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Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA-861, Census ACS, DOE LEAD, FEMA National Risk Index, OpenFEMA NFIP · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Counties in North Carolina ranked

5.5%of income goes to home energy in Hyde County, the highest of 100 North Carolina counties

Orange County is lowest at 1.4%, a gap of 3.8 times. The median North Carolina county sits at 2.8%, against 3.3% for the median U.S. county. Source for North Carolina: DOE LEAD 2022.

North Carolina county map

North Carolina counties, shaded by quintile of the selected measureTyrrell County: 3.6%Alleghany County: 3.3%Cabarrus County: 1.9%Perquimans County: 3.4%Caswell County: 3.3%Duplin County: 3.8%Person County: 3.0%Franklin County: 2.9%Dare County: 1.9%Carteret County: 2.0%Burke County: 2.5%Guilford County: 2.0%Rowan County: 2.3%Henderson County: 2.0%Haywood County: 3.2%Martin County: 4.3%Hyde County: 5.5%Lee County: 2.6%Wake County: 1.4%Scotland County: 4.3%Wayne County: 2.8%Davidson County: 2.6%Pamlico County: 2.9%Alamance County: 2.3%Ashe County: 3.5%Vance County: 3.4%Bladen County: 4.3%Jones County: 3.4%Wilson County: 3.3%Bertie County: 5.1%Graham County: 3.1%New Hanover County: 1.7%Robeson County: 4.1%Buncombe County: 1.8%Chatham County: 1.8%Rockingham County: 3.0%Hoke County: 2.8%Iredell County: 1.9%Lenoir County: 3.8%Caldwell County: 2.8%Pasquotank County: 2.9%McDowell County: 2.7%Onslow County: 2.1%Halifax County: 4.5%Rutherford County: 2.9%Transylvania County: 2.5%Craven County: 2.4%Camden County: 2.7%Warren County: 4.0%Swain County: 2.9%Davie County: 2.2%Forsyth County: 2.0%Hertford County: 4.6%Lincoln County: 2.1%Pender County: 2.1%Jackson County: 2.7%Yadkin County: 2.7%Watauga County: 2.8%Northampton County: 4.2%Macon County: 2.8%Gates County: 4.1%Gaston County: 2.4%Madison County: 2.8%Durham County: 1.6%Harnett County: 2.8%Chowan County: 4.4%Johnston County: 2.5%Polk County: 2.4%Washington County: 4.7%Granville County: 2.7%Edgecombe County: 3.8%Brunswick County: 2.0%Mitchell County: 3.3%Alexander County: 2.5%Stanly County: 2.8%Mecklenburg County: 1.5%Avery County: 3.2%Richmond County: 4.2%Yancey County: 3.4%Currituck County: 2.3%Pitt County: 2.9%Randolph County: 2.8%Orange County: 1.4%Wilkes County: 3.1%Sampson County: 3.7%Anson County: 4.2%Moore County: 2.1%Greene County: 4.8%Surry County: 2.9%Nash County: 3.2%Cherokee County: 3.1%Beaufort County: 3.3%Cumberland County: 2.6%Clay County: 2.9%Stokes County: 2.8%Union County: 1.9%Cleveland County: 3.1%Columbus County: 3.9%Montgomery County: 2.8%Catawba County: 2.3%
  • 1.4% to 2.2%
  • 2.2% to 2.8%
  • 2.8% to 3.0%
  • 3.0% to 3.8%
  • 3.8% to 5.5%

North Carolina counties, darker = higher. Click one for its page.

Highest energy burden in North Carolina

Hyde County leads North Carolina on burden at 5.5% of income and Bertie County follows at 5.1%. For lower-income homes the top is Hyde County: 16.1% of income, against 9.1% in the median North Carolina county.

home energy burden, % of income, top 10 North Carolina counties

  • Hyde County5.5
  • Bertie County5.1
  • Greene County4.8
  • Washington County4.7
  • Hertford County4.6
  • Halifax County4.5
  • Chowan County4.4
  • Scotland County4.3
  • Martin County4.3
  • Bladen County4.3
  • North Carolina median county2.8
North Carolina counties with the lowest home energy burden
Lowest burden in North CarolinaShare of income (NC)Residents (NC)
Orange County1.4%147,292
Wake County1.4%1,151,009
Mecklenburg County1.5%1,130,906
Durham County1.6%329,405
New Hanover County1.7%231,214

Storm reports and FEMA risk in North Carolina

NOAA logged 135 damaging-wind, tornado, tropical, ice, winter and heat reports in Caswell County from 2015 to 2025, 595 for every 100,000 residents: the most in North Carolina. FEMA scores Mecklenburg County highest at 97.1 (relatively high). In North Carolina these are weather reports and an index, not outage counts.

