State
North Carolina
North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 38 out of 100 (low), ranking #32 of 51 US states. It ranks best on new homes permitted (high), job growth (high) and voter turnout (high). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), dental care shortage (high) and distance to an emergency room (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #32 of 51 states
- Population
- 11,197,968 (2025)
- Land area
- 48,624 mi²
- Density
- 230.3 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 37
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 78 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US states.
- Safety28#37/51
- Economy38#32/51
- Housing44#29/51
- Health30#36/51
- Healthcare32#35/51
- Environment65#18/49
- Education56#23/51
- Infrastructure38#32/51
- Community56#23/51
- Leisure & amenities48#27/51
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US states (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- New homes permitted · high8.0 /1k
- Job growth · high0.8%
- Voter turnout · high72.9%
- Comfortable days · high30.0%85/100United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAggregated from counties
- Drinking water violations · low0
- Child care cost burden · low25.1%
Weaknesses
- Drought exposure · high79%4/100United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA
- Dental care shortage · high11.5
- Distance to an emergency room · high7.9 mi
- Time spent in the emergency room · high189 min16/100United States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAggregated from counties
- Public libraries · low0.4 /10k
- Dentists · low62 /100k
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- PopulationRising
10,450,215 (2020) → 11,197,968 (2025)
+7.2%5 yearsUS 331,578,104 → 341,784,857
- Drought exposureWorsening
14% (2021) → 79% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+66 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- Access to exercise opportunitiesImproving
67.6% (2010 & 2021) → 78.0% (2022 & 2024)
+10 pts3 yearsUS 79.8% → 84.5%
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.7% (2015-2019) → 90.1% (2020-2024)
+9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
36.7 /100k (2021) → 20.6 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−44%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
25.3% (Dec 2021) → 33.1% (Aug 2026)
+7.8 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
What changed in five years
How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.
States like North Carolina five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.
Who lives here
Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
Local businesses
Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Public money & outcomes
Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.
Representation in Congress
Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.
Counties of North Carolina
All 100 counties, best quality-of-life score first.
- 1Wake County94
- 2Union County87
- 3Dare County86
- 4Transylvania County86
- 5Orange County86
- 6Henderson County83
- 7Iredell County83
- 8Carteret County81
- 9Moore County81
- 10Buncombe County81
- 11Watauga County80
- 12Currituck County79
- 13Chatham County76
- 14Mecklenburg County76
- 15Camden County75
- 16New Hanover County75
- 17Durham County73
- 18Cabarrus County73
- 19Lincoln County72
- 20Brunswick County70
- 21Polk County68
- 22Macon County67
- 23Davie County67
- 24Clay County64
- 25Catawba County63
- 26Madison County61
- 27Forsyth County60
- 28Guilford County60
- 29Johnston County60
- 30Avery County59
- 31Haywood County59
- 32Pender County57
- 33Mitchell County56
- 34Yancey County54
- 35Craven County51
- 36Ashe County51
- 37Pamlico County51
- 38Jackson County50
- 39Alamance County49
- 40Cherokee County47
- 41Alleghany County46
- 42Pitt County46
- 43Pasquotank County45
- 44Onslow County45
- 45Swain County44
- 46Davidson County43
- 47Burke County42
- 48Lee County40
- 49Beaufort County40
- 50Stokes County40
- 51Caldwell County39
- 52Gaston County39
- 53Alexander County39
- 54Yadkin County39
- 55Stanly County39
- 56Surry County38
- 57Rowan County38
- 58Nash County38
- 59Graham County38
- 60McDowell County38
- 61Perquimans County38
- 62Granville County37
- 63Franklin County37
- 64Chowan County35
- 65Person County33
- 66Cumberland County33
- 67Wilkes County33
- 68Randolph County32
- 69Cleveland County32
- 70Caswell County30
- 71Hyde County30
- 72Gates County30
- 73Wayne County29
- 74Harnett County28
- 75Wilson County28
- 76Jones County28
- 77Montgomery County27
- 78Rutherford County26
- 79Martin County26
- 80Rockingham County24
- 81Lenoir County23
- 82Tyrrell County21
- 83Vance County20
- 84Washington County20
- 85Sampson County18
- 86Hoke County16
- 87Duplin County15
- 88Hertford County15
- 89Richmond County14
- 90Halifax County12
- 91Bertie County12
- 92Greene County11
- 93Northampton County11
- 94Edgecombe County10
- 95Anson County9
- 96Columbus County8
- 97Warren County8
- 98Scotland County7
- 99Bladen County6
- 100Robeson County2
Metro areas in North Carolina
Metropolitan and micropolitan areas based in North Carolina, largest first.
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC752,938,830
- Raleigh-Cary, NC941,595,720
- Greensboro-High Point, NC52805,945
- Winston-Salem, NC51712,206
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC83625,485
- Wilmington, NC81492,772
- Asheville, NC85422,345
- Fayetteville, NC25395,412
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC46376,890
- Jacksonville, NC48217,175
- Burlington, NC49186,177
- Greenville, NC55182,936
- Anderson Creek, NC24150,137
- Rocky Mount, NC24148,486
- New Bern, NC58127,358
- Goldsboro, NC31122,278
- Lumberton, NC2119,941
- Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC84110,619
- Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC18103,325
- Wilson, NC2281,150
- Mount Airy, NC3172,287
- Morehead City, NC8570,469
- Sanford, NC3270,258
- Albemarle, NC3368,830
Largest cities and towns in North Carolina
By population.
- Charlotte903,844
- Raleigh481,031
- Greensboro301,198
- Durham291,467
- Winston-Salem252,037
- Fayetteville210,815
- Cary179,306
- Wilmington120,805
- High Point116,245
- Concord108,719
- Asheville94,535
- Greenville92,857
- Gastonia82,884
- Jacksonville71,279
- Apex70,630
- Huntersville63,969
- Chapel Hill61,607
- Burlington59,610
- Kannapolis57,890
- Rocky Mount54,297
- Wake Forest52,844
- Mooresville52,381
- Wilson48,370
- Holly Springs45,248
Neighboring states
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar states
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- South Carolina24Alike on New homes, Job growth, Dentists
- Georgia16Alike on Water violations, Population, Comfortable days
- Tennessee12Alike on Water violations, Homicides, Avg temperature
- Missouri30Alike on Food environment, PCP shortage, Dentists
- Delaware50Alike on Pop. change, Domestic migration, PCP shortage
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-03
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
- Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08