GradeLocal
State guide

Restaurant health inspection grades in North Carolina

Coverage: 96 of 100 counties · Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford +93 more · more coming

GradeLocal lists 59,755 North Carolina restaurants. Their average score is 90.1, an A. This guide explains who inspects them, what the results mean and how the grades break down.

59,755restaurants listed
90.1 · Aaverage score
96counties covered
Oct 31, 2026latest inspection date

See every North Carolina grade

Who inspects restaurants in North Carolina

Wake County Environmental Health and Forsyth County Environmental Health. Scores out of 100.

Coverage: 96 of 100 counties. All sources

Wake County food inspection data from Wake County Open Data, licensed under CC BY 4.0.

County health departments in 96 of North Carolina's 100 counties, through the NC DHHS Environmental Health public inspection portal (public.cdpehs.com). Official sanitation scores out of 100. Public records under N.C. G.S. Chapter 132; the portal posts no terms of use. Alexander, Buncombe, Halifax and Swain counties aren't covered yet.

What North Carolina publishes

The agencies behind our North Carolina listings publish scores out of 100 and demerit totals. 44,866 of the 59,755 listings (75.1%) carry an official score out of 100. The other 14,889 show a GradeLocal score worked out from the official result.

How GradeLocal grades North Carolina restaurants

Where the agency publishes a score out of 100, that is the score we show (the Official score), and the letter comes from it: 90 or higher is an A, 80 to 89 is a B, 70 to 79 is a C and below 70 is a D.

For demerit totals, we grade the total like a violation count: 0 demerits is an A, 1 or 2 is a B, 3 to 5 is a C, and 6 or more is a D.

Results with no score of their own get a set score for each letter: A is 95, B is 85, C is 72 and D is 50.

There are four letters, A to D, with no F. The same rule applies in every state, and the cutoffs are never adjusted for a state, county or city. We always use the latest inspection.

How grades work has the full rules.

Most common official results in our North Carolina data, and the letter each became
Official resultLetterListings
0 demeritsA3,898
4 demeritsC1,922
6 demeritsD1,281
2 demeritsB1,162
8 demeritsD1,085
10 demeritsD874
12 demeritsD608
14 demeritsD518

How North Carolina restaurants grade

The latest grade for each of the 59,755 listings.

A
48,126
80.5% · grade A
B
1,974
3.3% · grade B
C
2,631
4.4% · grade C
D
7,024
11.8% · grade D

Inspection dates in our North Carolina data run from Nov 25, 2015 to Oct 31, 2026. 53,838 of the 59,755 listings (90.1%) were inspected in the 12 months before Oct 31, 2026, our latest record. A restaurant may have been inspected again since.

Top-rated places in North Carolina

Ten A-grade places with the highest scores. Ties go to the most recent inspection, and each name appears once.

  1. A
    Dedei's KitchenFayettevilleOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 31, 2026
  2. A
    East Duke Concessions Stand #109DurhamOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 31, 2026
  3. A
    Kill Devil Grill Food TruckNags HeadOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 31, 2026
  4. A
    West Duke Concessions Stand #100DurhamOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 31, 2026
  5. A
    BALLENTINE ELEM. SCH. CAFETERIAFuquay-VarinaOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 30, 2026
  6. A
    Bori Tropic Puerto Rico FoodFayettevilleOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 30, 2026
  7. A
    Chick Fil aHickoryOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 30, 2026
  8. A
    China KitchenNorlinaOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 30, 2026
  9. A
    Courtney Elementary CafeteriaYadkinvilleOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 30, 2026
  10. A
    El Taco MarketRaleighOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 30, 2026

A grade shows one inspection on one day. Check the official record linked on each page.

Counties in North Carolina

Every county with at least one listing. Pick one to see its restaurants.

