NC / county disease rankings
Counties with the highest premature death rates in North Carolina
Among 100 North Carolina counties with published values, the counties with the highest premature death rates are Swain County, NC (19,177, 1.95 times the U.S. county median of 9,824.9), Robeson County, NC (18,937.5, 1.93 times the U.S. county median of 9,824.9) and Richmond County, NC (17,666, 1.8 times the U.S. county median of 9,824.9). Values are years of life lost before 75 per 100,000.
Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. These are county-level figures, compared with the U.S. county median. A high rate does not prove an environmental cause: age, smoking, income, access to care, screening and chance all move county rates, and small counties swing widely.
All North Carolina counties, highest first
Premature death, years of life lost before 75 per 100,000.
| Rank | County | State | Value | U.S. county median | Times reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swain County | NC | 19,177 | 9,824.9 | 1.95x |
| 2 | Robeson County | NC | 18,937.5 | 9,824.9 | 1.93x |
| 3 | Richmond County | NC | 17,666 | 9,824.9 | 1.8x |
| 4 | Scotland County | NC | 16,834.6 | 9,824.9 | 1.71x |
| 5 | Vance County | NC | 16,711.2 | 9,824.9 | 1.7x |
| 6 | Bladen County | NC | 16,587.9 | 9,824.9 | 1.69x |
| 7 | Columbus County | NC | 16,521.4 | 9,824.9 | 1.68x |
| 8 | Edgecombe County | NC | 16,248.1 | 9,824.9 | 1.65x |
| 9 | Washington County | NC | 16,100 | 9,824.9 | 1.64x |
| 10 | Halifax County | NC | 15,814.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.61x |
| 11 | Anson County | NC | 15,560.3 | 9,824.9 | 1.58x |
| 12 | Lenoir County | NC | 14,784.9 | 9,824.9 | 1.5x |
| 13 | Northampton County | NC | 14,714.1 | 9,824.9 | 1.5x |
| 14 | Bertie County | NC | 14,627.6 | 9,824.9 | 1.49x |
| 15 | Martin County | NC | 14,542.8 | 9,824.9 | 1.48x |
| 16 | Montgomery County | NC | 14,448.4 | 9,824.9 | 1.47x |
| 17 | Warren County | NC | 14,445 | 9,824.9 | 1.47x |
| 18 | Hertford County | NC | 13,850.6 | 9,824.9 | 1.41x |
| 19 | Pamlico County | NC | 13,807.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.41x |
| 20 | Rutherford County | NC | 13,777.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.4x |
| 21 | Rockingham County | NC | 13,516.3 | 9,824.9 | 1.38x |
| 22 | Perquimans County | NC | 13,273.4 | 9,824.9 | 1.35x |
| 23 | Cumberland County | NC | 12,884.4 | 9,824.9 | 1.31x |
| 24 | Caldwell County | NC | 12,862.8 | 9,824.9 | 1.31x |
| 25 | Jones County | NC | 12,786.4 | 9,824.9 | 1.3x |
| 26 | Cherokee County | NC | 12,641.3 | 9,824.9 | 1.29x |
| 27 | Craven County | NC | 12,560.1 | 9,824.9 | 1.28x |
| 28 | Randolph County | NC | 12,479 | 9,824.9 | 1.27x |
| 29 | Cleveland County | NC | 12,476.5 | 9,824.9 | 1.27x |
| 30 | Wilson County | NC | 12,403 | 9,824.9 | 1.26x |
| 31 | Yadkin County | NC | 12,329.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.25x |
| 32 | Rowan County | NC | 12,311.9 | 9,824.9 | 1.25x |
| 33 | Sampson County | NC | 12,311.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.25x |
| 34 | Beaufort County | NC | 12,292.8 | 9,824.9 | 1.25x |
| 35 | Davidson County | NC | 12,216.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.24x |
| 36 | Lee County | NC | 12,121.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.23x |
| 37 | Hoke County | NC | 12,067 | 9,824.9 | 1.23x |
| 38 | Stokes County | NC | 12,067 | 9,824.9 | 1.23x |
| 39 | Wilkes County | NC | 12,046.8 | 9,824.9 | 1.23x |
| 40 | Duplin County | NC | 11,990.4 | 9,824.9 | 1.22x |