North Carolina top 5: Storm reports per 100,000 residents
Top 5 in North Carolinareports 2015-2025 (NC)Residents (NC)Rank (NC)
Caswell County59522,6891st
Jones County5959,2452nd
Alleghany County56011,0753rd
Gates County51710,4374th
Washington County45910,9055th
North Carolina top 5: FEMA risk score
Top 5 in North Carolinascore 0-100 (NC)Residents (NC)Rank (NC)
Mecklenburg County97.11,130,9061st
New Hanover County96.1231,2142nd
Brunswick County95.8145,8893rd
Wake County95.51,151,0094th
Onslow County95.0208,5375th

Flood claims and flood insurance in North Carolina

Hyde County has the most NFIP flood claims per 1,000 homes in North Carolina: 230.1 from 2015 to 2025, against 3.3 in the median North Carolina county. Dare County has the highest share of homes with flood insurance (39.7%, median county 0.8%). Claims are a record of insured losses, not outage counts.

North Carolina top 5: Flood claims per 1,000 homes
Top 5 in North Carolinaclaims 2015-2025 (NC)Residents (NC)Rank (NC)
Hyde County230.14,6251st
Pamlico County192.112,3152nd
Dare County106.837,5343rd
Tyrrell County93.73,3764th
Beaufort County70.544,5975th
North Carolina top 5: Flood insurance penetration
Top 5 in North Carolina% of homes insured (NC)Residents (NC)Rank (NC)
Dare County39.7%37,5341st
Hyde County32.6%4,6252nd
Pamlico County26.2%12,3153rd
Brunswick County21.5%145,8894th
Carteret County21.5%68,6525th

FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP, as of 8 Sep 2026. Flood claims by county.

Outliers: North Carolina counties far from the state median

10 county-measure pairs sit 3 or more scaled median-absolute-deviation units from the North Carolina median. Most extreme: Hyde County, flood claims per 1,000 homes 230.1 against a median of 3.3.

North Carolina outliers by deviation from the state median
CountyMeasureValueNorth Carolina medianDeviations
Hyde CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes230.13.3+54.8
Pamlico CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes192.13.3+45.6
Dare CountyFlood insurance penetration39.7%0.8%+45.2
Hyde CountyFlood insurance penetration32.6%0.8%+37.0
Pamlico CountyFlood insurance penetration26.2%0.8%+29.5
Dare CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes106.83.3+25.0
Brunswick CountyFlood insurance penetration21.5%0.8%+24.1
Carteret CountyFlood insurance penetration21.5%0.8%+24.0
Tyrrell CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes93.73.3+21.9
Currituck CountyFlood insurance penetration19.2%0.8%+21.4

Old homes, electric heat and utilities in North Carolina

Anson County has the oldest stock: 62% of homes date from before 1980. Electric heat is most common in Dare County at 93% of homes, and Edgecombe County lists 6 utilities, the most in North Carolina.

North Carolina top 5: Homes built before 1980
Top 5 in North Carolina% of homes (NC)Residents (NC)Rank (NC)
Anson County62%21,9031st
Washington County60%10,9052nd
Richmond County59%42,8183rd
Stanly County58%63,5574th
Martin County56%21,7735th
North Carolina top 5: Homes heated by electricity
Top 5 in North Carolina% of homes (NC)Residents (NC)Rank (NC)
Dare County93%37,5341st
Onslow County92%208,5372nd
Pender County89%63,4753rd
New Hanover County88%231,2144th
Carteret County87%68,6525th

Find your North Carolina county

  • Pick a North Carolina county to see its ranks.

