2025

Counties in North Carolina ranked by Non-Hispanic White Population

This list ranks the 98 counties in North Carolina based on their Non-Hispanic White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 13, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Non-Hispanic White population in North Carolina

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  • 1
    Wake County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Wake County is 656,508
    52.43% of Wake County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 2
    Mecklenburg County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Mecklenburg County is 496,297
    40.19% of Mecklenburg County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 3
    Guilford County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Guilford County is 254,315
    43.40% of Guilford County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 4
    Buncombe County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Buncombe County is 220,778
    75.11% of Buncombe County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 5
    Forsyth County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Forsyth County is 209,551
    49.92% of Forsyth County population is Non-Hispanic White

List of 98 counties in North Carolina by Non-Hispanic White Population

View Methodology
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Rank by Non-Hispanic White Population
County
Non-Hispanic White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total North Carolina Non-Hispanic White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Wake County 656,508 52.43% 10.27%
2 Mecklenburg County 496,297 40.19% 7.76%
3 Guilford County 254,315 43.40% 3.98%
4 Buncombe County 220,778 75.11% 3.45%
5 Forsyth County 209,551 49.92% 3.28%
6 New Hanover County 173,634 70.62% 2.72%
7 Union County 166,556 63.16% 2.61%
8 156,914 63.22% 2.46%
9 142,071 58.21% 2.22%
10 140,984 68.92% 2.21%
11 138,134 38.33% 2.16%
12 136,681 36.32% 2.14%
13 135,848 54.13% 2.13%
14 135,161 56.67% 2.11%
15 131,410 71.29% 2.06%
16 118,328 75.69% 1.85%
17 117,583 67.40% 1.84%
18 110,281 71.33% 1.73%
19 103,736 55.45% 1.62%
20 101,680 63.86% 1.59%
21 98,391 62.31% 1.54%
22 93,736 75.19% 1.47%
23 89,498 49.42% 1.40%
24 80,462 54.48% 1.26%
25 78,066 70.26% 1.22%
26 74,853 78.06% 1.17%
27 71,127 66.97% 1.11%
28 69,715 76.02% 1.09%
29 69,065 81.51% 1.08%
30 65,396 60.16% 1.02%
31 64,579 66.17% 1.01%
32 60,037 46.01% 0.94%
33 58,683 80.24% 0.92%
34 58,254 76.78% 0.91%
35 56,783 81.42% 0.89%
36 56,749 86.28% 0.89%
37 54,664 64.83% 0.86%
38 52,623 76.74% 0.82%
39 50,211 76.30% 0.79%
40 48,547 84.71% 0.76%
41 46,877 69.97% 0.73%
42 44,761 44.82% 0.70%
43 43,982 57.20% 0.69%
44 40,212 85.96% 0.63%
45 38,572 82.90% 0.60%
46 36,398 51.33% 0.57%
47 35,895 76.01% 0.56%
48 35,211 42.45% 0.55%
49 33,968 51.50% 0.53%
50 33,866 73.16% 0.53%
51 32,294 81.64% 0.51%
52 32,169 82.21% 0.50%
53 31,262 82.03% 0.49%
54 30,723 77.39% 0.48%
55 29,764 56.34% 0.47%
56 29,528 62.51% 0.46%
57 29,385 47.37% 0.46%
58 29,335 83.39% 0.46%
59 27,575 22.73% 0.43%
60 26,368 45.62% 0.41%
61 26,306 86.47% 0.41%
62 25,433 60.55% 0.40%
63 24,904 47.58% 0.39%
64 24,470 88.08% 0.38%
65 23,602 53.12% 0.37%
66 21,934 50.25% 0.34%
67 19,817 85.76% 0.31%
68 19,436 33.12% 0.30%
69 17,701 34.75% 0.28%
70 17,159 81.90% 0.27%
71 17,157 33.93% 0.27%
72 17,052 87.88% 0.27%
73 16,261 57.92% 0.25%
74 15,937 35.06% 0.25%
75 15,909 52.48% 0.25%
76 15,354 83.75% 0.24%
77 13,946 37.90% 0.22%
78 13,700 88.06% 0.21%
79 13,543 56.16% 0.21%
80 11,169 48.63% 0.17%
81 10,345 89.09% 0.16%
82 9,733 42.70% 0.15%
83 9,375 40.48% 0.15%
84 9,297 79.19% 0.15%
85 9,180 66.64% 0.14%
86 9,112 70.36% 0.14%
87 8,487 55.87% 0.13%
88 8,458 72.37% 0.13%
89 8,293 57.63% 0.13%
90 7,065 35.57% 0.11%
91 6,847 83.50% 0.11%
92 6,707 37.12% 0.10%
93 6,624 31.35% 0.10%
94 6,615 60.79% 0.10%
95 5,994 33.22% 0.09%
96 5,834 58.36% 0.09%
97 4,867 43.15% 0.08%
98 1,834 52.06% 0.03%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in North Carolina by their Non-Hispanic White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Non-Hispanic White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Non-Hispanic White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Non-Hispanic White alone, while others identify as Non-Hispanic White along with another race (such as Non-Hispanic White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White .
  • We’ve used the “Non-Hispanic White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Non-Hispanic White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Non-Hispanic White alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Non-Hispanic White .
  2. % of Total North Carolina Non-Hispanic White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Non-Hispanic White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Non-Hispanic White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported Non-Hispanic White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Non-Hispanic White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.