Business Formation Pulse · NC counties

North Carolina Business Applications by County

Explore annual Census business applications across North Carolina. Bubble size shows application volume; color can show volume or year-over-year change.

Latest year: 2025 · 100 counties

Interactive county map

Where are business applications concentrated?

Choose a year and map view, then select a bubble or ranking bar for exact county context.

Map view
Light to dark: lower to higher application volumeBubble size: applications

County points use official Census internal coordinates. Values are protected estimates from the published annual BFS county file.

County ranking

Highest application counties

The ranking follows the selected year and map measure. Select a bar to inspect that county.

Ranking

All counties

Ranked by 2025 business applications

North Carolina counties ranked by 2025 business applications
RankCountyApplicationsvs. prior yearShare of state
1Mecklenburg County30,212+5.6%16.5%
2Wake County28,887+13.5%15.8%
3Guilford County9,325+9.7%5.1%
4Durham County6,533+14.0%3.6%
5Cumberland County5,761+13.2%3.2%
6Forsyth County5,559+9.5%3.0%
7Buncombe County4,583+11.8%2.5%
8New Hanover County4,525+12.1%2.5%
9Union County4,323+6.6%2.4%
10Cabarrus County4,244+9.4%2.3%
11Johnston County3,878+12.8%2.1%
12Gaston County3,606+19.1%2.0%
13Iredell County3,311-6.4%1.8%
14Pitt County2,724+21.3%1.5%
15Onslow County2,559+11.6%1.4%
16Brunswick County2,491+22.4%1.4%
17Alamance County2,477+20.9%1.4%
18Orange County2,161+11.6%1.2%
19Harnett County2,105+15.7%1.2%
20Catawba County2,064+16.0%1.1%
21Davidson County2,047+14.0%1.1%
22Rowan County1,935+12.2%1.1%
23Moore County1,621+7.8%0.9%
24Randolph County1,610+12.0%0.9%
25Nash County1,580+26.7%0.9%
26Robeson County1,561+17.9%0.9%
27Wayne County1,560+16.9%0.9%
28Henderson County1,526+13.6%0.8%
29Lincoln County1,382+17.4%0.8%
30Wilson County1,283+23.4%0.7%
31Craven County1,256+17.3%0.7%
32Cleveland County1,226+14.7%0.7%
33Franklin County1,218+19.6%0.7%
34Pender County1,208+15.4%0.7%
35Chatham County1,190+8.7%0.7%
36Lee County1,035+11.2%0.6%
37Rockingham County969+5.6%0.5%
38Hoke County948+15.0%0.5%
39Burke County935+24.7%0.5%
40Carteret County889+8.8%0.5%
41Stanly County863+19.5%0.5%
42Sampson County851+18.9%0.5%
43Caldwell County822+20.7%0.5%
44Granville County804+5.4%0.4%
45Edgecombe County796+22.5%0.4%
46Surry County749+1.6%0.4%
47Rutherford County744+18.3%0.4%
48Haywood County735+15.6%0.4%
49Lenoir County714+22.5%0.4%
50Columbus County708+10.6%0.4%
51Duplin County706+16.1%0.4%
52Dare County674+8.4%0.4%
53Halifax County661+21.3%0.4%
54Vance County618+16.4%0.3%
55Watauga County618+15.3%0.3%
56Beaufort County592+33.0%0.3%
57Davie County581+10.0%0.3%
58Richmond County578+29.0%0.3%
59Wilkes County5750.0%0.3%
60Pasquotank County523+7.4%0.3%
61Person County479+15.7%0.3%
62Macon County471-3.9%0.3%
63McDowell County459+13.9%0.3%
64Currituck County450+14.5%0.2%
65Scotland County445+31.3%0.2%
66Stokes County445+26.4%0.2%
67Jackson County428-3.2%0.2%
68Alexander County403+18.2%0.2%
69Transylvania County403+3.9%0.2%
70Bladen County398+12.1%0.2%
71Yadkin County339-11.0%0.2%
72Cherokee County328-3.5%0.2%
73Ashe County308+21.3%0.2%
74Madison County308+25.7%0.2%
75Martin County300+33.3%0.2%
76Hertford County286+10.0%0.2%
77Montgomery County284+9.7%0.2%
78Anson County281+2.6%0.2%
79Polk County280+17.6%0.2%
80Caswell County237+4.9%0.1%
81Warren County231+6.0%0.1%
82Greene County223+23.9%0.1%
83Bertie County220+14.6%0.1%
84Yancey County213+11.5%0.1%
85Avery County207+0.5%0.1%
86Northampton County196+1.6%0.1%
87Chowan County183+32.6%0.1%
88Washington County182+27.3%0.1%
89Swain County167-5.6%0.1%
90Pamlico County164+40.2%0.1%
91Mitchell County148+22.3%0.1%
92Perquimans County148+4.2%0.1%
93Clay County146+24.8%0.1%
94Alleghany County140+7.7%0.1%
95Camden County124+15.9%0.1%
96Jones County115+12.7%0.1%
97Gates County109+38.0%0.1%
98Graham County85+4.9%0.0%
99Hyde County65+22.6%0.0%
100Tyrrell County47+42.4%0.0%