All 100 North Carolina counties, sortable

100 North Carolina counties, all measures
Alamance County174,2862.3%7.8%7777.142%51%41.40.6%134
Alexander County36,4402.5%7.4%15945.843%80%3no data0.1%58
Alleghany County11,0753.3%10.2%56034.747%47%10.70.2%62
Anson County21,9034.2%10.8%37050.062%55%3no data0.0%81
Ashe County26,8313.5%10.1%42166.849%47%15.11.1%113
Avery County17,6433.2%10.1%23847.537%41%39.31.7%42
Beaufort County44,5973.3%11.1%22288.251%59%570.513.5%99
Bertie County17,4825.1%15.5%24066.449%61%316.40.9%42
Bladen County29,5914.3%12.5%29484.646%74%47.70.9%87
Brunswick County145,8892.0%8.9%4795.815%87%335.721.5%68
Buncombe County271,7901.8%6.2%2889.338%64%46.61.0%76
Burke County87,8632.5%7.9%16870.251%71%42.10.3%148
Cabarrus County231,2621.9%8.0%3487.131%55%50.80.5%78
Caldwell County80,6182.8%7.6%9367.449%69%41.00.4%75
Camden County10,7432.7%8.8%3822.523%80%224.213.7%41
Carteret County68,6522.0%7.6%20793.530%87%265.621.5%142
Caswell County22,6893.3%10.6%59522.447%63%3no data0.0%135
Catawba County162,0512.3%7.9%5380.642%72%31.70.3%86
Chatham County78,3191.8%9.8%21767.225%52%51.10.7%170
Cherokee County29,1973.1%8.7%22956.725%69%41.60.8%67
Chowan County13,8144.4%12.9%25334.353%56%34.93.4%35
Clay County11,3912.9%9.5%28126.936%59%13.02.0%32
Cleveland County100,1703.1%9.5%9470.051%72%30.40.1%94
Columbus County50,4533.9%11.0%21086.949%74%323.92.2%106
Craven County101,0742.4%8.2%15293.633%74%565.111.7%154
Cumberland County336,7492.6%8.2%4089.539%77%55.01.2%134
Currituck County29,6122.3%9.5%27718.119%85%254.919.2%82
Dare County37,5341.9%8.2%30989.625%93%2106.839.7%116
Davidson County171,0632.6%8.7%9187.243%70%40.60.3%155
Davie County43,5262.2%8.7%11341.737%72%20.30.3%49
Duplin County49,0533.8%9.8%22689.441%75%418.92.6%111
Durham County329,4051.6%6.4%4189.632%60%42.11.3%134
Edgecombe County48,7773.8%11.1%14876.456%60%619.93.5%72
Forsyth County386,7402.0%7.4%5791.545%63%40.80.4%219
Franklin County71,9622.9%10.4%17251.725%72%2no data0.3%124
Gaston County231,4852.4%8.6%3784.948%57%50.50.4%86
Gates County10,4374.1%12.8%51710.536%64%22.71.1%54
Graham County8,0413.1%9.2%41020.139%69%1no data0.8%33
Granville County61,4392.7%11.2%13559.434%65%60.20.2%83
Greene County20,4214.8%11.8%22062.644%74%26.30.7%45
Guilford County542,9872.0%7.3%3893.442%54%41.10.4%208
Halifax County48,2194.5%13.1%24372.951%62%40.50.3%117
Harnett County136,5032.8%9.3%7575.327%83%31.80.7%102
Haywood County62,4323.2%11.2%5977.245%60%212.52.0%37
Henderson County117,3872.0%7.5%5583.836%60%25.61.0%64
Hertford County20,4924.6%12.6%28368.256%61%23.20.5%58
Hoke County53,1022.8%10.6%11150.121%85%21.50.5%59
Hyde County4,6255.5%16.1%under 5,000 residents66.452%57%2230.132.6%56
Iredell County191,8001.9%7.4%7080.827%62%30.30.2%134
Jackson County43,0892.7%7.9%11480.533%67%32.41.2%49
Johnston County226,6232.5%8.9%9385.623%78%52.60.7%211
Jones County9,2453.4%10.5%59564.543%79%524.84.2%55
Lee County64,5652.6%8.4%12967.536%77%21.40.5%83
Lenoir County54,9173.8%10.0%12284.655%71%417.61.5%67
Lincoln County90,3592.1%8.0%8173.831%74%30.20.2%73
Macon County37,5332.8%8.8%9673.836%65%21.60.8%36
Madison County21,6402.8%11.1%21727.439%46%34.21.0%47
Martin County21,7734.3%13.1%27665.556%65%30.60.5%60
McDowell County44,6792.7%7.7%30059.245%70%43.30.7%134
Mecklenburg County1,130,9061.5%6.9%1397.126%51%51.50.8%146
Mitchell County14,9733.3%11.6%19424.053%37%32.10.6%29
Montgomery County25,8742.8%8.9%31749.045%75%4no data0.1%82
Moore County102,8402.1%8.8%16375.631%81%53.41.3%168
Nash County95,4513.2%10.2%13280.642%66%65.51.4%126
New Hanover County231,2141.7%6.9%4496.131%88%127.414.7%102
Northampton County17,2124.2%13.9%32544.252%67%30.50.2%56
Onslow County208,5372.1%6.0%4795.026%92%415.86.3%98
Orange County147,2921.4%8.1%10579.134%59%37.41.5%155
Pamlico County12,3152.9%10.9%26872.436%79%2192.126.2%33
Pasquotank County40,8302.9%9.1%11358.739%76%39.511.0%46
Pender County63,4752.1%8.4%11786.922%89%350.616.1%74
Perquimans County13,1463.4%11.9%32737.735%72%33.86.0%43
Person County39,2753.0%12.0%32341.544%63%50.40.1%127
Pitt County172,2792.9%8.7%5389.830%80%65.22.3%92
Polk County19,6892.4%8.9%31036.947%68%36.20.8%61
Randolph County145,3222.8%8.2%16480.642%71%60.40.2%238
Richmond County42,8184.2%11.4%16660.859%70%20.70.2%71
Robeson County116,8584.1%10.9%9491.141%80%432.52.6%110
Rockingham County91,5853.0%8.8%20771.952%64%20.40.1%190
Rowan County148,4872.3%7.4%8182.947%68%30.50.3%120
Rutherford County64,8502.9%9.0%16772.750%72%42.70.3%108
Sampson County59,2453.7%9.9%24090.242%81%43.70.5%142
Scotland County34,3534.3%12.1%22463.648%80%31.30.4%77
Stanly County63,5572.8%9.4%13158.858%73%51.00.2%83
Stokes County44,8892.8%8.3%35639.746%76%30.20.1%160
Surry County71,4072.9%9.2%28673.651%72%2no data0.1%204
Swain County14,0652.9%10.8%28449.137%64%12.90.9%40
Transylvania County33,2432.5%8.8%12064.244%63%24.61.6%40
Tyrrell County3,3763.6%10.1%under 5,000 residents46.046%80%193.716.6%32
Union County244,9751.9%8.6%2789.120%45%40.60.4%66
Vance County42,3613.4%10.6%15148.449%73%3no data0.1%64
Wake County1,151,0091.4%7.2%3295.519%55%41.10.8%367
Warren County18,7514.0%12.9%44850.836%69%3no data0.2%84
Washington County10,9054.7%13.5%45959.660%66%26.43.5%50
Watauga County54,6072.8%8.9%22271.936%54%310.12.0%121
Wayne County117,6062.8%8.5%9990.445%82%39.71.3%116
Wilkes County65,9833.1%8.6%27182.651%72%40.30.1%179
Wilson County78,6483.3%10.3%13976.342%65%45.11.3%109
Yadkin County37,4192.7%8.3%30238.448%79%3no data0.1%113
Yancey County18,6763.4%11.3%18242.238%34%27.81.6%34

