These Are The 10 Richest Cities In North Carolina For 2018

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:

1. Weddington (Photos | Homes For Sale)
2. Oak Ridge (Photos | Homes For Sale)
3. Marvin (Homes For Sale)
4. Summerfield (Photos | Homes For Sale)
5. Holly Springs (Photos | Homes For Sale)
6. Pinehurst (Photos | Homes For Sale)
7. Apex (Photos | Homes For Sale)
8. Cary (Photos | Homes For Sale)
9. Morrisville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
10. Davidson (Photos | Homes For Sale)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Safest Cities in North Carolina

10 Best Places To Live In North Carolina

10 Cheapest Places To Live In North Carolina

Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In North Carolina

City	Rank	Median Income
Weddington	1	$125,966
Oak Ridge	2	$109,509
Marvin	3	$185,862
Summerfield	4	$100,724
Holly Springs	5	$98,041
Pinehurst	6	$78,338
Apex	7	$95,283
Cary	8	$94,617
Morrisville	9	$92,769
Davidson	10	$109,907
Cornelius	11	$86,355
Huntersville	12	$90,633
Matthews	13	$75,205
Stokesdale	14	$94,934
Stallings	15	$80,858
Waxhaw	16	$86,771
Wesley Chapel	17	$103,438
Clemmons	18	$67,783
Mills River	19	$61,863
Fletcher	20	$58,298
Lewisville	21	$72,994
Wake Forest	22	$81,200
Harrisburg	23	$88,865
Mint Hill	24	$69,336
Indian Trail	25	$72,726
Unionville	26	$63,771
Knightdale	27	$67,167
Winterville	28	$63,958
King	29	$54,471
Trinity	30	$49,208
Carrboro	31	$53,513
Fuquay-Varina	32	$70,226
Garner	33	$59,812
Archdale	34	$52,696
Mooresville	35	$63,632
Rolesville	36	$91,000
Clayton	37	$60,989
Wendell	38	$47,295
Boiling Spring Lakes	39	$51,094
Mebane	40	$56,037
Leland	41	$61,127
Raleigh	42	$58,641
Carolina Beach	43	$61,171
Oak Island	44	$52,462
Chapel Hill	45	$65,373
Kernersville	46	$48,383
Belmont	47	$60,314
Gibsonville	48	$51,316
Hillsborough	49	$50,240
Nashville	50	$45,656
Aberdeen	51	$49,104
Concord	52	$56,459
Elon	53	$45,767
Asheville	54	$44,946
Durham	55	$52,115
Black Mountain	56	$41,807
Mount Holly	57	$48,712
Southern Pines	58	$47,235
Kill Devil Hills	59	$48,517
Charlotte	60	$55,599
Butner	61	$46,642
Pineville	62	$40,597
Hope Mills	63	$47,941
Mocksville	64	$38,806
Sawmills	65	$37,197
Havelock	66	$46,748
Brevard	67	$38,370
Angier	68	$43,354
Cherryville	69	$43,942
Waynesville	70	$37,612
Hickory	71	$41,533
Kannapolis	72	$45,863
Greensboro	73	$42,802
Jacksonville	74	$41,095
Mount Airy	75	$35,831
Wilmington	76	$43,855
High Point	77	$43,322
Monroe	78	$44,267
Gastonia	79	$43,003
Burlington	80	$37,862
Conover	81	$43,418
Fayetteville	82	$43,882
Sanford	83	$42,070
New Bern	84	$41,970
Morehead City	85	$39,368
Hendersonville	86	$34,620
Tarboro	87	$33,107
Winston-Salem	88	$40,898
Morganton	89	$38,782
Wilson	90	$38,046
Woodfin	91	$36,114
Reidsville	92	$35,599
Spring Lake	93	$38,340
Williamston	94	$34,769
Smithfield	95	$33,415
Asheboro	96	$34,100
Newton	97	$33,756
Thomasville	98	$36,796
Graham	99	$32,020
Albemarle	100	$34,863