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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in North Carolina

8 persistent-poverty counties

North Carolina has 8 persistent-poverty counties and 55 nonmetro counties — home to 462,999 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 13.2% and child poverty is 18.1%.

8

Persistent-poverty counties

55

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

463K

Residents in PPCs

100

Total counties

North Carolina by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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North Carolina at a glance

Poverty rate

13.2%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

18.1%

Under 18

PPC share

8.0%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

55.0%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

1.84

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.22

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides North Carolina's 195 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 100 in North Carolina.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Washington 0.70
  2. 2 Northampton 0.68
  3. 3 Bertie 0.68
  4. 4 Bladen 0.65
  5. 5 Columbus 0.56

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Robeson 28.8%
  2. 2 Scotland 26.6%
  3. 3 Halifax 25.2%
  4. 4 Richmond 25.2%
  5. 5 Washington 24.7%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Robeson 28.8%
  2. 2 Halifax 25.2%
  3. 3 Washington 24.7%
  4. 4 Bladen 21.2%
  5. 5 Northampton 20.0%

Every county in North Carolina

All 100 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Alamance 3 — — 14.1% 18.7% 174,286 0.13
Alexander 2 — — 12.1% 19.7% 36,440 0.09
Alleghany 9 — Retire. 17.4% 33.3% 11,075 0.37
Anson 1 — Low emp., Low ed., Housing 21.2% 35.5% 21,903 0.08
Ashe 9 — — 14.1% 14.5% 26,831 0.36
Avery 9 — Low emp. 11.0% 11.8% 17,643 0.34
Beaufort 6 — Housing 18.0% 32.1% 44,597 0.26
Bertie 9 Yes Low emp., Housing 19.8% 26.7% 17,482 0.68
Bladen 8 Yes Housing 21.2% 35.3% 29,591 0.65
Brunswick 2 — Retire. 9.4% 13.1% 145,889 0.08
Buncombe 2 — Housing, Retire. 11.8% 15.2% 271,790 0.08
Burke 2 — — 17.9% 30.8% 87,863 0.11
Cabarrus 1 — — 8.9% 11.8% 231,262 0.04
Caldwell 2 — — 12.7% 18.5% 80,618 0.09
Camden 1 — — 5.0% 5.9% 10,743 0.02
Carteret 4 — Retire. 10.0% 12.5% 68,652 0.15
Caswell 8 — — 15.7% 18.9% 22,689 0.33
Catawba 2 — — 12.8% 17.6% 162,051 0.09
Chatham 2 — Retire. 10.5% 16.3% 78,319 0.08
Cherokee 9 — Retire. 14.6% 22.9% 29,197 0.36
Chowan 8 — — 20.5% 37.9% 13,814 0.34
Clay 9 — Housing, Retire. 13.5% 6.0% 11,391 0.35
Cleveland 4 — — 17.2% 27.1% 100,170 0.18
Columbus 6 Yes Housing 18.8% 26.1% 50,453 0.56
Craven 4 — — 13.9% 19.6% 101,074 0.17
Cumberland 2 — Low emp., Housing 17.2% 23.4% 336,749 0.11
Currituck 1 — Retire. 7.6% 10.8% 29,612 0.03
Dare 4 — Housing, Retire. 7.5% 12.2% 37,534 0.14
Davidson 2 — — 13.8% 21.2% 171,063 0.09
Davie 2 — — 10.0% 15.3% 43,526 0.08
Duplin 8 — — 17.9% 29.6% 49,053 0.33
Durham 2 — Housing 12.0% 16.8% 329,405 0.09
Edgecombe 3 — Housing 21.9% 37.9% 48,777 0.16
Forsyth 2 — — 14.7% 22.5% 386,740 0.10
Franklin 1 — — 10.1% 12.9% 71,962 0.04
Gaston 1 — — 12.8% 16.3% 231,485 0.05
Gates 1 — — 11.8% 11.2% 10,437 0.05
