Ranked from official statistics; every city opens its own guide.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 08/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Among the 100 largest places in North Carolina, Durham has the highest average pay in its county ($98,601), followed by Charlotte and Huntersville. Click any column to sort; click a city for its guide.
Across the 100 places in North Carolina that we cover, the median is $55,785 and the average $60,720; the figure runs from $98,601 (Durham) to $44,697 (Albemarle). That is a spread of 2.2 times between the two ends.
The first five are Durham, Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, Matthews. A high or low position is not good or bad on its own: read it together with the other measures on the city pages. Use the Compare tab on each city page to see how two places differ across income, rent, commute and education, and check the county page for the local job market.
| # ⇅ | City ⇅ | County ⇅ | County average annual pay ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durham | Durham County | $98,601 | 291,467 | $81,619 | $1,508 |
| 2 | Charlotte | Mecklenburg County | $88,111 | 903,844 | $82,068 | $1,612 |
| 3 | Huntersville | Mecklenburg County | $88,111 | 63,969 | $120,516 | $1,834 |
| 4 | Cornelius | Mecklenburg County | $88,111 | 32,783 | $113,767 | $1,722 |
| 5 | Matthews | Mecklenburg County | $88,111 | 30,577 | $108,611 | $1,764 |
| 6 | Mint Hill | Mecklenburg County | $88,111 | 27,556 | $100,860 | $1,528 |
| 7 | Davidson | Mecklenburg County | $88,111 | 15,660 | $166,556 | $1,652 |
| 8 | Pineville | Mecklenburg County | $88,111 | 11,055 | $69,354 | $1,552 |
| 9 | Chapel Hill | Orange County | $79,229 | 61,607 | $85,989 | $1,613 |
| 10 | Carrboro | Orange County | $79,229 | 21,204 | $85,743 | $1,470 |
| 11 | Hillsborough | Orange County | $79,229 | 9,724 | $98,163 | $1,368 |
| 12 | Raleigh | Wake County | $76,807 | 481,031 | $85,395 | $1,572 |
| 13 | Cary | Wake County | $76,807 | 179,306 | $134,905 | $1,738 |
| 14 | Apex | Wake County | $76,807 | 70,630 | $144,135 | $1,902 |
| 15 | Wake Forest | Wake County | $76,807 | 52,844 | $123,802 | $1,596 |
| 16 | Holly Springs | Wake County | $76,807 | 45,248 | $135,578 | $2,021 |
| 17 | Fuquay-Varina | Wake County | $76,807 | 40,485 | $115,497 | $1,720 |
| 18 | Garner | Wake County | $76,807 | 34,473 | $78,756 | $1,549 |
| 19 | Morrisville | Wake County | $76,807 | 31,422 | $125,396 | $1,858 |
| 20 | Knightdale | Wake County | $76,807 | 20,214 | $103,220 | $1,674 |
| 21 | Wendell | Wake County | $76,807 | 13,064 | $95,787 | $1,457 |
| 22 | Rolesville | Wake County | $76,807 | 10,766 | $149,565 | $1,085 |
| 23 | Winston-Salem | Forsyth County | $66,257 | 252,037 | $59,268 | $1,087 |
| 24 | Kernersville | Forsyth County | $66,257 | 27,830 | $71,918 | $1,082 |
| 25 | Clemmons | Forsyth County | $66,257 | 21,871 | $87,655 | $1,269 |
| 26 | Lewisville | Forsyth County | $66,257 | 13,828 | $100,917 | $1,095 |
| 27 | Mooresville | Iredell County | $63,307 | 52,381 | $89,647 | $1,626 |
| 28 | Statesville | Iredell County | $63,307 | 29,894 | $52,880 | $1,000 |
| 29 | Lake Norman of Iredell (unincorporated) | Iredell County | $63,307 | 12,494 | $173,542 | $1,327 |
| 30 | Wilmington | New Hanover County | $61,611 | 120,805 | $66,738 | $1,395 |
| 31 | Murraysville (unincorporated) | New Hanover County | $61,611 | 16,339 | $81,167 | $1,777 |
| 32 | Myrtle Grove (unincorporated) | New Hanover County | $61,611 | 12,637 | $113,463 | $1,463 |
| 33 | Greensboro | Guilford County | $61,546 | 301,198 | $61,515 | $1,172 |
| 34 | High Point | Guilford County | $61,546 | 116,245 | $64,561 | $1,116 |
| 35 | Summerfield | Guilford County | $61,546 | 11,116 | $160,275 | $1,521 |
| 36 | Indian Trail | Union County | $61,500 | 42,036 | $108,483 | $2,077 |
| 37 | Monroe | Union County | $61,500 | 36,759 | $72,540 | $1,246 |
| 38 | Waxhaw | Union County | $61,500 | 22,275 | $131,894 | $1,840 |
| 39 | Stallings | Union County | $61,500 | 16,886 | $115,974 | $1,882 |
| 40 | Weddington | Union County | $61,500 | 13,805 | $190,766 | $1,927 |
| 41 | Greenville | Pitt County | $59,866 | 92,857 | $49,748 | $1,007 |
| 42 | Winterville | Pitt County | $59,866 | 10,725 | $83,193 | $1,534 |
| 43 | Asheville | Buncombe County | $58,785 | 94,535 | $71,102 | $1,402 |
| 44 | Sanford | Lee County | $58,075 | 31,478 | $57,586 | $1,052 |
| 45 | Salisbury | Rowan County | $57,503 | 35,825 | $53,716 | $1,071 |
