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Cliff-Zone Families
298,185
Total Wage Suppression
$217.1M
State Avg Cliff Zone
17.5%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In North Carolina, an estimated 298,185 families across 100 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mecklenburg County | 1,154,681 | 14.8% | 27,965 | $20.4M | 471% |
| Wake County | 1,178,653 | 10.9% | 22,365 | $16.3M | 486% |
| Guilford County | 547,940 | 18.5% | 16,235 | $11.8M | 387% |
| Forsyth County | 389,977 | 18.7% | 11,399 | $8.3M | 357% |
| Cumberland County | 338,545 | 20.7% | 11,171 | $8.1M | 363% |
| Durham County | 332,353 | 15.9% | 8,682 | $6.3M | 477% |
| Onslow County | 207,906 | 22.8% | 8,482 | $6.2M | 341% |
| Gaston County | 234,881 | 19.1% | 7,583 | $5.5M | 471% |
| Johnston County | 234,263 | 15.9% | 6,493 | $4.7M | 486% |
| Alamance County | 176,893 | 20.4% | 5,950 | $4.3M | 392% |
| Union County | 250,958 | 13.2% | 5,722 | $4.2M | 471% |
| Pitt County | 177,193 | 19.6% | 5,630 | $4.1M | 323% |
| Cabarrus County | 236,133 | 14.0% | 5,587 | $4.1M | 471% |
| Davidson County | 172,954 | 20.9% | 5,567 | $4.1M | 295% |
| Buncombe County | 274,360 | 16.5% | 5,476 | $4.0M | 444% |
| Randolph County | 146,348 | 21.8% | 5,254 | $3.8M | 387% |
| New Hanover County | 235,229 | 16.4% | 5,197 | $3.8M | 465% |
| Iredell County | 196,544 | 14.4% | 4,861 | $3.5M | 390% |
| Catawba County | 163,573 | 17.5% | 4,806 | $3.5M | 323% |
| Robeson County | 116,902 | 26.4% | 4,645 | $3.4M | 295% |
| Rowan County | 149,875 | 19.1% | 4,447 | $3.2M | 346% |
| Wayne County | 118,652 | 21.8% | 4,366 | $3.2M | 361% |
| Harnett County | 139,150 | 18.5% | 3,978 | $2.9M | 296% |
| Cleveland County | 100,991 | 23.0% | 3,754 | $2.7M | 295% |
| Henderson County | 118,484 | 17.4% | 3,358 | $2.4M | 444% |
| Brunswick County | 152,568 | 15.3% | 3,350 | $2.4M | 411% |
| Nash County | 96,216 | 20.6% | 3,135 | $2.3M | 334% |
| Caldwell County | 80,536 | 23.0% | 3,019 | $2.2M | 323% |
| Lincoln County | 92,716 | 18.0% | 2,880 | $2.1M | 313% |
| Rockingham County | 92,131 | 21.3% | 2,799 | $2.0M | 310% |
| Franklin County | 74,386 | 21.3% | 2,758 | $2.0M | 486% |
| Craven County | 102,612 | 17.4% | 2,756 | $2.0M | 343% |
| Burke County | 87,795 | 19.6% | 2,755 | $2.0M | 323% |
| Wilkes County | 65,935 | 23.9% | 2,609 | $1.9M | 295% |
| Wilson County | 79,290 | 21.3% | 2,513 | $1.8M | 307% |
| Surry County | 71,425 | 22.0% | 2,441 | $1.8M | 295% |
| Rutherford County | 64,930 | 25.8% | 2,427 | $1.8M | 295% |
| Lee County | 65,816 | 20.2% | 2,199 | $1.6M | 332% |
| Orange County | 149,678 | 12.3% | 2,176 | $1.6M | 477% |
| Lenoir County | 54,919 | 25.7% | 2,125 | $1.5M | 295% |
| Duplin County | 49,335 | 25.1% | 2,098 | $1.5M | 296% |
| Sampson County | 59,470 | 20.4% | 1,939 | $1.4M | 295% |
| Hoke County | 53,835 | 20.9% | 1,929 | $1.4M | 301% |
| Moore County | 104,876 | 12.8% | 1,913 | $1.4M | 395% |
| Columbus County | 50,140 | 25.8% | 1,808 | $1.3M | 295% |
| Stanly County | 64,651 | 19.6% | 1,796 | $1.3M | 295% |
| Haywood County | 62,662 | 19.7% | 1,786 | $1.3M | 357% |
