Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year
Highest Salary Needed to Buy a Home in North Carolina
What a household has to earn to buy the county's own median home under the standard 28% rule, meaning housing costs at no more than 28% of gross income, counting the full monthly bill rather than just the mortgage. These are the counties where the entry ticket is steepest.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
North Carolina ranked
| # | County | Income needed | Monthly to own | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange County | $144,000 | $3,364 | $428,500 |
| 2 | Wake County | $138,500 | $3,237 | $422,800 |
| 3 | Dare County | $136,500 | $3,189 | $425,400 |
| 4 | Chatham County | $130,500 | $3,044 | $397,800 |
| 5 | Mecklenburg County | $123,500 | $2,879 | $371,200 |
| 6 | Union County | $122,500 | $2,860 | $374,400 |
| 7 | Durham County | $118,500 | $2,766 | $351,700 |
| 8 | Buncombe County | $118,000 | $2,755 | $360,000 |
| 9 | New Hanover County | $116,000 | $2,706 | $353,700 |
| 10 | Currituck County | $113,500 | $2,650 | $351,200 |
| 11 | Transylvania County | $109,000 | $2,546 | $336,100 |
| 12 | Cabarrus County | $107,500 | $2,506 | $318,600 |
| 13 | Henderson County | $104,500 | $2,438 | $317,800 |
| 14 | Watauga County | $104,500 | $2,434 | $321,500 |
| 15 | Brunswick County | $104,000 | $2,427 | $314,700 |
| 16 | Moore County | $104,000 | $2,431 | $315,300 |
| 17 | Carteret County | $99,500 | $2,324 | $304,200 |
| 18 | Iredell County | $98,000 | $2,286 | $292,300 |
| 19 | Camden County | $97,000 | $2,264 | $289,800 |
| 20 | Polk County | $94,000 | $2,194 | $281,100 |
| 21 | Lincoln County | $93,500 | $2,187 | $279,500 |
| 22 | Johnston County | $91,000 | $2,124 | $267,600 |
| 23 | Pender County | $91,000 | $2,122 | $267,100 |
| 24 | Madison County | $88,000 | $2,053 | $263,500 |
| 25 | Clay County | $87,500 | $2,041 | $263,300 |
| 26 | Haywood County | $86,500 | $2,015 | $254,900 |
| 27 | Jackson County | $84,000 | $1,959 | $253,900 |
| 28 | Franklin County | $83,000 | $1,940 | $240,900 |
| 29 | Guilford County | $82,500 | $1,930 | $234,900 |
| 30 | Gaston County | $82,000 | $1,914 | $235,000 |
| 31 | Granville County | $81,500 | $1,903 | $235,700 |
| 32 | Davie County | $81,000 | $1,890 | $235,300 |
| 33 | Forsyth County | $80,000 | $1,872 | $227,800 |
| 34 | Avery County | $78,500 | $1,826 | $233,200 |
| 35 | Pasquotank County | $77,500 | $1,810 | $223,300 |
| 36 | Harnett County | $77,000 | $1,801 | $220,700 |
| 37 | Macon County | $77,000 | $1,800 | $229,000 |
| 38 | Alamance County | $76,500 | $1,787 | $221,200 |
| 39 | Onslow County | $76,000 | $1,775 | $219,500 |
| 40 | Ashe County | $75,500 | $1,767 | $221,900 |
| 41 | Catawba County | $75,500 | $1,757 | $218,100 |
| 42 | Lee County | $75,500 | $1,761 | $213,800 |
| 43 | Yancey County | $75,500 | $1,763 | $222,300 |
| 44 | Rowan County | $75,000 | $1,752 | $216,100 |
| 45 | Stanly County | $74,500 | $1,733 | $214,300 |
| 46 | Perquimans County | $73,500 | $1,714 | $211,600 |
