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, with 0 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. It also holds 1 certified International Dark Sky Place, listed below with the nearest rated town to each. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, 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
Certified dark-sky places
1

Certified dark-sky places in North Carolina

One site in North Carolina holds an International Dark Sky Place certification — awarded for actively protecting the night sky, not measured from orbit like the town ratings below. What each designation means →

Certified International Dark Sky Places in North Carolina.
Place Designation Coordinates Nearest rated town Distance That town's sky
Staunton River State Park Dark Sky Park 36.696°N, 78.685°W Henderson 30 mi B7

All North Carolina towns by darkness

Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.

North Carolina towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Summerfield 5 Suburban sky 4.8 Red Hill, SC — B4, 155 mi
Masonboro 5 Suburban sky 5.8 Red Hill, SC — B4, 82 mi
Leland 5 Suburban sky 7.2 Red Hill, SC — B4, 72 mi
Eden 5 Suburban sky 7.4 Red Hill, SC — B4, 175 mi
Lewisville 5 Suburban sky 7.7 Red Hill, SC — B4, 160 mi
Knightdale 6 Bright suburban sky 8.8 Summerfield — B5, 85 mi
Pinehurst 6 Bright suburban sky 9.6 Summerfield — B5, 74 mi
Weddington 6 Bright suburban sky 10 Lewisville — B5, 77 mi
Murraysville 6 Bright suburban sky 10 Masonboro — B5, 8 mi
Clemmons 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Lewisville — B5, 6 mi
Waxhaw 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Lewisville — B5, 83 mi
Hope Mills 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Red Hill, SC — B4, 69 mi
Mebane 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Summerfield — B5, 36 mi
Indian Trail 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Lewisville — B5, 72 mi
Southern Pines 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Summerfield — B5, 77 mi
Davidson 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Lewisville — B5, 47 mi
Mint Hill 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Lewisville — B5, 65 mi
Huntersville 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Lewisville — B5, 53 mi
Kannapolis 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Lewisville — B5, 44 mi
Stallings 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Lewisville — B5, 71 mi
Piney Green 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Masonboro — B5, 48 mi
Morrisville 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Summerfield — B5, 66 mi
Tarboro 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Brandermill, VA — B5, 105 mi
Albemarle 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Lewisville — B5, 53 mi
Havelock 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Masonboro — B5, 72 mi
Cornelius 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Lewisville — B5, 49 mi
Kings Mountain 6 Bright suburban sky 20 Lewisville — B5, 78 mi
Belmont 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Huntersville — B6, 16 mi
Lincolnton 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Kings Mountain — B6, 17 mi
Carrboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Morrisville — B6, 15 mi
Fuquay-Varina 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Morrisville — B6, 17 mi
Reidsville 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Eden — B5, 11 mi
Garner 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Knightdale — B6, 9 mi
Mount Holly 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Huntersville — B6, 13 mi
Jacksonville 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Piney Green — B6, 7 mi
Archdale 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Summerfield — B5, 21 mi
Thomasville 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Clemmons — B6, 19 mi
Elon 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Mebane — B6, 13 mi
Newton 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Cornelius — B6, 24 mi
Kinston 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Piney Green — B6, 41 mi
Holly Springs 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Morrisville — B6, 12 mi
Fort Bragg 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Hope Mills — B6, 12 mi
Henderson 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Knightdale — B6, 38 mi
Harrisburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Mint Hill — B6, 10 mi
Matthews 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Stallings — B6, 3 mi
Rocky Mount 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Tarboro — B6, 15 mi
Lumberton 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Hope Mills — B6, 25 mi
Mooresville 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Davidson — B6, 6 mi
Mount Airy 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Lewisville — B5, 30 mi
Sanford 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Southern Pines — B6, 24 mi
Wilson 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Tarboro — B6, 25 mi
Roanoke Rapids 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Tarboro — B6, 40 mi
Kernersville 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Summerfield — B5, 11 mi
Shelby 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Kings Mountain — B6, 11 mi
New Bern 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Havelock — B6, 18 mi
Clayton 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Knightdale — B6, 10 mi
Lenoir 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Kings Mountain — B6, 48 mi
Laurinburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Southern Pines — B6, 28 mi
Concord 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Kannapolis — B6, 6 mi
Apex 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Morrisville — B6, 6 mi
Smithfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Knightdale — B6, 21 mi
Spring Lake 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Hope Mills — B6, 14 mi
Boone 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Cornelius — B6, 68 mi
Wake Forest 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Knightdale — B6, 13 mi
Asheboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Albemarle — B6, 33 mi
Goldsboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Knightdale — B6, 39 mi
Morganton 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Kings Mountain — B6, 40 mi
Salisbury 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Kannapolis — B6, 15 mi
Graham 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Mebane — B6, 8 mi
Lexington 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Clemmons — B6, 15 mi
Elizabeth City 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 South Suffolk, VA — B6, 35 mi
Cary 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Morrisville — B6, 3 mi
Statesville 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 Davidson — B6, 20 mi
Gastonia 7 Suburban / urban transition 40 Kings Mountain — B6, 9 mi
Hendersonville 8 City sky 47 Taylors, SC — B6, 29 mi
Hickory 8 City sky 47 Newton — B7, 8 mi
Monroe 8 City sky 47 Indian Trail — B6, 9 mi
Burlington 8 City sky 50 Graham — B7, 3 mi
Wilmington 8 City sky 50 Leland — B5, 6 mi
Asheville 8 City sky 58 Greeneville, TN — B7, 42 mi
Chapel Hill 8 City sky 67 Carrboro — B7, 1 mi
Greenville 8 City sky 68 Tarboro — B6, 22 mi
High Point 8 City sky 71 Archdale — B7, 3 mi
Fayetteville 8 City sky 79 Hope Mills — B6, 7 mi
Raleigh 8 City sky 93 Garner — B7, 4 mi
Greensboro 8 City sky 95 Summerfield — B5, 11 mi
Winston-Salem 8 City sky 96 Clemmons — B6, 9 mi
Durham 9 Inner-city sky 114 Chapel Hill — B8, 10 mi
Charlotte 9 Inner-city sky 234 Matthews — B7, 10 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in North Carolina?
The darkest town tracked here is Summerfield, but the genuinely dark skies in North Carolina are its 1 certified International Dark Sky Place — Staunton River State Park — listed further down with the nearest rated town to each.
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.

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