Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Highest Heating Demand in North Carolina
Heating degree days measure how far and how long the outside temperature sits below 65°F across a year, which is the closest single number to how much heat a house has to make. 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 | Heating degree days | Winter low | Monthly to own |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avery County | 6,455 | 21.0°F | $1,826 |
| 2 | Swain County | 6,020 | 22.2°F | $1,663 |
| 3 | Watauga County | 5,689 | 21.6°F | $2,434 |
| 4 | Ashe County | 5,448 | 21.9°F | $1,767 |
| 5 | Alleghany County | 5,148 | 22.3°F | $1,622 |
| 6 | Haywood County | 4,793 | 23.5°F | $2,015 |
| 7 | Madison County | 4,635 | 23.5°F | $2,053 |
| 8 | Mitchell County | 4,576 | 26.5°F | $1,627 |
| 9 | Yancey County | 4,576 | 26.5°F | $1,763 |
| 10 | Surry County | 4,412 | 24.8°F | $1,395 |
| 11 | Graham County | 4,367 | 25.5°F | $1,310 |
| 12 | Transylvania County | 4,302 | 25.2°F | $2,546 |
| 13 | Yadkin County | 4,199 | 25.3°F | $1,475 |
| 14 | Henderson County | 4,168 | 26.5°F | $2,438 |
| 15 | Jackson County | 4,130 | 25.6°F | $1,959 |
| 16 | Macon County | 4,126 | 26.1°F | $1,800 |
| 17 | Davie County | 4,083 | 24.8°F | $1,890 |
| 18 | Cherokee County | 4,041 | 25.3°F | $1,673 |
| 19 | Clay County | 4,041 | 25.3°F | $2,041 |
| 20 | Wilkes County | 4,000 | 27.0°F | $1,360 |
| 21 | Iredell County | 3,995 | 26.4°F | $2,286 |
| 22 | Stokes County | 3,911 | 28.6°F | $1,539 |
| 23 | Buncombe County | 3,879 | 28.7°F | $2,755 |
| 24 | Caldwell County | 3,851 | 27.3°F | $1,452 |
| 25 | Rockingham County | 3,825 | 28.7°F | $1,344 |
| 26 | Burke County | 3,802 | 27.9°F | $1,435 |
| 27 | Person County | 3,801 | 26.4°F | $1,589 |
| 28 | McDowell County | 3,762 | 28.3°F | $1,394 |
| 29 | Durham County | 3,750 | 27.9°F | $2,766 |
| 30 | Hertford County | 3,717 | 28.7°F | $1,038 |
| 31 | Caswell County | 3,699 | 28.9°F | $1,295 |
| 32 | Alexander County | 3,694 | 29.2°F | $1,563 |
| 33 | Northampton County | 3,664 | 28.8°F | $992 |
| 34 | Rutherford County | 3,651 | 27.3°F | $1,491 |
| 35 | Franklin County | 3,647 | 27.5°F | $1,940 |
| 36 | Granville County | 3,574 | 29.5°F | $1,903 |
| 37 | Vance County | 3,574 | 29.5°F | $1,276 |
| 38 | Cleveland County | 3,559 | 26.9°F | $1,503 |
| 39 | Randolph County | 3,539 | 29.4°F | $1,446 |
| 40 | Rowan County | 3,533 | 29.0°F | $1,752 |
| 41 | Davidson County | 3,498 | 28.0°F | $1,635 |
| 42 | Forsyth County | 3,497 | 30.7°F | $1,872 |
| 43 | Orange County | 3,496 | 30.1°F | $3,364 |
| 44 | Duplin County | 3,489 | 29.5°F | $1,103 |
| 45 | Guilford County | 3,438 | 29.8°F | $1,930 |
| 46 | Warren County | 3,343 | 29.2°F | $1,125 |
| 47 | Lincoln County | 3,335 | 30.1°F | $2,187 |
