 23 score 80 or more, and 13.6% of the state’s people live in them. All but one of the 23 lie outside the big metro areas, the coast and the western mountains as we group them; the exception is Cumberland, home to Fayetteville, (see the regions).

All 100 North Carolina counties, ranked →

Is eastern North Carolina worse off than Raleigh and Charlotte?

Yes, by a wide margin. The six Triangle counties around Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill hold 19.2% of the state’s people and average 26 on our County Distress Index, weighted by population. The 51 counties outside the big metro areas, the coast and the western mountains hold 24.6% and average 69, and 22 of them score 80 or more. Our Fayetteville group, Cumberland and Hoke, averages 87.

Raleigh’s and Charlotte’s home counties differ, too. Wake County scores 17 and has the second-highest median household income in the state, $107,083. Mecklenburg County scores 49, near the state’s middle, because its late-payment and renters’ costs parts run well above Wake’s. Our scores locate the strain; they don’t explain it. The east and the metros also differ in age, jobs and who lives there, and we haven’t measured those here. The poorest counties →

Is North Carolina a poor state?

Somewhat poorer than the typical state, by the Census Bureau’s estimates. In 2024, 12.6% of North Carolinians lived below the poverty line, tied for 16th highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 12.1% nationwide. The median household earned $74,055, 15th lowest, against $81,604 for the whole country (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). Income per person in 2024, all the income residents get divided by the number of residents, was $65,634, 17th lowest, against $73,204 for the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis).

Health insurance and benefit income in North Carolina

From 2020 to 2024, 9.9% of North Carolinians had no health insurance (U.S.: 8.4%), the 11th highest share among the 50 states and D.C. (Census Bureau, American Community Survey). Those years mostly predate the state’s Medicaid expansion, which began on Dec. 1, 2023 (NC Medicaid). In 2024, government benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ benefits made up 21.1% of all the income North Carolinians received, tied for 13th highest, against 18.3% for the U.S. (Bureau of Economic Analysis). These figures describe the state; they don’t explain its distress.

Union and Wake have the highest incomes

Union County, southeast of Charlotte, had the highest median household income in North Carolina in 2024, $107,681, and Wake County, home to Raleigh, came second, at $107,083 (Census Bureau). Robeson had the lowest, $46,927. Camden County had the lowest poverty rate, 7.5%. The poverty rate on this page is the Census Bureau’s; for the federal poverty guideline that programs use, see the questions below. The poorest and most distressed counties →

What changed in North Carolina in the past year

1. Oct. 1, 2026

   Medicaid now covers fewer groups of noncitizens

   From this date, the state health department said in September, only some noncitizens qualify for North Carolina Medicaid: lawful permanent residents; children under 19 and pregnant women or new mothers who are lawfully present; Cuban and Haitian entrants; and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. The department ties the new rules to the 2025 federal budget law and to changes in state law.

   North Carolina’s health and human services department, Sept. 1, 2026

2. July 7, 2026

   The state got its first full budget in more than two years

   Gov. Josh Stein signed Senate Bill 257, North Carolina’s first full state budget in more than two years, his office said. The governor’s statement says the budget fully funds Medicaid for the year and pays for raises for teachers and law enforcement; it gives no dollar figures, and we have not read the bill’s totals.

   Office of the Governor, July 7, 2026

3. Feb. 1, 2026

   SNAP stopped covering refugees and asylees by that status alone

   SNAP eligibility for noncitizens narrowed to lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. Refugees, asylees and most parolees no longer qualify on that status alone and can qualify again only once they become permanent residents, the state’s human services department told county offices in May.

   North Carolina’s health and human services department, letter to county social services offices, May 26, 2026

4. Dec. 10, 2025

   Medicaid payment cuts to doctors and hospitals were reversed

   Court rulings required the state to undo the cuts in what Medicaid pays doctors, hospitals and other providers that began Oct. 1, 2025, and to restore the Sept. 30 rates, the state Medicaid program told providers. The cuts were to payments, not to patients’ coverage. The program also said it was underfunded by $319 million and could run out of money early in 2026.

   NC Medicaid, provider bulletin, Dec. 10, 2025

5. Dec. 1, 2025

   SNAP’s work rule began to cover adults up to 64

   Adults without dependents now face SNAP’s work rule through age 64 instead of 54, and living with a child exempts adults only if the child is under 14 instead of under 18. Adults the rule covers who don’t meet it or qualify for an exemption can get benefits for only three months in a 36-month period. Both changes come from the 2025 federal budget law (see SNAP).

   North Carolina’s health and human services department, letter to county social services offices, May 26, 2026

Are North Carolinians behind on their bills? On cars and cards, more than in most states

Yes, on most kinds of loans. In early 2025, 19.5% of North Carolinians with a credit record had debt 90 or more days late, 14th highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 17.2% nationally, our population-weighted average of the states (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia). These are household debts, not the state government’s.

North Carolinians are more likely than Americans overall to be 90 days behind on cards and car loans, and to have a debt in collections; on mortgages they are not

Share of borrowers in North Carolina and the U.S. who were 90 or more days behind on each type of loan, plus the share of people with any debt in collections, first quarter of 2025.

Card borrowers 90+ days late

North Carolina 15.6% U.S. 13.5%

People with a debt in collections

North Carolina 15.2% U.S. 13.2%

Car-loan borrowers 90+ days late

North Carolina 10.9% U.S. 8.5%

Mortgage borrowers 90+ days late

North Carolina 1.1% U.S. 1.2%

North Carolina’s rank among the 50 states and D.C., 1 the highest share: 13th for card borrowers, 15th for collections, 8th for car loans and tied for 23rd for mortgages. The U.S. bars are our population-weighted average of the states.

Card trouble has grown. The share of card borrowers 90 or more days late went from 11.1% at the end of 2019 to 15.6% in early 2025. Collections fell over the same years, from 26.4% to 14.5% by mid-2023, and have stayed close to that since (15.2% in early 2025). Much of that fall came after early 2022, when the share stood at 21.8% and the three big credit bureaus announced they would drop many medical debts from credit reports. A debt removed from a report hasn’t necessarily been paid. Nationwide, the share of people with a medical collection on their report went from about 14% in March 2022 to about 5% in June 2023 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).

North Carolina’s economy: unemployment under the nation’s, and one of the biggest job gains of any state

North Carolina’s unemployment rate was 3.5% in August 2026, tied for 18th lowest among the 50 states and D.C., against 4.1% for the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The bureau counts that gap as statistically significant, and also the drop from 3.9% in August 2025. Over the same year the state added 65,600 payroll jobs, the third-largest gain of any state after Texas and California, in the bureau’s preliminary count.

Filing for unemployment benefits? That goes through the state’s Division of Employment Security →

Unemployment is highest in Edgecombe County and lowest in Currituck County

North Carolina’s minimum wage is the federal floor

The state minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal minimum. Employers may pay tipped workers as little as $2.13 an hour if tips make up the difference, the state labor department says (minimum wage in North Carolina). Rent and the cost of living →

Is North Carolina expensive to live in? Rent is below the U.S. median, but more renters are stretched than in 2019

Rent is cheaper than nationwide. The median rent in North Carolina was $1,228 a month from 2020 to 2024, 25th lowest among the 50 states and D.C., against $1,413 for the U.S. (U.S. Census Bureau). A year of that rent equals 19.9% of the median household’s 2024 income, against 20.8% nationwide (our calculation). We don’t track prices for groceries, gas or power, so this page can’t rank North Carolina’s whole cost of living.

How many North Carolinians get SNAP food benefits?

In June 2026, 1,245,356 North Carolinians got SNAP, the federal food benefit once called food stamps, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports. That is 11.1% of the state’s 2025 population, tied for 16th highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 10.6% nationwide, and the count fell 7.8% from June 2025.

To apply for food benefits, called Food and Nutrition Services in North Carolina, or to check a case, use the state’s ePASS site →

The count has been shrinking for years. It averaged 1,575,156 people a month in 2022 and 1,384,342 in 2025, lower every year in between (U.S. Department of Agriculture; the yearly averages are our calculation). The slide started long before SNAP’s wider work rule took effect on Dec. 1, 2025. The June 2026 count was 1,245,356. No source we’ve read splits the past year’s drop by cause. Fewer people on SNAP doesn’t mean less need: the Census Bureau’s poverty rate for North Carolina was 12.6% in 2024 (see poverty).

The new SNAP rules in North Carolina

Two federal changes reached North Carolina’s SNAP rolls this past year. The work rule for adults without dependents now runs through age 64, and the child exemption now stops at 14; noncitizen eligibility narrowed on Feb. 1, 2026. Dates and details are in what changed. The poorest counties →

North Carolinians file for bankruptcy less often than most Americans, and mostly under Chapter 13

North Carolinians filed 9,847 bankruptcy cases in 2025, or 87.9 for every 100,000 residents (2025 population), 11th lowest among the 50 states and D.C., against 166.3 nationwide (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). Filings rose 11.2% from 2024, close to the national rise of 11.1%. They have gone up every year since 2022, and 2025 brought the most filings since 2019, when there were 13,531.

Chapter 13 cases made up 63.5% of North Carolina filings in 2025, against 35.9% nationwide, a share that ranks 4th highest of the 50 states and D.C. overall. Under Chapter 13, people usually keep their property and pay back part of what they owe through a court-approved plan lasting several years. Under Chapter 7, the more common choice across the country, many debts are erased and property the law doesn’t protect can be sold.

How foreclosure works in North Carolina

Most North Carolina home loans are secured by a deed of trust with a power of sale, so a foreclosure usually doesn’t need a lawsuit. It does need a hearing before any sale. The clerk of superior court in the home’s county must find a valid debt and a loan in default. The clerk must also find that the lender has the right to foreclose and that required notices went out (G.S. 45-21.16). For a home loan on the home you live in, your mortgage company must mail you a notice at least 45 days before it files for that hearing (G.S. 45-102).

At the hearing on an owner-occupied home, the clerk asks what has been done to resolve the missed payments. The clerk must postpone the hearing for up to 60 days when more time or other steps are reasonably likely to fix them (G.S. 45-21.16C). After the auction, anyone may file a higher bid, called an upset bid, within 10 days, and each new bid restarts that period (G.S. 45-21.27). Paying the full debt and costs before the period ends stops the sale (G.S. 45-21.20). A lender that wants the balance left after a sale has one year from the foreclosure deed to sue for it (G.S. 1-54). That right generally does not apply to a loan the seller made for part of the purchase price (G.S. 45-21.38). Under federal servicing rules, a mortgage company generally can’t begin a foreclosure on the home you live in until you are more than 120 days behind.

The state was awarded $273.3 million from the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund, and through early 2026 the fund had helped 17,974 North Carolina households (U.S. Treasury). For free foreclosure counseling, the state housing finance agency’s help line is 888-442-8188 (North Carolina Housing Finance Agency).

Mortgage problems North Carolina homeowners have taken to the CFPB

From 2012 through mid-October 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau logged 13,937 mortgage complaints from North Carolina. The issue raised most often is loan modification, collection or foreclosure (3,389), one complaint ahead of trouble during the payment process (3,388); loan servicing, payments or escrow comes third (2,225).

What to watch before the next edition

Three dated items stand between now and the next edition, nearest first: a jobs report, then a Medicaid rule that starts on New Year’s Day, and Duke Energy’s new rates, which would start then if the commission approves them.

1. Nov. 20, 2026

   October unemployment rates for the states

   The Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to publish state unemployment rates for October at 10 a.m. North Carolina’s rate eased from 3.8% in January 2026 to 3.5% in August 2026; this release shows whether that held.

   Bureau of Labor Statistics, release schedule for State Employment and Unemployment

2. Jan. 1, 2027

   Medicaid expansion’s work rule and six-month renewals begin

   Adults 19 through 64 without a disability who get Medicaid through the state’s expansion will need household earnings of $580 a month, or 80 hours a month of work, school or volunteering, unless an exemption applies, the state health department says. Most will also renew their coverage every six months instead of once a year. Expansion began on Dec. 1, 2023.

   North Carolina’s health and human services department, Sept. 1, 2026; NC Medicaid, expansion page

3. Jan. 1, 2027

   Duke Energy’s new electric rates, if the commission approves them

   The North Carolina Utilities Commission is weighing settlements in rate cases for both Duke Energy utilities in the state. If approved, new rates would start taking effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The Attorney General’s office, which did not sign either deal, reads them as raising residential bills about 9.5% for Duke Energy Carolinas and 9.3% over two years for Duke Energy Progress; Duke puts its averages across all customers lower.

   North Carolina Attorney General’s office, July 21, 2026; Aug. 13, 2026

Where North Carolina ranks highest and lowest