Cities with the Highest Poverty Rate in North Carolina
The top 25 of 51 North Carolina cities on GIS Map, ranked by the share of residents below the poverty level.
| # | City | Below poverty level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boone | 51.2% |
| 2 | Lumberton | 30.8% |
| 3 | Lexington | 27.8% |
| 4 | Salisbury | 26.3% |
| 5 | Greenville | 24.6% |
| 6 | Wilson | 23% |
| 7 | Goldsboro | 22.8% |
| 8 | Sanford | 22% |
| 9 | Statesville | 20.4% |
| 10 | Rocky Mount | 19.7% |
| 11 | Manteo | 19.2% |
| 12 | Chapel Hill | 18.6% |
| 13 | Fayetteville | 17.7% |
| 14 | Winston-Salem | 17.7% |
| 15 | Shelby | 17.6% |
| 16 | New Bern | 17.3% |
| 17 | Hickory | 17.1% |
| 18 | Greensboro | 17% |
| 19 | Burlington | 16.4% |
| 20 | Gastonia | 16.3% |
| 21 | Thomasville | 16.3% |
| 22 | Wilmington | 16% |
| 23 | High Point | 15.7% |
| 24 | Hendersonville | 14.6% |
| 25 | Asheville | 14.3% |
Top North Carolina Counties
Counties ranked by the share of residents below the poverty level.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Only cities covered by GIS Map with at least 1,000 residents are ranked. Estimates carry margins of error.
Citing this page: GIS Map, “Cities with the Highest Poverty Rate in North Carolina”, https://gismap.land/rankings/north-carolina/highest-poverty-cities. Figures from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
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