NC · 2026 Census Gazetteer

North Carolina counties by area

Official, comparable measurements for 100 counties and county equivalents.

Source fields preservedGEOID · ALAND · AWATER

County equivalents100

Combined land48,624.5 mi²

Combined water5,194.1 mi²

Largest by landRobeson County

Understanding North Carolina’s county areas

The land-area range runs from Chowan County at 172.7 mi² to Robeson County at 947.3 mi². The largest has 5.5 times the land area of the smallest and accounts for 1.9% of the combined county land in North Carolina.

The median county-equivalent land area is 460.3 mi², below the national median of 604.5 mi². The median describes the middle of the county size distribution; it does not describe how people or development are distributed. A state with a few very large counties can have a much smaller median than its largest entry suggests.

Where water changes the picture

Dare County has the most assigned water area, at 1,158.5 mi². It also has the highest water share, with water making up 75.1% of its total area. Water area and water percentage answer different questions: the first measures an amount, while the second measures the mix of land and water.

Across all 100 entries, water accounts for 9.7% of the combined total area. This is calculated from the summed land and water measurements, rather than averaging county percentages, which would give each small and large county equal weight.

Compare the largest and smallest county equivalents in North Carolina to see land, water, and total area on the same scale.

These calculations use the 2026 Census county records listed below. County-equivalent boundaries vary between states; area alone does not measure population, density, or usable land. See coverage and calculation rules.

Complete area table

Sorted from largest to smallest land area.

