Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in North Carolina
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
North Carolina ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scotland County | 40.2" | Relatively Low | $109,900 |
| 2 | Buncombe County | 40.6" | Relatively Moderate | $360,000 |
| 3 | Madison County | 41.6" | Very Low | $263,500 |
| 4 | Robeson County | 42.6" | Relatively Moderate | $88,600 |
| 5 | Forsyth County | 43.2" | Relatively Moderate | $227,800 |
| 6 | Alamance County | 43.3" | Relatively Low | $221,200 |
| 7 | Chatham County | 43.6" | Relatively Low | $397,800 |
| 8 | Mecklenburg County | 43.6" | Relatively High | $371,200 |
| 9 | Rowan County | 43.7" | Relatively Moderate | $216,100 |
| 10 | Gaston County | 44.0" | Relatively Moderate | $235,000 |
| 11 | Halifax County | 44.4" | Relatively Low | $102,500 |
| 12 | Nash County | 44.4" | Relatively Low | $171,100 |
| 13 | Davidson County | 45.5" | Relatively Moderate | $200,100 |
| 14 | Mitchell County | 45.9" | Very Low | $202,100 |
| 15 | Yancey County | 45.9" | Very Low | $222,300 |
| 16 | Guilford County | 45.9" | Relatively Moderate | $234,900 |
| 17 | Camden County | 46.5" | Very Low | $289,800 |
| 18 | Currituck County | 46.5" | Very Low | $351,200 |
| 19 | Gates County | 46.5" | Very Low | $163,900 |
| 20 | Pasquotank County | 46.5" | Relatively Low | $223,300 |
| 21 | Perquimans County | 46.5" | Very Low | $211,600 |
| 22 | Dare County | 46.5" | Relatively Moderate | $425,400 |
| 23 | Granville County | 46.6" | Relatively Low | $235,700 |
| 24 | Vance County | 46.6" | Relatively Low | $146,300 |
| 25 | Catawba County | 46.6" | Relatively Low | $218,100 |
| 26 | Randolph County | 46.6" | Relatively Low | $171,600 |
| 27 | Yadkin County | 46.6" | Very Low | $176,400 |
| 28 | Harnett County | 46.6" | Relatively Low | $220,700 |
| 29 | Iredell County | 46.6" | Relatively Low | $292,300 |
| 30 | Orange County | 46.7" | Relatively Low | $428,500 |
| 31 | Davie County | 46.9" | Very Low | $235,300 |
| 32 | Lee County | 46.9" | Relatively Low | $213,800 |
| 33 | Person County | 47.3" | Very Low | $192,800 |
| 34 | Stokes County | 47.4" | Very Low | $186,800 |
| 35 | Edgecombe County | 47.6" | Relatively Low | $116,800 |
| 36 | Warren County | 47.7" | Relatively Low | $124,700 |
| 37 | Anson County | 47.8" | Relatively Low | $119,300 |
| 38 | Rockingham County | 47.8" | Relatively Low | $156,000 |
| 39 | Union County | 47.8" | Relatively Moderate | $374,400 |
| 40 | Moore County | 47.8" | Relatively Low | $315,300 |
| 41 | Cabarrus County | 47.9" | Relatively Moderate | $318,600 |
| 42 | Cumberland County | 47.9" | Relatively Moderate | $183,700 |
| 43 | Montgomery County | 48.1" | Relatively Low | $150,300 |
| 44 | Caswell County | 48.1" | Very Low | $151,200 |
| 45 | Stanly County | 48.3" | Relatively Low | $214,300 |
| 46 | Franklin County | 48.3" | Relatively Low | $240,900 |
| 47 | Hoke County | 48.6" | Relatively Low | $196,000 |
| 48 | Durham County | 48.6" | Relatively Moderate | $351,700 |
| 49 | Wake County | 49.4" | Relatively High | $422,800 |
