This is part of our series looking at the demographics of North Carolina’s registered voters. Other stories include an in-depth look at North Carolina’s Republican voters and an in-depth look at North Carolina’s Democrat voters.
As of October 25th, 2026, North Carolina had 7.8 million registered voters. Of these, 3,170,178 million, or 40%, were registered unaffiliated. This post examines the characteristics of North Carolina’s unaffiliated voters.
Younger voters are the most likely to register as unaffiliated. Over half (54%) of voters ages 18-25 are registered unaffiliated followed by 47% of voters ages 26-40, 38% of voters ages 41-65, and 29% of voters 66 and older. As a result, younger adults, especially those ages 18-25, comprise a larger share of unaffiliated voters than the overall electorate.
Ten percent of North Carolina’s unaffiliated voters first registered to vote in the state before the turn of the century; 12% in the 2000s; 25% in 2010; and 53% in the 2020s or later.
Compared with North Carolina’s registered electorate overall, unaffiliated voters are more likely to have an undefined race or ethnicity (14% vs. 9%). Asian voters (3%) and Latino voters (6%) also make up slightly larger shares of unaffiliated voters than of the electorate overall. White voters comprise 62% of unaffiliated voters, equal to their share in the overall electorate, while Black voters account for only 13% of all unaffiliated voters, smaller than their share in the overall electorate.
Voters who did not report a race or ethnic identification were the most likely to register unaffiliated (60%), followed by Asian voters (55%), voters of two or more or other races (51%), Latino voters (49%), White voters (40%), and American Indian voters (41%). Black voters were the least likely to register unaffiliated (27%).
Midwestern and Western-born voters are the most likely to be registered as unaffiliated (44%), followed by Northeastern-born voters (41%). Southern born voters are the least likely to register as unaffiliated (36%).
Current NC voters born in Rhode Island, Utah and Massachusetts are the most likely to be registered unaffiliated (51%), followed by 51% of voters born in Utah and Maryland, and 50% of voters born in New Hampshire.
Just over 943,261unaffiliated voters — 30% of the state’s unaffiliated voter population—were born in North Carolina. New York (158,110), another countries (109,393), Virginia (93,634) and Florida (68,153) were the next most common birthplaces outside of North Carolina. Another thirty percent of unaffiliated voters opted not to share their birth state (953,798).
Unaffiliated voters are mostly from the South (44%) followed by the Northeast (12%) and the Midwest (7%). Excluding North Carolina, the plurality of unaffiliated voters were still born in the South —14% of registered unaffiliated voters that were not born in North Carolina were still born in the South.
There are less clear regional patterns in unaffiliated registrations across North Carolina’s 100 counties. The top 10 counties for unaffiliated voters include:
The top counties for unaffiliated voters include one of the most populous counties (Wake) and one of the least populous counties (Camden) in the state.
Counties with the lowest rates of unaffiliated voter registrations were primarily in the Northeast. Warren County (27%) had the fewest voters registered unaffiliated, followed by Sampson County (29%), and Vance County, Edgecomb County and Hertford County (30%).
Note: Analysis presented is of the 10/25/2026 voter registration file from NC’s State Board of Elections. Analysis is limited to individuals who are active or active registered voters. Voters with a reported birth age of older than 100 years were excluded from the age analysis.
Need help understanding population change and its impacts on your community or business? Carolina Demography offers demographic research tailored to your needs.
Contact us today for a free initial consultation.
Contact UsCategories: Elections & Voting
The Center for Women’s Health Research (CWHR) at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine released the 12th edition of our North Carolina Women’s Health Report Card on May 9, 2022. This document is a progress report on the…
Dr. Krista Perreira is a health economist who studies disparities in health, education, and economic well-being. In collaboration with the Urban Institute, she recently co-led a study funded by the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation to study barriers to access to…
Our material helped the NC Local News Lab Fund better understand and then prioritize their funding to better serve existing and future grant recipients in North Carolina. The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund was established in 2017 to strengthen…
Your support is critical to our mission of measuring, understanding, and predicting population change and its impact. Donate to Carolina Demography today.