| 48 | Polk County | 3,332 | 31.9°F | $2,194 |
| 49 | Harnett County | 3,324 | 29.3°F | $1,801 |
| 50 | Edgecombe County | 3,322 | 30.1°F | $1,092 |
| 51 | Catawba County | 3,297 | 31.3°F | $1,757 |
| 52 | Cabarrus County | 3,294 | 28.9°F | $2,506 |
| 53 | Hoke County | 3,280 | 29.7°F | $1,616 |
| 54 | Stanly County | 3,276 | 30.9°F | $1,733 |
| 55 | Halifax County | 3,271 | 30.8°F | $989 |
| 56 | Nash County | 3,271 | 30.8°F | $1,450 |
| 57 | Alamance County | 3,268 | 30.0°F | $1,787 |
| 58 | Chatham County | 3,239 | 31.7°F | $3,044 |
| 59 | Union County | 3,199 | 30.3°F | $2,860 |
| 60 | Lee County | 3,180 | 30.6°F | $1,761 |
| 61 | Moore County | 3,172 | 30.6°F | $2,431 |
| 62 | Wake County | 3,165 | 31.6°F | $3,237 |
| 63 | Bertie County | 3,145 | 33.3°F | $911 |
| 64 | Tyrrell County | 3,125 | 32.1°F | $1,229 |
| 65 | Johnston County | 3,078 | 31.4°F | $2,124 |
| 66 | Wilson County | 3,062 | 32.7°F | $1,463 |
| 67 | Mecklenburg County | 3,058 | 31.8°F | $2,879 |
| 68 | Camden County | 3,053 | 33.1°F | $2,264 |
| 69 | Currituck County | 3,053 | 33.1°F | $2,650 |
| 70 | Gates County | 3,053 | 33.1°F | $1,399 |
| 71 | Pasquotank County | 3,053 | 33.1°F | $1,810 |
| 72 | Perquimans County | 3,053 | 33.1°F | $1,714 |
| 73 | Montgomery County | 3,039 | 32.6°F | $1,292 |
| 74 | Martin County | 3,032 | 33.1°F | $1,038 |
| 75 | Sampson County | 3,022 | 32.1°F | $1,149 |
| 76 | Greene County | 3,014 | 31.9°F | $1,049 |
| 77 | Gaston County | 3,004 | 31.4°F | $1,914 |
| 78 | Anson County | 2,997 | 31.8°F | $1,094 |
| 79 | Cumberland County | 2,969 | 31.8°F | $1,574 |
| 80 | Pitt County | 2,937 | 33.0°F | $1,629 |
| 81 | Columbus County | 2,913 | 31.9°F | $1,154 |
| 82 | Dare County | 2,891 | 35.6°F | $3,189 |
| 83 | Bladen County | 2,877 | 31.6°F | $1,139 |
| 84 | Chowan County | 2,868 | 34.4°F | $1,674 |
| 85 | Washington County | 2,843 | 33.6°F | $1,021 |
| 86 | Pamlico County | 2,824 | 34.0°F | $1,698 |
| 87 | Richmond County | 2,822 | 32.6°F | $1,105 |
| 88 | Hyde County | 2,704 | 35.6°F | $1,066 |
| 89 | Craven County | 2,698 | 33.8°F | $1,684 |
| 90 | Jones County | 2,698 | 33.8°F | $1,100 |
| 91 | Wayne County | 2,657 | 34.6°F | $1,386 |
| 92 | Scotland County | 2,656 | 33.7°F | $1,023 |
| 93 | Robeson County | 2,609 | 35.3°F | $867 |
| 94 | Beaufort County | 2,596 | 36.2°F | $1,512 |
| 95 | Lenoir County | 2,503 | 35.3°F | $1,032 |
| 96 | Onslow County | 2,497 | 35.2°F | $1,775 |
| 97 | New Hanover County | 2,431 | 36.1°F | $2,706 |
| 98 | Brunswick County | 2,429 | 36.4°F | $2,427 |
| 99 | Carteret County | 2,378 | 37.5°F | $2,324 |
| 100 | Pender County | 2,326 | 36.3°F | $2,122 |
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
Highest Heating Demand across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in North Carolina