| 41 | Nash County | NC | 11,979 | 9,824.9 | 1.22x |
| 42 | Graham County | NC | 11,940.5 | 9,824.9 | 1.22x |
| 43 | Gaston County | NC | 11,888.9 | 9,824.9 | 1.21x |
| 44 | Wayne County | NC | 11,853.6 | 9,824.9 | 1.21x |
| 45 | Burke County | NC | 11,521.2 | 9,824.9 | 1.17x |
| 46 | Madison County | NC | 11,508.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.17x |
| 47 | Pasquotank County | NC | 11,395.2 | 9,824.9 | 1.16x |
| 48 | Gates County | NC | 11,365.9 | 9,824.9 | 1.16x |
| 49 | Catawba County | NC | 11,083.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.13x |
| 50 | Haywood County | NC | 10,919.6 | 9,824.9 | 1.11x |
| 51 | Alexander County | NC | 10,846.8 | 9,824.9 | 1.1x |
| 52 | Pitt County | NC | 10,748.3 | 9,824.9 | 1.09x |
| 53 | Surry County | NC | 10,741.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.09x |
| 54 | Jackson County | NC | 10,730.5 | 9,824.9 | 1.09x |
| 55 | Macon County | NC | 10,667.1 | 9,824.9 | 1.09x |
| 56 | Polk County | NC | 10,656.5 | 9,824.9 | 1.08x |
| 57 | Carteret County | NC | 10,599.3 | 9,824.9 | 1.08x |
| 58 | Chowan County | NC | 10,587.9 | 9,824.9 | 1.08x |
| 59 | Onslow County | NC | 10,504.8 | 9,824.9 | 1.07x |
| 60 | Mitchell County | NC | 10,459.3 | 9,824.9 | 1.06x |
| 61 | Caswell County | NC | 10,423.1 | 9,824.9 | 1.06x |
| 62 | McDowell County | NC | 10,421.9 | 9,824.9 | 1.06x |
| 63 | Clay County | NC | 10,395.7 | 9,824.9 | 1.06x |
| 64 | Stanly County | NC | 10,232.8 | 9,824.9 | 1.04x |
| 65 | Person County | NC | 10,159.4 | 9,824.9 | 1.03x |
| 66 | Harnett County | NC | 10,063.5 | 9,824.9 | 1.02x |
| 67 | Brunswick County | NC | 10,047.6 | 9,824.9 | 1.02x |
| 68 | Ashe County | NC | 9,771.2 | 9,824.9 | 0.99x |
| 69 | Granville County | NC | 9,719.9 | 9,824.9 | 0.99x |
| 70 | Franklin County | NC | 9,622.1 | 9,824.9 | 0.98x |
| 71 | Greene County | NC | 9,574 | 9,824.9 | 0.97x |
| 72 | Forsyth County | NC | 9,571.3 | 9,824.9 | 0.97x |
| 73 | Alamance County | NC | 9,570.6 | 9,824.9 | 0.97x |
| 74 | Tyrrell County | NC | 9,472.8 | 9,824.9 | 0.96x |
| 75 | Davie County | NC | 9,312.4 | 9,824.9 | 0.95x |
| 76 | Pender County | NC | 9,267.5 | 9,824.9 | 0.94x |
| 77 | Guilford County | NC | 9,266.7 | 9,824.9 | 0.94x |
| 78 | Camden County | NC | 9,189.4 | 9,824.9 | 0.94x |
| 79 | Moore County | NC | 9,155.7 | 9,824.9 | 0.93x |
| 80 | Avery County | NC | 9,110.6 | 9,824.9 | 0.93x |
| 81 | Yancey County | NC | 8,896.6 | 9,824.9 | 0.91x |
| 82 | Henderson County | NC | 8,874.6 | 9,824.9 | 0.9x |
| 83 | Lincoln County | NC | 8,826.3 | 9,824.9 | 0.9x |
| 84 | Alleghany County | NC | 8,598.1 | 9,824.9 | 0.88x |
| 85 | Hyde County | NC | 8,577.9 | 9,824.9 | 0.87x |
| 86 | Buncombe County | NC | 8,557 | 9,824.9 | 0.87x |
| 87 | New Hanover County | NC | 8,454 | 9,824.9 | 0.86x |
| 88 | Dare County | NC | 8,306.9 | 9,824.9 | 0.85x |
| 89 | Johnston County | NC | 8,163.2 | 9,824.9 | 0.83x |
| 90 | Iredell County | NC | 8,077.4 | 9,824.9 | 0.82x |
| 91 | Transylvania County | NC | 7,664.9 | 9,824.9 | 0.78x |
| 92 | Chatham County | NC | 7,551.9 | 9,824.9 | 0.77x |
| 93 | Cabarrus County | NC | 7,537.1 | 9,824.9 | 0.77x |
| 94 | Durham County | NC | 7,259.3 | 9,824.9 | 0.74x |
| 95 | Mecklenburg County | NC | 6,928.7 | 9,824.9 | 0.71x |
| 96 | Currituck County | NC | 6,917.9 | 9,824.9 | 0.7x |
| 97 | Union County | NC | 6,695.7 | 9,824.9 | 0.68x |
| 98 | Watauga County | NC | 6,649.3 | 9,824.9 | 0.68x |
| 99 | Orange County | NC | 5,802 | 9,824.9 | 0.59x |
| 100 | Wake County | NC | 5,322.5 | 9,824.9 | 0.54x |