Stargaze Atlas

North Carolina dark-sky map — light pollution by town

89 towns rated · darkest: Summerfield · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

North Carolina has 89 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Summerfield (Bortle 5) — to its brightest city cores. 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide North Carolina · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
89

0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Summerfield
Genuinely dark towns
0

All North Carolina towns by darkness

Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.

North Carolina towns, darkest sky first.
Sky
Summerfield 5 Suburban sky 4.8
Masonboro 5 Suburban sky 5.8
Leland 5 Suburban sky 7.2
Eden 5 Suburban sky 7.4
Lewisville 5 Suburban sky 7.7
Knightdale 6 Bright suburban sky 8.8
Pinehurst 6 Bright suburban sky 9.6
Weddington 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Murraysville 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Clemmons 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Waxhaw 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Hope Mills 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Mebane 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Indian Trail 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Southern Pines 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Davidson 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Mint Hill 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Huntersville 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Kannapolis 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Stallings 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Piney Green 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Morrisville 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Tarboro 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Albemarle 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Havelock 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Cornelius 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Kings Mountain 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Belmont 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Lincolnton 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Carrboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Fuquay-Varina 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Reidsville 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Garner 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Mount Holly 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Jacksonville 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Archdale 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Thomasville 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Elon 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Newton 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Kinston 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Holly Springs 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Fort Bragg 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Henderson 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Harrisburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Matthews 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Rocky Mount 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Lumberton 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Mooresville 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Mount Airy 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Sanford 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Wilson 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Roanoke Rapids 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Kernersville 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Shelby 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
New Bern 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Clayton 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Lenoir 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Laurinburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Concord 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Apex 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Smithfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Spring Lake 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Boone 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Wake Forest 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Asheboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Goldsboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Morganton 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Salisbury 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Graham 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Lexington 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Elizabeth City 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Cary 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Statesville 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Gastonia 7 Suburban / urban transition 40
Hendersonville 8 City sky 47
Hickory 8 City sky 47
Monroe 8 City sky 47
Burlington 8 City sky 50
Wilmington 8 City sky 50
Asheville 8 City sky 58
Chapel Hill 8 City sky 67
Greenville 8 City sky 68
High Point 8 City sky 71
Fayetteville 8 City sky 79
Raleigh 8 City sky 93
Greensboro 8 City sky 95
Winston-Salem 8 City sky 96
Durham 9 Inner-city sky 114
Charlotte 9 Inner-city sky 234

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in North Carolina?
The darkest town tracked here is Summerfield. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
How many dark-sky towns does North Carolina have?
Of 89 towns rated here, 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

Explore

Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.