| 50 | Johnston County | 49.4" | Relatively Moderate | $267,600 |
| 51 | Bertie County | 49.5" | Relatively Low | $95,800 |
| 52 | Lincoln County | 49.5" | Relatively Low | $279,500 |
| 53 | Richmond County | 49.5" | Relatively Low | $120,800 |
| 54 | Hertford County | 49.6" | Relatively Low | $111,100 |
| 55 | Caldwell County | 49.7" | Relatively Low | $174,000 |
| 56 | Haywood County | 50.2" | Relatively Low | $254,900 |
| 57 | Wilson County | 50.3" | Relatively Low | $171,800 |
| 58 | Cleveland County | 50.4" | Relatively Low | $180,200 |
| 59 | Surry County | 50.5" | Relatively Low | $166,400 |
| 60 | Greene County | 50.6" | Relatively Low | $114,000 |
| 61 | Columbus County | 50.9" | Relatively Moderate | $128,300 |
| 62 | Northampton County | 50.9" | Relatively Low | $102,200 |
| 63 | Ashe County | 51.0" | Relatively Low | $221,900 |
| 64 | Chowan County | 51.0" | Very Low | $204,400 |
| 65 | Sampson County | 51.0" | Relatively Moderate | $128,400 |
| 66 | Burke County | 51.5" | Relatively Low | $170,500 |
| 67 | Beaufort County | 51.6" | Relatively Moderate | $181,200 |
| 68 | Wilkes County | 51.7" | Relatively Moderate | $161,400 |
| 69 | Duplin County | 52.0" | Relatively Moderate | $123,200 |
| 70 | Rutherford County | 52.1" | Relatively Low | $180,800 |
| 71 | Wayne County | 52.3" | Relatively Moderate | $162,700 |
| 72 | Alexander County | 52.6" | Relatively Low | $190,000 |
| 73 | Lenoir County | 52.9" | Relatively Moderate | $111,400 |
| 74 | Craven County | 53.0" | Relatively Moderate | $206,200 |
| 75 | Jones County | 53.0" | Relatively Low | $122,600 |
| 76 | Martin County | 53.2" | Relatively Low | $109,900 |
| 77 | Bladen County | 53.3" | Relatively Moderate | $125,800 |
| 78 | Hyde County | 53.4" | Relatively Low | $119,600 |
| 79 | Pitt County | 53.4" | Relatively Moderate | $194,300 |
| 80 | Jackson County | 54.2" | Relatively Low | $253,900 |
| 81 | Washington County | 54.6" | Relatively Low | $107,000 |
| 82 | Tyrrell County | 55.3" | Relatively Low | $138,400 |
| 83 | Macon County | 55.5" | Relatively Low | $229,000 |
| 84 | Carteret County | 55.7" | Relatively Moderate | $304,200 |
| 85 | Onslow County | 56.5" | Relatively High | $219,500 |
| 86 | Brunswick County | 56.5" | Relatively High | $314,700 |
| 87 | McDowell County | 56.6" | Relatively Low | $168,300 |
| 88 | Alleghany County | 57.1" | Very Low | $199,000 |
| 89 | Pamlico County | 58.8" | Relatively Low | $209,800 |
| 90 | Henderson County | 59.0" | Relatively Moderate | $317,800 |
| 91 | Watauga County | 59.1" | Relatively Low | $321,500 |
| 92 | Cherokee County | 59.3" | Relatively Low | $208,700 |
| 93 | Clay County | 59.3" | Very Low | $263,300 |
| 94 | Pender County | 60.1" | Relatively Moderate | $267,100 |
| 95 | Graham County | 63.6" | Very Low | $155,800 |
| 96 | Polk County | 64.3" | Very Low | $281,100 |
| 97 | Avery County | 64.8" | Relatively Low | $233,200 |
| 98 | New Hanover County | 65.1" | Relatively High | $353,700 |
| 99 | Swain County | 73.9" | Relatively Low | $209,800 |
| 100 | Transylvania County | 75.6" | Relatively Low | $336,100 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in North Carolina