Homesteading in North Carolina, county by county

All 100 counties, scored on land cost, growing season, county rules, hazards and mesh radio coverage. Free, with every number linked to where it came from.

North Carolina, 100 countiesData pulled 2026-11-13

Shaded by overall score with every factor weighted equally. Deeper green glass is a better match. Open any county from the list below.

Rank them your way

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Slide to 0 to ignore a score. The list re-sorts as you go.

Weight, 0–5

Land cost2

Rain2

Sun2

Growing2

Rules2

Clean2

Hazards2

Farm country2

Mesh2

All 100 NC counties, best match first. Score out of 10.
#	County	Match	Zone	Farmland $/acre	Mesh
1	Martin	6.6	8a	$3,011	0% covered
2	Jones	6.6	8b	$3,602	28% covered
3	Greene	6.5	8a	$4,677	16% covered
4	Pamlico	6.2	8b	$3,222	48% covered
5	Craven	6.2	8b	$3,063	31% covered
6	Duplin	6.1	8a	$5,713	0% covered
7	Columbus	6.0	8b	$3,906	0% covered
8	Tyrrell	6.0	8b	$3,836	19% covered
9	Robeson	5.9	8b	$3,897	22% covered
10	Pitt	5.9	8a	$4,126	54% covered
11	Bladen	5.8	8b	$4,093	4% covered
12	Transylvania	5.7	7b	$9,429	91% covered
13	Yancey	5.7	7a	$6,261	89% covered
14	Lenoir	5.7	8a	$4,327	3% covered
15	Sampson	5.7	8b	$5,166	0% covered
16	Washington	5.7	8a	$4,152	3% covered
17	Hyde	5.6	8b	$3,814	0% covered
18	Bertie	5.6	8a	$4,072	0% covered
19	Alleghany	5.6	7a	$5,959	95% covered
20	Perquimans	5.6	8a	$3,918	27% covered
21	Caswell	5.6	7b	$4,006	33% covered
22	Rutherford	5.5	8a	$7,087	72% covered
23	Hoke	5.5	8a	$5,488	57% covered
24	Johnston	5.5	8a	$6,813	36% covered
25	Pender	5.5	8a	$5,274	22% covered
26	Gates	5.4	8a	$4,274	1% covered
27	Montgomery	5.4	8a	$5,267	66% covered
28	Stokes	5.4	7b	$4,842	59% covered
29	Harnett	5.4	8a	$6,229	37% covered
30	Scotland	5.4	8a	$4,709	52% covered
31	Macon	5.4	7b	$8,663	77% covered
32	Chatham	5.4	8a	$7,656	79% covered
33	Polk	5.4	8a	$7,577	84% covered
34	Haywood	5.4	7a	$8,046	71% covered
35	Madison	5.3	7a	$7,294	66% covered
36	McDowell	5.3	7b	$7,524	85% covered
37	Jackson	5.3	7a	$8,324	85% covered
38	Brunswick	5.3	8b	$4,930	24% covered
39	Alexander	5.3	8a	$6,886	58% covered
40	Burke	5.3	7b	$6,651	88% covered
41	Beaufort	5.3	8b	$4,329	0% covered
42	Anson	5.3	8a	$5,138	0% covered
43	Northampton	5.2	8a	$3,568	0% covered
44	Chowan	5.2	8a	$3,973	11% covered
45	Wayne	5.2	8a	$4,258	0% covered
46	Cumberland	5.2	8b	$5,708	28% covered
47	Edgecombe	5.2	8a	$3,445	0% covered
48	Onslow	5.1	8a	$6,189	4% covered
49	Camden	5.1	8a	$4,007	0% covered
50	Moore	5.1	8a	$5,542	74% covered
51	Nash	5.1	8a	$4,436	13% covered
52	Avery	5.1	6b	$8,717	44% covered
53	Cleveland	5.1	8a	$6,086	60% covered
54	Rowan	5.0	7b	$6,780	68% covered
55	Lincoln	5.0	8a	$8,442	77% covered
56	Henderson	5.0	7b	$11,065	96% covered
57	Watauga	5.0	7a	$8,870	66% covered
58	Carteret	5.0	8b	$2,231	4% covered
59	Catawba	5.0	8a	$7,785	78% covered
60	Caldwell	5.0	7b	$5,873	57% covered
61	Davie	5.0	7b	$5,867	32% covered
62	Clay	5.0	7b	$6,386	0% covered
63	Stanly	5.0	8a	$5,580	65% covered
64	Warren	5.0	8a	$4,721	0% covered
65	Pasquotank	4.9	8a	$4,382	0% covered
66	Wake	4.8	8a	$14,718	93% covered
67	Wilkes	4.8	7b	$5,664	32% covered
68	Wilson	4.8	8a	$4,325	8% covered
69	Vance	4.8	7b	$4,200	0% covered
70	Swain	4.8	7a	$10,139	47% covered
71	Surry	4.8	7b	$6,529	62% covered
72	Franklin	4.8	8a	$5,829	9% covered
73	Randolph	4.7	8a	$6,225	52% covered
74	Halifax	4.7	8a	$4,339	0% covered
75	Lee	4.7	8a	$7,066	85% covered
76	Mitchell	4.7	7a	$6,687	47% covered
77	Cabarrus	4.7	8a	$9,055	65% covered
78	Granville	4.7	7b	$4,366	16% covered
79	Alamance	4.6	8a	$8,217	91% covered
80	Orange	4.6	8a	$8,742	87% covered
81	Gaston	4.6	8a	$8,015	82% covered
82	Davidson	4.5	8a	$7,144	61% covered
83	Currituck	4.5	8b	$5,294	2% covered
84	Graham	4.5	7a	$8,917	2% covered
85	Union	4.5	8a	$6,148	46% covered
86	Hertford	4.5	8a	$3,623	0% covered
87	Richmond	4.4	8a	$4,944	11% covered
88	Buncombe	4.4	7a	$11,802	96% covered
89	Cherokee	4.3	7b	$6,855	0% covered
90	Rockingham	4.2	7b	$5,089	9% covered
91	Person	4.2	7b	$4,957	18% covered
92	Yadkin	4.2	7b	$6,239	39% covered
93	Iredell	4.1	7b	$7,124	49% covered
94	Ashe	4.1	7a	$6,859	17% covered
95	Durham	4.1	8a	$9,136	100% covered
96	New Hanover	4.0	8b	$22,831	43% covered
97	Mecklenburg	4.0	8a	$27,096	88% covered
98	Guilford	3.9	8a	$7,879	68% covered
99	Dare	3.4	8b	$13,921	20% covered
100	Forsyth	3.3	7b	$9,658	79% covered

