State food-access profile · 100 counties

Food access in North Carolina

How far North Carolina residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

22.9%
low-access pop.: 353
food-desert tracts: 12.7%
on SNAP: 100
counties

The statewide picture

About 2.2M North Carolina residents - 22.9% - live in a low-access area, and 353 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

2.2M
low-access residents: 715K
food-desert residents: 5.3%
households, no vehicle: 13.1%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where North Carolina stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, North Carolina is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in North Carolina against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 100 counties and 10.7M residents, North Carolina's population-weighted low-access share is 22.9%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 353 tracts in North Carolina, home to roughly 715K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 12.7% of households, and 5.3% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

100

Counties

22.9%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

2.2M

Low-access residents

12.7%

Avg. SNAP

Hyde

60.5
Bertie

45.9
Forsyth

40.9
Union

39.3
Onslow

38.9
Dare

35.6
Caldwell

35.1
Chowan

35.1

All counties in North Carolina

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Hyde County	5K	60.5%	22.5%	11.1%	22.2%
Bertie County	17K	45.9%	23.9%	8.7%	16.1%
Forsyth County	390K	40.9%	13.9%	6.2%	14.5%
Union County	251K	39.3%	7.6%	2.4%	7.7%
Onslow County	208K	38.9%	12.1%	4.3%	11.6%
Dare County	38K	35.6%	5.1%	2.7%	6.6%
Caldwell County	81K	35.1%	14.3%	4.7%	13.4%
Chowan County	14K	35.1%	22.2%	9.8%	19.1%
Craven County	103K	34.4%	14.0%	6.3%	13.7%
Carteret County	69K	33.2%	9.0%	3.7%	10.1%
Gaston County	235K	33.2%	16.1%	5.1%	13.5%
Durham County	332K	33.0%	9.1%	6.7%	11.5%
Cabarrus County	236K	31.7%	10.3%	4.0%	9.3%
Davie County	44K	31.5%	11.7%	6.1%	9.4%
Lenoir County	55K	31.3%	27.3%	9.1%	22.0%
Buncombe County	274K	29.4%	9.5%	4.7%	11.8%
Cumberland County	339K	29.2%	18.6%	6.8%	16.7%
New Hanover County	235K	28.7%	9.2%	5.6%	12.3%
Catawba County	164K	28.2%	11.9%	5.2%	12.7%
Brunswick County	153K	28.0%	8.5%	2.4%	9.2%
Moore County	105K	26.8%	8.6%	4.2%	10.1%
Gates County	10K	25.9%	14.0%	2.3%	9.4%
Henderson County	118K	25.7%	9.2%	3.5%	11.6%
Wake County	1.2M	25.4%	6.2%	4.4%	8.1%
Lincoln County	93K	25.3%	11.4%	3.3%	11.2%
Davidson County	173K	25.2%	13.1%	3.9%	12.8%
Alamance County	177K	25.0%	13.6%	4.7%	13.4%
Burke County	88K	24.9%	14.3%	4.8%	15.6%
Guilford County	548K	24.2%	15.5%	6.7%	14.6%
Pender County	66K	23.6%	11.8%	3.2%	9.7%
Randolph County	146K	23.3%	15.2%	3.7%	14.5%
Granville County	61K	23.1%	13.9%	3.6%	15.2%
Wayne County	119K	23.1%	19.6%	6.8%	17.3%
Lee County	66K	23.0%	15.2%	3.9%	16.5%
Richmond County	42K	22.7%	28.6%	10.7%	25.2%
Rowan County	150K	22.7%	16.0%	6.5%	16.0%
Hertford County	20K	22.4%	27.8%	7.9%	22.9%
Ashe County	27K	22.2%	14.0%	4.4%	13.5%
Iredell County	197K	22.2%	8.1%	3.7%	10.0%
Pitt County	177K	21.7%	15.2%	9.0%	19.8%
Mecklenburg County	1.2M	21.3%	8.7%	5.8%	10.4%
Scotland County	34K	20.8%	31.6%	10.8%	25.8%
Beaufort County	44K	20.7%	16.7%	6.2%	17.8%
Alexander County	36K	20.4%	13.5%	3.1%	12.6%
Hoke County	54K	18.2%	20.1%	4.8%	17.1%