Download CSV, 100 rows

North Carolina: click a header to sort. Per-capita storm rates start at 5,000 residents.

Sources

North Carolina sources with periods and retrieval dates
SourcePeriodRetrieved
DOE LEAD (NC)20222 Oct 2026
FEMA NRI (NC)Dec 20252 Oct 2026
NOAA Storm Events (NC)2015 to 20252 Oct 2026
Census ACS (NC)2019 to 20232 Oct 2026
EIA-861 (NC)20241 Oct 2026

North Carolina LEAD figures are group estimates, not bills. Methodology.

Keep going

Other states: North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island.

Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest home energy burden?

Hyde County: 5.5% of income, against 2.8% for the median North Carolina county (DOE LEAD 2022).

Which North Carolina county has the lowest energy burden?

Orange County at 1.4% of income.

How does North Carolina compare with the whole country?

The median North Carolina county has a burden of 2.8% and the median U.S. county 3.3%, across 100 North Carolina counties and 3,053 U.S. counties with data.

Where do storms cause the most trouble in North Carolina?

Caswell County has the most NOAA storm reports per 100,000 residents: 595 between 2015 and 2025.

Which North Carolina county has the highest FEMA risk score?

Mecklenburg County: 97.1, rated relatively high by FEMA (Dec 2025).

Where are the oldest homes in North Carolina?

Anson County: 62% of homes were built before 1980; the median North Carolina county is at 42% (Census ACS 2023).

Which North Carolina county relies most on electric heat?

Dare County: 93% of homes heat with electricity, against 69% in the median county.

Which North Carolina county has the most flood claims per home?

Hyde County: 230.1 NFIP claims per 1,000 homes from 2015 to 2025; the median North Carolina county has 3.3 (FEMA OpenFEMA).

Are storm reports the same as power outages in North Carolina?

No: in North Carolina they are weather reports, not outage counts.

Where can North Carolina households get help with bills?

See the North Carolina help page. Highest burden: Hyde County.

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5.5% of income goes to home energy in Hyde County, the highest of 100 North Carolina counties