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Bars in North Carolina

How many bars exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 23 North Carolina counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Bars & taverns · Pubs & brewpubs (drinking-focused) · Cocktail & wine bars · Taprooms. Counted together because official statistics use one 722410 code.

State verdict (covered counties): Below the U.S. rate — 76% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in North Carolina

Bars

677

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

0.8

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

1.0

per 10,000 present

State index

76%

vs. U.S.

Residents

7,284,936

in covered counties

Workers

3,028,827

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 23 North Carolina counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing bars and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in North Carolina

City	County	Bars	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Wilmington	New Hanover County	69–87	237,060	118,886	2.3	231–264%	Range spans bands
Asheville	Buncombe County	60–100	269,596	125,376	1.8	179–251%	Range spans bands
Jacksonville	Onslow County	32–48	204,246	41,476	1.4	141–194%	Range spans bands
Chapel Hill	Orange County	24–34	159,674	52,230	1.3	128–160%	Range spans bands
Durham	Durham County	42–68	327,804	174,233	1.0	100–129%	Above average
Charlotte	Mecklenburg County	136–246	1,173,019	704,489	0.9	88–108%	Range spans bands
Winston Salem	Forsyth County	44–88	416,830	178,036	0.9	86–133%	Range spans bands
Greensboro	Guilford County	52–114	577,982	264,336	0.7	73–123%	Range spans bands
Fayetteville	Cumberland County	29–55	348,651	97,067	0.7	72–127%	Range spans bands
Morrisville	Wake County	112–186	1,254,117	563,740	0.7	72–96%	Below average
Mooresville	Iredell County	15–37	192,680	79,784	0.6	64–115%	Range spans bands
Leland	Brunswick County	8–28	151,179	32,781	0.5	47–154%	Range spans bands
Greenville	Pitt County	10–40	180,210	62,893	0.5	47–150%	Range spans bands
Burlington	Alamance County	9–27	187,008	63,483	0.4	41–104%	Range spans bands
Thomasville	Davidson County	6–20	142,181	36,165	0.4	37–87%	Range spans bands
Clayton	Johnston County	7–27	189,124	42,187	0.3	33–108%	Range spans bands
Salisbury	Rowan County	4–32	133,355	45,889	0.3	25–190%	Range spans bands
Monroe	Union County	7–21	250,703	61,424	0.2	25–67%	Range spans bands
Hickory	Catawba County	5–23	172,263	85,017	0.2	23–97%	Range spans bands
Asheboro	Randolph County	3–25	127,973	30,351	0.2	21–145%	Range spans bands
Gastonia	Gaston County	3–33	238,761	70,983	0.1	11–105%	Range spans bands
Concord	Cabarrus County	0–18	236,047	74,847	0.0	0–51%	Well below average
Dunn	Harnett County	0–20	114,473	23,154	0.0	0–142%	Range spans bands

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

231%

179%

141%

128%

100%

88%

86%

73%

Most competitors per capita

11%

21%

23%

25%

25%

33%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few bars may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.