ZIP code rankings don’t present a complete picture of the pandemic in North Carolina, but they do offer snapshots.
Since the spring, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has tracked COVID-19 cases by individual ZIP codes. Out of more than 750 ZIP codes in the state’s database, eight have reported more than one case for every 10 residents.
The highest-ranking ZIP codes tend to have smaller populations where viral spread sends per capita case rates rocketing. Hard hit urban areas don’t appear at the very top of this list, and the stories of countless nursing homes ravaged by outbreaks can get buried in the data.