| 47 | Pamlico County | $73,000 | $1,698 | $209,800 |
| 48 | Chowan County | $72,000 | $1,674 | $204,400 |
| 49 | Craven County | $72,000 | $1,684 | $206,200 |
| 50 | Cherokee County | $71,500 | $1,673 | $208,700 |
| 51 | Swain County | $71,500 | $1,663 | $209,800 |
| 52 | Davidson County | $70,000 | $1,635 | $200,100 |
| 53 | Pitt County | $70,000 | $1,629 | $194,300 |
| 54 | Alleghany County | $69,500 | $1,622 | $199,000 |
| 55 | Mitchell County | $69,500 | $1,627 | $202,100 |
| 56 | Hoke County | $69,000 | $1,616 | $196,000 |
| 57 | Person County | $68,000 | $1,589 | $192,800 |
| 58 | Cumberland County | $67,500 | $1,574 | $183,700 |
| 59 | Alexander County | $67,000 | $1,563 | $190,000 |
| 60 | Stokes County | $66,000 | $1,539 | $186,800 |
| 61 | Beaufort County | $65,000 | $1,512 | $181,200 |
| 62 | Cleveland County | $64,500 | $1,503 | $180,200 |
| 63 | Rutherford County | $64,000 | $1,491 | $180,800 |
| 64 | Yadkin County | $63,000 | $1,475 | $176,400 |
| 65 | Wilson County | $62,500 | $1,463 | $171,800 |
| 66 | Caldwell County | $62,000 | $1,452 | $174,000 |
| 67 | Nash County | $62,000 | $1,450 | $171,100 |
| 68 | Randolph County | $62,000 | $1,446 | $171,600 |
| 69 | Burke County | $61,500 | $1,435 | $170,500 |
| 70 | Gates County | $60,000 | $1,399 | $163,900 |
| 71 | McDowell County | $60,000 | $1,394 | $168,300 |
| 72 | Surry County | $60,000 | $1,395 | $166,400 |
| 73 | Wayne County | $59,500 | $1,386 | $162,700 |
| 74 | Wilkes County | $58,500 | $1,360 | $161,400 |
| 75 | Rockingham County | $57,500 | $1,344 | $156,000 |
| 76 | Graham County | $56,000 | $1,310 | $155,800 |
| 77 | Caswell County | $55,500 | $1,295 | $151,200 |
| 78 | Montgomery County | $55,500 | $1,292 | $150,300 |
| 79 | Vance County | $54,500 | $1,276 | $146,300 |
| 80 | Tyrrell County | $52,500 | $1,229 | $138,400 |
| 81 | Columbus County | $49,500 | $1,154 | $128,300 |
| 82 | Bladen County | $49,000 | $1,139 | $125,800 |
| 83 | Sampson County | $49,000 | $1,149 | $128,400 |
| 84 | Warren County | $48,000 | $1,125 | $124,700 |
| 85 | Duplin County | $47,500 | $1,103 | $123,200 |
| 86 | Richmond County | $47,500 | $1,105 | $120,800 |
| 87 | Anson County | $47,000 | $1,094 | $119,300 |
| 88 | Edgecombe County | $47,000 | $1,092 | $116,800 |
| 89 | Jones County | $47,000 | $1,100 | $122,600 |
| 90 | Hyde County | $45,500 | $1,066 | $119,600 |
| 91 | Greene County | $45,000 | $1,049 | $114,000 |
| 92 | Hertford County | $44,500 | $1,038 | $111,100 |
| 93 | Martin County | $44,500 | $1,038 | $109,900 |
| 94 | Lenoir County | $44,000 | $1,032 | $111,400 |
| 95 | Scotland County | $44,000 | $1,023 | $109,900 |
| 96 | Washington County | $44,000 | $1,021 | $107,000 |
| 97 | Halifax County | $42,500 | $989 | $102,500 |
| 98 | Northampton County | $42,500 | $992 | $102,200 |
| 99 | Bertie County | $39,000 | $911 | $95,800 |
| 100 | Robeson County | $37,000 | $867 | $88,600 |
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 Salary Needed to Buy a Home across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in North Carolina