These Are The 10 Richest Cities In North Carolina For 2018

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Weddington, Oak Ridge, Marvin: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in North Carolina. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Tar Heel State.

Weddington in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $125,966 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 1.4%.

If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in North Carolina share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.

How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2012-2016 American Community Survey for the 134 places in North Carolina with more than 5,000 people.

At the end of the day, here’s the set of the 10 richest places in North Carolina for 2018:

For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in North Carolina.

Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the best places to live in North Carolina or the poorest.

How We Determined The Richest Places In North Carolina For 2018

The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.

However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2012-2016 American Community Survey:

Poverty Level
Median Household Income
Unemployment Rate

Richest States In America

Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.

After we collected the data for all 134 places with more than 5,000 people in North Carolina, we ranked each place from 1 to 134 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Weddington, crowned the “Richest Place In North Carolina For 2018”.

You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 134 places.

1. Weddington

Source: Public domain

Population: 10,254
Median Income: $125,966
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 1.4%
More on Weddington: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Oak Ridge

Source: Wikipedia User Ceh2624 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 6,617
Median Income: $109,509
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Oak Ridge: Homes For Sale | Data
Oak Ridge is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,185 at the 2010 census, up from 3,988 at the 2000 census. As of 2015 the population had risen to an estimated 6,671. Oak Ridge is 15 miles (24 km) northwest of the center of Greensboro, North Carolina’s third-largest city, and it is a part of the Piedmont Triad urban area.

3. Marvin

Population: 6,056
Median Income: $185,862
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Marvin: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Summerfield

Source: Flickr User ballance5702 | CC BY 2.0

Population: 10,758
Median Income: $100,724
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 2.2%
More on Summerfield: Homes For Sale | Data
Summerfield is a town in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,018 at the 2000 census. At the 2010 census, the population had risen to 10,232. The official town limits of Summerfield is entirely located within Guilford County.

5. Holly Springs

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Harrison | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 30,126
Median Income: $98,041
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Holly Springs: Homes For Sale | Data
Holly Springs is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 24,661, over 2½ times its population in 2000.

6. Pinehurst

Source: Wikipedia User Leonard J. DeFr | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 15,522
Median Income: $78,338
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 1.7%
More on Pinehurst: Homes For Sale | Data
Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,124. It is home of the historic golf resort, Pinehurst Resort. A large portion of the central village, including the resort complexes, is a National Historic Landmark District, designated in 1996 for its landscape design (by Frederick Law Olmsted) and its significance in the history of golf in the United States.

7. Apex

Source: Public domain

Population: 43,893
Median Income: $95,283
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.6%
More on Apex: Homes For Sale | Data
Apex is a town in Wake County, North Carolina and a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town’s population to be 43,907 as of July 1, 2014.

8. Cary

Source: Wikipedia User Alexisrael | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 155,822
Median Income: $94,617
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 5.9%
More on Cary: Homes For Sale | Data
Cary /kæri/ is the seventh-largest municipality in North Carolina. Cary is predominantly in Wake, with a small area in Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the county’s second-largest municipality and the third-largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham. The town’s population was 135,234 as of the 2010 census (an increase of 43.1% since 2000), making it the largest town and seventh-largest municipality statewide. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town’s population to be 159,769 as of July 1, 2015. Cary is the second most populous incorporated town (behind only Gilbert, Arizona) in the United States.

9. Morrisville

Source: Wikipedia User Ildar Sagdejev | GFDL

Population: 22,600
Median Income: $92,769
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 6.3%
More on Morrisville: Homes For Sale | Data
Morrisville is a town located in both Wake and Durham counties of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 18,576 at the 2010 census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town’s population to be 21,932 as of July 1, 2013. Morrisville is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. The regional name originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located midway between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The Research Triangle region encompasses the U.S. Census Bureau’s Combined Statistical Area (CSA) of Raleigh-Durham-Cary. The estimated population of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary CSA was 1,565,223 as of July 1, 2006, with the Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) portion estimated at 994,551 residents. The U.S. headquarters of Chinese multinational Lenovo are located in the municipal limits.

10. Davidson

Source: Wikipedia User Cscdavidson | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 12,076
Median Income: $109,907
Unemployment Rate: 5.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.7%
More on Davidson: Homes For Sale | Data
Davidson is a lakeside town on Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 10,944 at the 2010 census. It is home to Davidson College. The town is centered on the college from which it takes its name.