| Granville County | 60,877 | 17.6% | 1,770 | $1.3M | 348% |
| McDowell County | 44,817 | 23.0% | 1,731 | $1.3M | 295% |
| Pender County | 65,550 | 15.9% | 1,692 | $1.2M | 339% |
| Richmond County | 42,344 | 23.4% | 1,651 | $1.2M | 295% |
| Edgecombe County | 48,736 | 21.3% | 1,638 | $1.2M | 334% |
| Pasquotank County | 40,834 | 22.4% | 1,634 | $1.2M | 352% |
| Carteret County | 69,148 | 16.1% | 1,633 | $1.2M | 347% |
| Halifax County | 47,675 | 24.6% | 1,571 | $1.1M | 295% |
| Chatham County | 80,151 | 13.8% | 1,536 | $1.1M | 477% |
| Stokes County | 45,139 | 22.3% | 1,466 | $1.1M | 357% |
| Beaufort County | 44,499 | 18.9% | 1,395 | $1.0M | 295% |
| Yadkin County | 37,574 | 20.4% | 1,333 | $970K | 357% |
| Watauga County | 55,123 | 18.0% | 1,287 | $937K | 342% |
| Macon County | 37,941 | 23.8% | 1,285 | $935K | 298% |
| Jackson County | 43,771 | 22.2% | 1,260 | $917K | 295% |
| Vance County | 42,322 | 21.2% | 1,236 | $900K | 295% |
| Montgomery County | 26,007 | 25.2% | 1,188 | $865K | 295% |
| Alexander County | 36,412 | 20.6% | 1,182 | $860K | 323% |
| Person County | 39,542 | 16.5% | 1,125 | $819K | 295% |
| Scotland County | 33,590 | 24.6% | 1,070 | $779K | 295% |
| Cherokee County | 29,562 | 22.9% | 1,022 | $744K | 295% |
| Davie County | 44,122 | 14.8% | 988 | $719K | 357% |
| Ashe County | 26,950 | 21.3% | 987 | $719K | 295% |
| Bladen County | 29,566 | 21.3% | 851 | $620K | 295% |
| Bertie County | 17,170 | 28.1% | 785 | $571K | 311% |
| Transylvania County | 33,691 | 17.7% | 774 | $563K | 339% |
| Dare County | 37,875 | 13.6% | 732 | $533K | 412% |
| Martin County | 21,644 | 21.6% | 698 | $508K | 295% |
| Greene County | 20,486 | 25.7% | 671 | $488K | 295% |
| Warren County | 18,795 | 24.1% | 667 | $486K | 295% |
| Anson County | 22,289 | 25.5% | 647 | $471K | 333% |
| Hertford County | 19,908 | 21.5% | 623 | $454K | 295% |
| Yancey County | 18,797 | 20.0% | 620 | $451K | 295% |
| Madison County | 21,867 | 19.3% | 576 | $419K | 444% |
| Swain County | 14,013 | 23.6% | 550 | $400K | 295% |
| Avery County | 17,680 | 22.2% | 548 | $399K | 302% |
| Northampton County | 16,931 | 21.2% | 498 | $363K | 295% |
| Caswell County | 22,404 | 15.3% | 488 | $355K | 295% |
| Mitchell County | 14,992 | 23.6% | 482 | $351K | 295% |
| Currituck County | 30,601 | 10.3% | 471 | $343K | 478% |
| Alleghany County | 11,174 | 28.7% | 416 | $303K | 296% |
| Chowan County | 13,836 | 19.2% | 387 | $282K | 354% |
| Graham County | 8,072 | 33.5% | 363 | $264K | 295% |
| Perquimans County | 13,244 | 16.4% | 352 | $256K | 301% |
| Polk County | 19,891 | 14.5% | 347 | $253K | 297% |
| Jones County | 9,302 | 22.6% | 305 | $222K | 295% |
| Washington County | 10,812 | 23.5% | 268 | $195K | 295% |
| Gates County | 10,376 | 17.8% | 264 | $192K | 477% |
| Clay County | 11,610 | 18.1% | 247 | $180K | 310% |
| Pamlico County | 12,390 | 18.3% | 226 | $165K | 319% |
| Camden County | 10,927 | 8.3% | 186 | $135K | 374% |
| Tyrrell County | 3,423 | 32.2% | 176 | $128K | 295% |
| Hyde County | 4,592 | 18.0% | 103 | $75K | 295% |
100 of 100 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.