Harnett County	139K	17.9%	15.2%	3.9%	13.7%
Pasquotank County	41K	17.8%	17.6%	5.7%	11.0%
Nash County	96K	17.7%	18.3%	6.9%	11.8%
Rockingham County	92K	17.7%	17.7%	6.7%	16.3%
Edgecombe County	49K	17.6%	23.6%	10.0%	21.7%
Montgomery County	26K	17.0%	18.6%	4.8%	15.4%
Rutherford County	65K	14.5%	19.5%	5.1%	16.8%
Bladen County	30K	14.4%	26.2%	7.8%	22.0%
Cleveland County	101K	13.8%	21.3%	5.0%	16.6%
Stokes County	45K	13.6%	14.8%	4.5%	11.2%
Madison County	22K	13.1%	12.2%	4.5%	12.1%
Johnston County	234K	12.5%	11.4%	3.7%	10.6%
Yadkin County	38K	12.2%	14.3%	5.2%	14.0%
Chatham County	80K	11.2%	5.1%	2.6%	11.0%
Duplin County	49K	11.0%	15.8%	5.8%	20.5%
Person County	40K	10.9%	20.5%	4.9%	17.5%
Halifax County	48K	10.8%	29.1%	9.1%	22.8%
Tyrrell County	3K	10.5%	27.3%	10.7%	18.7%
Haywood County	63K	9.5%	13.5%	4.0%	13.1%
Martin County	22K	9.5%	20.1%	8.6%	20.4%
Surry County	71K	9.3%	19.5%	4.8%	16.8%
Wilson County	79K	9.3%	18.1%	7.0%	19.8%
Caswell County	22K	8.7%	20.1%	6.0%	18.6%
Cherokee County	30K	8.7%	11.9%	5.8%	12.4%
Orange County	150K	8.7%	5.8%	4.9%	12.5%
Robeson County	117K	8.5%	32.6%	7.9%	27.2%
Anson County	22K	8.4%	33.8%	9.4%	21.7%
Transylvania County	34K	8.3%	11.3%	4.6%	13.2%
Watauga County	55K	8.3%	7.5%	4.4%	25.5%
Columbus County	50K	8.2%	22.6%	5.5%	18.2%
Macon County	38K	8.0%	8.9%	6.1%	11.6%
Sampson County	59K	7.2%	20.2%	4.8%	21.8%
Wilkes County	66K	6.9%	15.4%	5.8%	16.7%
Mitchell County	15K	6.5%	17.0%	8.1%	12.9%
Vance County	42K	6.1%	24.3%	8.0%	19.8%
Jackson County	44K	6.0%	12.2%	3.1%	18.0%
Pamlico County	12K	5.9%	10.8%	3.5%	15.2%
Polk County	20K	5.7%	9.7%	4.0%	14.0%
Perquimans County	13K	5.4%	13.7%	5.8%	9.8%
Stanly County	65K	5.2%	15.4%	5.5%	15.2%
Alleghany County	11K	4.3%	14.0%	6.0%	16.0%
Franklin County	74K	4.2%	12.4%	3.8%	11.1%
Camden County	11K	3.6%	10.6%	1.4%	6.1%
Clay County	12K	3.2%	11.2%	6.4%	12.9%
Swain County	14K	2.9%	14.7%	6.6%	19.1%
McDowell County	45K	2.8%	18.3%	6.2%	14.8%
Graham County	8K	2.7%	14.7%	10.6%	6.7%
Warren County	19K	2.5%	23.1%	7.6%	21.1%
Currituck County	31K	1.5%	5.8%	2.1%	7.5%
Washington County	11K	1.4%	33.9%	14.1%	24.1%
Northampton County	17K	1.2%	26.4%	7.0%	21.1%
Yancey County	19K	1.2%	13.8%	4.6%	15.2%
Avery County	18K	0.3%	13.9%	5.1%	10.2%
Jones County	9K	0.2%	15.5%	6.6%	18.4%
Greene County	20K	0.1%	21.9%	5.8%	21.0%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

22.9% of North Carolina residents, about 2.2M people, live in a low-access area.
353 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 715K low-income, low-access residents.
12.7% of households receive SNAP, and 5.3% have no vehicle.
Hyde County has the state's highest low-access share at 60.5%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of North Carolina has low food access?▼

22.9% of North Carolina residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in North Carolina?▼

353 census tracts in North Carolina are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 715K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in North Carolina?▼

Across North Carolina counties, an average of 12.7% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in North Carolina has the worst food access?▼

Hyde County has the highest low-access share in North Carolina at 60.5%, with 22.5% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

← All states · Methodology