| 46 | Concord | Cabarrus County | $56,529 | 108,719 | $86,921 | $1,451 |
| 47 | Kannapolis | Cabarrus County | $56,529 | 57,890 | $73,836 | $1,319 |
| 48 | Harrisburg | Cabarrus County | $56,529 | 19,633 | $148,254 | $2,640 |
| 49 | Fayetteville | Cumberland County | $55,785 | 210,815 | $58,407 | $1,250 |
| 50 | Hope Mills | Cumberland County | $55,785 | 17,939 | $65,774 | $1,141 |
| 51 | Spring Lake | Cumberland County | $55,785 | 11,573 | $51,958 | $1,351 |
| 52 | Hickory | Catawba County | $55,761 | 44,258 | $64,576 | $1,063 |
| 53 | Newton | Catawba County | $55,761 | 13,333 | $62,015 | $1,091 |
| 54 | Lake Norman of Catawba (unincorporated) | Catawba County | $55,761 | 9,906 | $112,656 | $1,319 |
| 55 | Lincolnton | Lincoln County | $55,677 | 11,783 | $46,320 | $965 |
| 56 | New Bern | Craven County | $55,634 | 32,734 | $61,031 | $1,081 |
| 57 | Havelock | Craven County | $55,634 | 17,691 | $58,408 | $1,280 |
| 58 | Clayton | Johnston County | $55,305 | 29,320 | $78,822 | $1,661 |
| 59 | Smithfield | Johnston County | $55,305 | 12,116 | $43,270 | $658 |
| 60 | Wilson | Wilson County | $54,643 | 48,370 | $52,485 | $971 |
| 61 | Thomasville | Davidson County | $54,593 | 27,321 | $60,935 | $879 |
| 62 | Lexington | Davidson County | $54,593 | 19,690 | $43,128 | $893 |
| 63 | Rocky Mount | Nash County | $54,440 | 54,297 | $55,534 | $957 |
| 64 | Gastonia | Gaston County | $54,211 | 82,884 | $64,059 | $1,204 |
| 65 | Mount Holly | Gaston County | $54,211 | 18,208 | $79,385 | $1,256 |
| 66 | Belmont | Gaston County | $54,211 | 15,546 | $94,883 | $1,365 |
| 67 | Hendersonville | Henderson County | $54,106 | 15,408 | $53,449 | $1,332 |
| 68 | Pinehurst | Moore County | $54,059 | 18,256 | $109,802 | $1,664 |
| 69 | Southern Pines | Moore County | $54,059 | 16,420 | $88,535 | $1,354 |
| 70 | Shelby | Cleveland County | $53,753 | 22,100 | $48,376 | $945 |
| 71 | Kings Mountain | Cleveland County | $53,753 | 12,039 | $49,564 | $959 |
| 72 | Burlington | Alamance County | $52,502 | 59,610 | $56,880 | $1,051 |
| 73 | Mebane | Alamance County | $52,502 | 19,538 | $83,174 | $1,283 |
| 74 | Graham | Alamance County | $52,502 | 18,048 | $56,239 | $1,071 |
| 75 | Elon | Alamance County | $52,502 | 11,032 | $84,773 | $2,080 |
| 76 | Leland | Brunswick County | $51,701 | 29,607 | $91,977 | $1,735 |
| 77 | Asheboro | Randolph County | $51,663 | 27,580 | $47,197 | $906 |
| 78 | Archdale | Randolph County | $51,663 | 12,087 | $64,757 | $1,034 |
| 79 | Lenoir | Caldwell County | $50,605 | 18,299 | $49,910 | $664 |
| 80 | Washington | Beaufort County | $50,313 | 9,726 | $40,186 | $856 |
| 81 | Elizabeth City | Pasquotank County | $50,275 | 18,871 | $52,141 | $1,117 |
| 82 | Kinston | Lenoir County | $50,091 | 19,505 | $36,878 | $867 |
| 83 | Laurinburg | Scotland County | $50,042 | 15,087 | $42,170 | $774 |
| 84 | Mount Airy | Surry County | $49,330 | 10,633 | $40,275 | $725 |
| 85 | Goldsboro | Wayne County | $49,087 | 34,383 | $48,540 | $971 |
| 86 | Morganton | Burke County | $48,986 | 17,646 | $51,355 | $944 |
| 87 | Tarboro | Edgecombe County | $48,402 | 10,770 | $49,796 | $843 |
| 88 | Boone | Watauga County | $48,024 | 20,032 | $30,065 | $1,111 |
| 89 | Henderson | Vance County | $47,261 | 14,885 | $39,969 | $848 |
| 90 | Roanoke Rapids | Halifax County | $47,039 | 14,856 | $53,690 | $858 |
| 91 | Anderson Creek (unincorporated) | Harnett County | $46,955 | 13,927 | $87,287 | $1,251 |
| 92 | Spout Springs (unincorporated) | Harnett County | $46,955 | 11,242 | $92,402 | $2,010 |
| 93 | Jacksonville | Onslow County | $46,885 | 71,279 | $57,697 | $1,321 |
| 94 | Piney Green (unincorporated) | Onslow County | $46,885 | 14,078 | $72,177 | $1,202 |
| 95 | Waynesville | Haywood County | $46,227 | 10,502 | $54,923 | $1,070 |
| 96 | Lumberton | Robeson County | $45,957 | 18,859 | $42,877 | $866 |
| 97 | Morehead City | Carteret County | $45,708 | 9,806 | $56,233 | $1,134 |
| 98 | Eden | Rockingham County | $45,428 | 15,356 | $47,260 | $799 |
| 99 | Reidsville | Rockingham County | $45,428 | 14,585 | $42,921 | $822 |
| 100 | Albemarle | Stanly County | $44,697 | 16,762 | $46,881 | $880 |
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Unincorporated places are census-designated places: they have no city government but are counted as communities. County figures describe the whole county where the city lies.
Durham, with $98,601 (among the 100 largest places; ACS 2020–2024).
The 100 largest places in North Carolina by population.