CountyRestaurantsAverage
Alamance County1,03589.3 · B
Alleghany County8585.6 · B
Anson County12094.9 · A
Ashe County14790.7 · A
Avery County17991.0 · A
Beaufort County31089.0 · B
Bertie County10787.5 · B
Bladen County19088.3 · B
Brunswick County1,06382.9 · B
Burke County44695.0 · A
Cabarrus County1,35088.0 · B
Caldwell County36990.6 · A
Camden County3694.7 · A
Carteret County75282.8 · B
Caswell County9093.5 · A
Catawba County1,02894.0 · A
Chatham County41191.8 · A
Cherokee County11893.3 · A
Chowan County10291.4 · A
Clay County7194.8 · A
Cleveland County56791.7 · A
Columbus County31991.0 · A
Craven County53493.5 · A
Cumberland County2,07488.7 · B
Currituck County24995.5 · A
Dare County74384.0 · B
Davidson County75291.8 · A
Davie County21092.0 · A
Duplin County31191.4 · A
Durham County2,18791.9 · A
Edgecombe County27794.9 · A
Forsyth County2,17788.6 · B
Franklin County31794.7 · A
Gaston County1,35291.5 · A
Gates County4797.4 · A
Graham County4591.4 · A
Granville County32995.8 · A
Greene County11691.5 · A
Guilford County3,33683.8 · B
Harnett County50386.1 · B
Haywood County43594.7 · A
Henderson County82689.2 · B
Hertford County14295.1 · A
Hoke County24087.6 · B
Hyde County7696.2 · A
Iredell County1,06389.7 · B
Jackson County38490.4 · A
Johnston County1,28093.1 · A
Jones County4486.5 · B
Lee County40385.2 · B
Lenoir County33789.4 · B
Lincoln County39893.0 · A
Macon County26793.7 · A
Madison County13890.9 · A
Martin County14095.4 · A
McDowell County29689.5 · B
Mecklenburg County4,59996.3 · A
Mitchell County10091.8 · A
Montgomery County15794.9 · A
Moore County73790.7 · A
Nash County67088.2 · B
New Hanover County1,92184.8 · B
Northampton County8592.3 · A
Onslow County97388.3 · B
Orange County75292.9 · A
Pamlico County10684.8 · B
Pasquotank County24193.6 · A
Pender County38090.0 · A
Perquimans County6995.4 · A
Person County24095.3 · A
Pitt County1,13686.5 · B
Polk County16391.6 · A
Randolph County73991.5 · A
Richmond County26191.9 · A
Robeson County67388.9 · B
Rockingham County52392.6 · A
Rowan County73992.1 · A
Rutherford County37691.3 · A
Sampson County32390.9 · A
Scotland County17486.0 · B
Stanly County42494.7 · A
Stokes County20694.3 · A
Surry County46491.4 · A
Transylvania County23887.0 · B
Tyrrell County2997.1 · A
Union County1,01087.2 · B
Vance County27493.3 · A
Wake County7,55989.2 · B
Warren County11191.0 · A
Washington County7495.3 · A
Watauga County44790.0 · A
Wayne County64491.8 · A
Wilkes County32189.6 · B
Wilson County57992.8 · A
Yadkin County23492.2 · A
Yancey County8191.6 · A

Questions about North Carolina grades

Who inspects restaurants in North Carolina?

Wake County Environmental Health and Forsyth County Environmental Health. Scores out of 100.

What does North Carolina publish: a score, a letter or something else?

The agencies behind our North Carolina listings publish scores out of 100 and demerit totals. 44,866 of the 59,755 listings (75.1%) carry an official score out of 100. The other 14,889 show a GradeLocal score worked out from the official result.

How does GradeLocal grade restaurants in North Carolina?

Where the agency publishes a score out of 100, that is the score we show (the Official score), and the letter comes from it: 90 or higher is an A, 80 to 89 is a B, 70 to 79 is a C and below 70 is a D. For demerit totals, we grade the total like a violation count: 0 demerits is an A, 1 or 2 is a B, 3 to 5 is a C, and 6 or more is a D. Results with no score of their own get a set score for each letter: A is 95, B is 85, C is 72 and D is 50. We always use the latest inspection.

How many North Carolina restaurants are on GradeLocal?

59,755 restaurants in 96 counties. The average score is 90.1, an A. 80.5% have an A.

How current are the North Carolina grades?

Inspection dates in our North Carolina data run from Nov 25, 2015 to Oct 31, 2026. We update each state’s records regularly, but there is always a delay, and a restaurant may have been inspected again since. For the latest official report, follow the agency link on each restaurant’s page.

Neighboring states

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