County rules researched for 100 of 100 counties so far. Where we haven't confirmed them, the rules score is left out rather than guessed. How we score

Counties where we found no county zoning

Without county zoning, RV living, tiny homes and animals aren't limited by a zoning ordinance. Building code, septic and well permits still apply everywhere. Check each county page for the source.

Alamance, Ashe, Avery, Bertie, Cherokee, Clay, Duplin, Graham, Haywood, Jones, Macon, Martin, Mitchell, Pamlico, Rutherford, Swain, Tyrrell, Yancey

Off-grid texting: the mesh network

643 MeshCore radios were heard in North Carolina in the last 30 days. The most are in Wake (107), Buncombe (62), Durham (42). 19 counties have no active repeater within 10 km of any part of the county. See the gap map

State rules that apply in every county

Read at the source on 2026-11-13.

Real farms are exempt from county zoning

County zoning can't regulate land used for bona fide farm purposes: crops, livestock, poultry and other agriculture. A farm sales tax exemption certificate, present-use value tax listing, a Schedule F, or a forest management plan each counts as proof. Houses on the farm still have to meet the residential building code.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(a), (a1)

Farm buildings outside town limits skip the building code

State building rules don't apply to non-residential farm buildings used for a bona fide farm purpose outside a town's building jurisdiction (barns, sheds, equine structures), or to primitive camps used no more than 24 hours at a stretch. A house is never a farm building.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-138(b4)

Homes on 10+ acres in farm districts

Where more than half the land in a zoning district is farmed or forested, county zoning can't ban a code-built single-family house on a lot over 10 acres.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(b)

Building permits

Building, moving, or altering a building needs the permits the NC State Building Code requires. Some repairs on single-family homes and farm buildings costing $40,000 or less don't need a permit, unless they touch load-bearing structure or other listed work.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-1110

Composting toilets are allowed, but you still need a septic permit

Composting, incinerating and mechanical toilets and vault privies are allowed under the state wastewater rules and the NC Plumbing Code. All other wastewater (sinks, showers, laundry) still has to go to an approved system. Only a permitted septage firm can haul away the residuals.

15A NCAC 18E .1001 (eff. Oct. 1, 2021)

Private wells need a county health permit

Every county's health department permits and inspects new private drinking water wells.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-97(a)

Right to farm

A nuisance suit against a farm is limited: the plaintiff has to own or legally occupy property within half a mile, and has to file within one year of the farm starting or making a fundamental change.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-701(a)

Raw milk can't be sold for people to drink

Only Grade A pasteurized milk can be sold to consumers for human consumption. Raw milk sold as animal feed has to carry a 'NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION' label.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-266.35

Selling food you make at home

NC has no cottage food law. Instead, NCDA&CS inspects your home kitchen before you sell. Only shelf-stable, low-risk foods qualify, like baked goods that don't need refrigeration, jams, candy, dried mixes, and pickles or other acidified foods. A kitchen in a separate building or garage counts as a commercial business.

NCDA&CS Food Program, Home Processor

Rooftop solar credit (Duke Energy customers)

Duke Energy's old net metering rider closed to new customers on Sept. 30, 2023. New residential customers go on Residential Solar Choice (minimum monthly bill, time-of-use rate, exports credited at avoided cost) or the Net Metering Bridge rider (no time-of-use requirement). Electric co-ops and town utilities set their own terms, so ask yours.

NC Public Staff, Net Metering