There You Have It – The Wealthiest Places In North Carolina For 2018

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in North Carolina, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in North Carolina.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in North Carolina, according to data:

Poorest: Boone
2nd Poorest: Roxboro
3rd Poorest: Henderson

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

10 Best Places To Raise A Family In North Carolina

10 Safest Cities in North Carolina

10 Most Dangerous Cities In North Carolina

Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In North Carolina

Rank	City	RichScore	Median Income
1	Weddington	1.83	$125,966
2	Oak Ridge	3.5	$109,509
3	Marvin	7.0	$185,862
4	Summerfield	7.0	$100,724
5	Holly Springs	8.0	$98,041
6	Pinehurst	10.33	$78,338
7	Apex	12.33	$95,283
8	Cary	12.5	$94,617
9	Morrisville	13.0	$92,769
10	Davidson	14.67	$109,907
11	Cornelius	15.17	$86,355
12	Huntersville	15.67	$90,633
13	Matthews	15.83	$75,205
14	Stokesdale	16.33	$94,934
15	Stallings	18.5	$80,858
16	Waxhaw	20.5	$86,771
17	Wesley Chapel	20.5	$103,438
18	Clemmons	21.5	$67,783
19	Mills River	21.83	$61,863
20	Fletcher	22.17	$58,298
21	Lewisville	22.33	$72,994
22	Wake Forest	23.0	$81,200
23	Harrisburg	25.5	$88,865
24	Mint Hill	25.83	$69,336
25	Indian Trail	26.67	$72,726
26	Unionville	27.33	$63,771
27	Knightdale	28.17	$67,167
28	Winterville	29.17	$63,958
29	King	29.5	$54,471
30	Trinity	33.5	$49,208
31	Carrboro	34.67	$53,513
32	Fuquay-Varina	38.5	$70,226
33	Garner	38.83	$59,812
34	Archdale	39.83	$52,696
35	Mooresville	41.0	$63,632
36	Rolesville	41.5	$91,000
37	Clayton	41.5	$60,989
38	Wendell	42.33	$47,295
39	Boiling Spring Lakes	42.33	$51,094
40	Mebane	42.67	$56,037
41	Leland	43.17	$61,127
42	Raleigh	43.17	$58,641
43	Carolina Beach	43.33	$61,171
44	Oak Island	43.67	$52,462
45	Chapel Hill	44.33	$65,373
46	Kernersville	44.83	$48,383
47	Belmont	47.33	$60,314
48	Gibsonville	49.0	$51,316
49	Hillsborough	49.0	$50,240
50	Nashville	49.5	$45,656
51	Aberdeen	49.5	$49,104
52	Concord	51.5	$56,459
53	Elon	53.0	$45,767
54	Asheville	53.83	$44,946
55	Durham	54.67	$52,115
56	Black Mountain	56.0	$41,807
57	Mount Holly	56.33	$48,712
58	Southern Pines	57.0	$47,235
59	Kill Devil Hills	57.33	$48,517
60	Charlotte	57.5	$55,599
61	Butner	58.17	$46,642
62	Pineville	59.0	$40,597
63	Hope Mills	63.83	$47,941
64	Mocksville	64.67	$38,806
65	Sawmills	64.83	$37,197
66	Havelock	67.67	$46,748
67	Brevard	67.67	$38,370
68	Angier	68.33	$43,354
69	Cherryville	68.33	$43,942
70	Waynesville	68.67	$37,612
71	Hickory	70.17	$41,533
72	Kannapolis	70.5	$45,863
73	Greensboro	70.67	$42,802
74	Jacksonville	75.17	$41,095
75	Mount Airy	75.5	$35,831
76	Wilmington	75.83	$43,855
77	High Point	77.0	$43,322
78	Monroe	79.33	$44,267
79	Gastonia	80.0	$43,003
80	Burlington	80.0	$37,862
81	Conover	80.0	$43,418
82	Fayetteville	80.17	$43,882
83	Sanford	80.33	$42,070
84	New Bern	80.5	$41,970
85	Morehead City	81.83	$39,368
86	Hendersonville	85.17	$34,620
87	Tarboro	87.0	$33,107
88	Winston-Salem	87.33	$40,898
89	Morganton	89.17	$38,782
90	Wilson	89.33	$38,046
91	Woodfin	90.0	$36,114
92	Reidsville	90.67	$35,599
93	Spring Lake	91.67	$38,340
94	Williamston	92.0	$34,769
95	Smithfield	92.33	$33,415
96	Asheboro	92.5	$34,100
97	Newton	93.17	$33,756
98	Thomasville	93.67	$36,796
99	Graham	96.0	$32,020
100	Albemarle	98.0	$34,863