(WGHP) — With mountains to the west and beaches to the east, North Carolina is one of the more unique and diverse states in the nation.
So it should not come as much of a surprise that income between counties in the Tarheel State is equally unique depending on where you look.
Top 10 Highest-Income Counties in North Carolina
First, let’s take a look at the top ten highest-income counties in North Carolina, based on median income data collected by SmartAsset.
| NC Ranking | National Ranking | County | Median Income | Investment Income | Median Home Value | Median Income Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 151 | Wake County | $88,471 | $41,155 | $463,222 | 51.08 |
| 2 | 152 | Union County | $88,465 | $30,910 | $419,476 | 51.07 |
| 3 | 252 | Currituck County | $79,416 | $14,619 | $506,956 | 44.60 |
| 4 | 259 | Orange County | $79,205 | $63,645 | $456,878 | 44.45 |
| 5 | 305 | Chatham County | $76,791 | $39,115 | $528,211 | 42.72 |
| 6 | 340 | Cabarrus County | $75,765 | $20,417 | $366,920 | 41.98 |
| 7 | 403 | Mecklenburg County | $73,124 | $56,835 | $397,105 | 40.09 |
| 8 | 534 | Dare County | $69,500 | $29,348 | $547,928 | 37.50 |
| 9 | 589 | Camden County | $68,560 | $10,701 | $334,757 | 36.83 |
| 10 | 646 | Moore County | $67,440 | $37,465 | $385,841 | 36.02 |
One thing that shows in the data, unsurprisingly, is that counties in the Research Triangle area are well-represented with Wake, Orange and Chatham County making up three of the top five on the list.
The Triangle is known for being the home to three of the state’s major research universities: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and North Carolina State University.
UNC-Chapel Hill is in Orange County, and NC State is in Wake County. Durham County, which is home to Duke, placed just outside the top 10 for median income, coming in at rank 11.
Another well-represented region is the Charlotte metropolitan area with Union, Cabarrus and Mecklenburg County all making the top 10.
The Charlotte metro is considered to be among the largest financial hubs in the nation with several major financial institutions such as Bank of America and Truist calling the region home.
It is also the major entertainment hub of the state with the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers professional sports franchises calling the region home as well as the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Several coastal counties—Currituck, Dare and Camden—make up 30% of the list. The coastal NC counties have some of the highest median home values in the state.
Moore County, which borders the Piedmont and Coastal regions of the state comes in at rank 10.