#	County / equivalent	Land	Water	Water share
1	Robeson CountyGEOID 37155	947.3 mi²	1.9 mi²	0.2%
2	Sampson CountyGEOID 37163	945.9 mi²	1.9 mi²	0.2%
3	Columbus CountyGEOID 37047	938.1 mi²	16.9 mi²	1.8%
4	Bladen CountyGEOID 37017	875 mi²	12.8 mi²	1.4%
5	Pender CountyGEOID 37141	871.3 mi²	62.9 mi²	6.7%
6	Brunswick CountyGEOID 37019	849.5 mi²	200 mi²	19.1%
7	Wake CountyGEOID 37183	834.8 mi²	22.2 mi²	2.6%
8	Beaufort CountyGEOID 37013	832.7 mi²	130.1 mi²	13.5%
9	Duplin CountyGEOID 37061	814.7 mi²	5.5 mi²	0.7%
10	Johnston CountyGEOID 37101	792 mi²	3.6 mi²	0.5%
11	Randolph CountyGEOID 37151	782.4 mi²	7.6 mi²	1%
12	Onslow CountyGEOID 37133	762.1 mi²	143.1 mi²	15.8%
13	Wilkes CountyGEOID 37193	753.7 mi²	2.6 mi²	0.3%
14	Halifax CountyGEOID 37083	723.7 mi²	6.5 mi²	0.9%
15	Craven CountyGEOID 37049	706.5 mi²	66.7 mi²	8.6%
16	Bertie CountyGEOID 37015	699.2 mi²	42.1 mi²	5.7%
17	Moore CountyGEOID 37125	697.6 mi²	8.1 mi²	1.1%
18	Chatham CountyGEOID 37037	681.5 mi²	27.3 mi²	3.8%
19	Buncombe CountyGEOID 37021	656.5 mi²	3.4 mi²	0.5%
20	Cumberland CountyGEOID 37051	652.6 mi²	5.9 mi²	0.9%
21	Pitt CountyGEOID 37147	652.4 mi²	3.2 mi²	0.5%
22	Guilford CountyGEOID 37081	646 mi²	11.7 mi²	1.8%
23	Union CountyGEOID 37179	632.7 mi²	6.9 mi²	1.1%
24	Hyde CountyGEOID 37095	612.3 mi²	846.7 mi²	58%
25	Harnett CountyGEOID 37085	595.1 mi²	6.3 mi²	1%
26	Iredell CountyGEOID 37097	574.5 mi²	22.9 mi²	3.8%
27	Rockingham CountyGEOID 37157	565.7 mi²	7.1 mi²	1.2%
28	Rutherford CountyGEOID 37161	565.4 mi²	1.8 mi²	0.3%
29	Wayne CountyGEOID 37191	553.9 mi²	3.8 mi²	0.7%
30	Haywood CountyGEOID 37087	553.6 mi²	0.9 mi²	0.2%
31	Davidson CountyGEOID 37057	553 mi²	14.5 mi²	2.6%
32	Nash CountyGEOID 37127	540.4 mi²	2.4 mi²	0.4%
33	Northampton CountyGEOID 37131	536.7 mi²	13.8 mi²	2.5%
34	Surry CountyGEOID 37171	532.6 mi²	4 mi²	0.7%
35	Granville CountyGEOID 37077	532 mi²	5.6 mi²	1%
36	Anson CountyGEOID 37007	531.5 mi²	5.6 mi²	1%
37	Swain CountyGEOID 37173	527.7 mi²	12.5 mi²	2.3%
38	Mecklenburg CountyGEOID 37119	523.6 mi²	22.4 mi²	4.1%
39	Macon CountyGEOID 37113	515.5 mi²	4.1 mi²	0.8%
40	Rowan CountyGEOID 37159	511.6 mi²	12.3 mi²	2.4%
41	Carteret CountyGEOID 37031	507.6 mi²	822.8 mi²	61.8%
42	Burke CountyGEOID 37023	506.3 mi²	8 mi²	1.6%
43	Edgecombe CountyGEOID 37065	505.4 mi²	1.4 mi²	0.3%
44	Franklin CountyGEOID 37069	491.9 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.5%
45	Montgomery CountyGEOID 37123	491.5 mi²	10 mi²	2%
46	Jackson CountyGEOID 37099	491.1 mi²	3.8 mi²	0.8%
47	Richmond CountyGEOID 37153	473.7 mi²	6 mi²	1.3%
48	Caldwell CountyGEOID 37027	471.9 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.6%
49	Jones CountyGEOID 37103	471.4 mi²	2.3 mi²	0.5%
50	Cleveland CountyGEOID 37045	464.3 mi²	3.9 mi²	0.8%
51	Martin CountyGEOID 37117	456.4 mi²	0.3 mi²	0.1%
52	Cherokee CountyGEOID 37039	455.5 mi²	11.1 mi²	2.4%
53	Madison CountyGEOID 37115	449.6 mi²	1.9 mi²	0.4%
54	Stokes CountyGEOID 37169	449.3 mi²	6.8 mi²	1.5%
55	McDowell CountyGEOID 37111	440 mi²	5.4 mi²	1.2%
56	Warren CountyGEOID 37185	429.4 mi²	14.9 mi²	3.4%
57	Ashe CountyGEOID 37009	426.3 mi²	3.1 mi²	0.7%
58	Caswell CountyGEOID 37033	425.5 mi²	3.2 mi²	0.7%
59	Alamance CountyGEOID 37001	423.5 mi²	10.8 mi²	2.5%
60	Forsyth CountyGEOID 37067	408 mi²	4.5 mi²	1.1%
61	Catawba CountyGEOID 37035	401.4 mi²	14.6 mi²	3.5%
62	Lenoir CountyGEOID 37107	399.1 mi²	2.3 mi²	0.6%
63	Orange CountyGEOID 37135	397.6 mi²	3.4 mi²	0.8%
64	Stanly CountyGEOID 37167	395.1 mi²	9.7 mi²	2.4%
65	Person CountyGEOID 37145	392.4 mi²	12 mi²	3%
66	Tyrrell CountyGEOID 37177	390.8 mi²	206.4 mi²	34.6%
67	Hoke CountyGEOID 37093	390.2 mi²	1.5 mi²	0.4%
68	Dare CountyGEOID 37055	383.2 mi²	1,158.5 mi²	75.1%
69	Transylvania CountyGEOID 37175	378.4 mi²	2 mi²	0.5%
70	Henderson CountyGEOID 37089	373 mi²	2.1 mi²	0.6%
71	Wilson CountyGEOID 37195	367.6 mi²	5.5 mi²	1.5%
72	Cabarrus CountyGEOID 37025	361.3 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.7%
73	Gaston CountyGEOID 37071	355.8 mi²	7.9 mi²	2.2%
74	Hertford CountyGEOID 37091	353.2 mi²	7.2 mi²	2%
75	Washington CountyGEOID 37187	346.5 mi²	75.4 mi²	17.9%
76	Gates CountyGEOID 37073	340.6 mi²	5.1 mi²	1.5%
77	Pamlico CountyGEOID 37137	336.5 mi²	225.1 mi²	40.1%
78	Yadkin CountyGEOID 37197	334.9 mi²	2.8 mi²	0.8%
79	Scotland CountyGEOID 37165	319.1 mi²	1.5 mi²	0.5%
80	Yancey CountyGEOID 37199	312.6 mi²	0.6 mi²	0.2%
81	Watauga CountyGEOID 37189	312.4 mi²	0.9 mi²	0.3%
82	Lincoln CountyGEOID 37109	295.9 mi²	9 mi²	3%
83	Graham CountyGEOID 37075	292 mi²	9.7 mi²	3.2%
84	Durham CountyGEOID 37063	287.6 mi²	10.3 mi²	3.5%
85	Greene CountyGEOID 37079	266.7 mi²	0.5 mi²	0.2%
86	Davie CountyGEOID 37059	263.7 mi²	2.9 mi²	1.1%
87	Currituck CountyGEOID 37053	261.9 mi²	264.5 mi²	50.2%
88	Alexander CountyGEOID 37003	260 mi²	3.6 mi²	1.4%
89	Lee CountyGEOID 37105	255.1 mi²	4.1 mi²	1.6%
90	Vance CountyGEOID 37181	252.4 mi²	16.3 mi²	6.1%
91	Avery CountyGEOID 37011	247.3 mi²	0.2 mi²	0.1%
92	Perquimans CountyGEOID 37143	247.2 mi²	81.8 mi²	24.9%
93	Camden CountyGEOID 37029	240.3 mi²	69.9 mi²	22.5%
94	Polk CountyGEOID 37149	237.7 mi²	0.8 mi²	0.3%
95	Alleghany CountyGEOID 37005	234.8 mi²	1.4 mi²	0.6%
96	Pasquotank CountyGEOID 37139	226.9 mi²	62.5 mi²	21.6%
97	Mitchell CountyGEOID 37121	221.3 mi²	0.6 mi²	0.3%
98	Clay CountyGEOID 37043	215 mi²	5.8 mi²	2.6%
99	New Hanover CountyGEOID 37129	192.3 mi²	136.6 mi²	41.5%
100	Chowan CountyGEOID 37041	172.7 mi²	61 mi²	26.1%

How to read this table. Land and water areas are Census statistical measurements in square miles. Adding county rows can differ slightly from separately published state totals because of rounding and geographic treatment.