Graham 9 — — 8.7% 4.1% 8,041 0.33
Granville 6 — — 14.1% 17.4% 61,439 0.24
Greene 8 — Low emp., Housing 22.4% 40.0% 20,421 0.35
Guilford 2 — Housing 15.2% 21.2% 542,987 0.10
Halifax 4 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 25.2% 38.9% 48,219 0.51
Harnett 4 — — 14.5% 20.1% 136,503 0.17
Haywood 4 — Retire. 11.3% 16.4% 62,432 0.16
Henderson 2 — Retire. 11.7% 19.5% 117,387 0.08
Hertford 8 — Housing 21.4% 31.0% 20,492 0.35
Hoke 2 — Low emp., Housing 17.4% 20.5% 53,102 0.11
Hyde 9 — Low emp., Pop. loss, Housing 22.4% 36.1% 4,625 0.39
Iredell 1 — — 9.1% 11.5% 191,800 0.04
Jackson 7 — Retire. 19.3% 27.2% 43,089 0.30
Johnston 1 — Retire. 11.2% 16.0% 226,623 0.04
Jones 8 — Pop. loss 21.3% 25.0% 9,245 0.35
Lee 4 — — 15.5% 23.9% 64,565 0.17
Lenoir 4 — Pop. loss, Housing 22.5% 32.4% 54,917 0.20
Lincoln 1 — — 9.0% 9.4% 90,359 0.04
Macon 7 — Retire. 14.4% 18.9% 37,533 0.28
Madison 2 — — 11.4% 11.3% 21,640 0.08
Martin 6 — Pop. loss 19.6% 32.9% 21,773 0.27
McDowell 6 — — 14.0% 17.5% 44,679 0.24
Mecklenburg 1 — Housing 10.4% 14.9% 1,130,906 0.04
Mitchell 8 — Pop. loss 13.0% 10.5% 14,973 0.31
Montgomery 8 — — 16.1% 21.8% 25,874 0.33
Moore 3 — Retire. 10.0% 14.2% 102,840 0.12
Nash 3 — Housing 14.0% 20.3% 95,451 0.13
New Hanover 2 — Housing, Retire. 12.4% 14.4% 231,214 0.09
Northampton 9 Yes Housing 20.0% 32.0% 17,212 0.68
Onslow 3 — Low emp., Housing 11.7% 15.2% 208,537 0.12
Orange 2 — Housing 12.4% 10.5% 147,292 0.09
Pamlico 9 — — 12.4% 17.4% 12,315 0.35
Pasquotank 4 — Housing 10.0% 9.6% 40,830 0.15
Pender 2 — Retire. 10.7% 13.6% 63,475 0.08
Perquimans 8 — Retire. 11.4% 12.6% 13,146 0.31
Person 2 — — 18.4% 31.4% 39,275 0.11
Pitt 3 Yes Housing 19.4% 22.1% 172,279 0.45
Polk 8 — — 13.7% 21.5% 19,689 0.32
Randolph 2 — — 14.8% 19.7% 145,322 0.10
Richmond 4 — Housing 25.2% 39.6% 42,818 0.21
Robeson 4 Yes — 28.8% 40.1% 116,858 0.53
Rockingham 2 — — 16.8% 25.4% 91,585 0.10
Rowan 1 — — 15.8% 23.1% 148,487 0.06
Rutherford 4 — — 17.6% 21.8% 64,850 0.18
Sampson 6 — — 20.2% 31.3% 59,245 0.27
Scotland 6 — Low emp., Housing 26.6% 40.6% 34,353 0.29
Stanly 6 — — 14.2% 21.0% 63,557 0.24
Stokes 2 — — 12.0% 15.7% 44,889 0.09
Surry 6 — — 16.7% 19.7% 71,407 0.25
Swain 9 — — 21.1% 36.8% 14,065 0.38
Transylvania 6 — Retire. 14.2% 21.8% 33,243 0.24
Tyrrell 9 — Low emp., Low ed. 20.8% 44.9% 3,376 0.38
Union 1 — — 7.7% 9.9% 244,975 0.03
Vance 6 — Housing 19.0% 29.0% 42,361 0.26
Wake 1 — — 7.9% 9.0% 1,151,009 0.03
Warren 8 — Housing 22.2% 37.8% 18,751 0.35
Washington 9 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 24.7% 33.7% 10,905 0.70
Watauga 5 — Housing 24.7% 10.5% 54,607 0.25
Wayne 3 — Housing 16.9% 25.6% 117,606 0.14
Wilkes 6 — — 16.4% 25.5% 65,983 0.25
Wilson 4 — Housing 21.0% 31.9% 78,648 0.20
Yadkin 2 — — 13.6% 20.6% 37,419 0.09
Yancey 8 — Retire. 14.9% 20.6% 18,676 0.32

Find a food pantry in North Carolina

Search North Carolina's 195 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

North Carolina pantry directory

North Carolina SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

North Carolina SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

North Carolina food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology