The Miss North Carolina competition selects the representative for the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

to compete in the annual Miss America competition. The competition has been held in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

every year since 1978. Prior to that, it was held in various locales including

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Wilmington, and

Morehead City Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. Hist ...

. Karolyn Martin of

was crowned Miss North Carolina 2022 on June 25, 2022 at High Point Theatre in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ...

. She competed for the title of

Miss America 2023 Miss America 2023 was the 95th edition of the Miss America pageant, which occurred at the Mohegan Sun on December 16, 2022. The 2023 calendar year, based on several sources, may be the final year at Mohegan Sun. Rather than being aired on mai ...

at the Mohegan Sun in

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...

in December 2022.

75th anniversary

The Miss North Carolina pageant celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2012. For pageant week, all living former Miss North Carolina titleholders were invited back for a reunion. The "Miss North Carolina Sisterhood" sponsored a special gala the night before the pageant on June 22, 2012. This was highlighted with a special exhibit at the

North Carolina Museum of History The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives ...

and 43 former Miss North Carolinas (the oldest being Miss North Carolina 1946, Trudy Riley Kearny) coming to the week's events, including

Miss America 1962 Miss America 1962, the 35th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1961, and was broadcast on CBS. According to Nielsen ratings, the pageant is the highest rated Miss America telecast on ...

, Maria Fletcher. In addition, all of the former titleholders were invited for a special honorary luncheon at the

North Carolina Executive Mansion The North Carolina Executive Mansion (also referred to as the North Carolina Governor's Mansion) is the official residence of the governor of North Carolina and their family. Building began in the year 1883 and it was designed by architects Sam ...

, the first luncheon held there since the 1960s. This also marked the first time in 17 years that the pageant has been televised throughout the state. It was televised on the special events channel of

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...

Gallery of past titleholders

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Results summary

The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss North Carolina titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.

Placements

* Miss Americas: Maria Fletcher (

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

) * 1st runners-up: Constance Dorn (1973), Susan Lawrence (1976), Michelle Warren (1998), Kelli Bradshaw (1999) * 2nd runners-up: Ruth Covington (1937), Lu Ogburn (1952), Ann Herring (1961), Kirstin Elrod (2005) * 3rd runners-up: Clara Faye Arnold (1956) * 4th runners-up: Joey Augusta Paxton (1941), Betty Evans (1959), Jessica Jacobs (2008) * Top 10: Elaine Herndon (1958), Jennifer Smith (1992) * Top 13: Dorothy Johnson (1945) * Top 15: Margaret Wood (1939), Misty Clymer (2003), Hailey Best (2012), Alexandra Badgett (2020) * Top 16: Betty Hunneycutt (1937), Carolyn Edwards (1951)

Awards

Preliminary awards

* Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Joey Augusta Paxton (1941), Lu Ogburn (1952), Clara Faye Arnold (1956), Elaine Herndon (1958), Betty Evans (1959), Maria Fletcher (1962), Monta Maki (1980), Elizabeth Williams (1983), Kelli Bradshaw (1999) * Preliminary Talent: Margaret Wood (1939), Joey Augusta Paxton (1941), Lu Ogburn (1952), Scarlet Morgan (1991), Lisa Bamford (1996), Michelle Warren (1998), Adrienne Core (2011)

Non-finalist awards

* Non-finalist Talent: Sarah Stedman (1968), Elise Annette Johnson (1969), Patricia Johnson (1970), Cornelia Lerner (1971), Susan Griffin (1975), Deborah Shook (1979), Janet Ward Black (1981), Lynn Williford (1982), Elizabeth Williams (1983), Scarlet Morgan (1991), Dana Stephenson (1995), Lisa Bamford (1996), Jennifer Roberts (1997), Lorna McNeil (2001), Adrienne Core (2011), Arlie Honeycutt (2013), Beth Stovall (2015), McKenzie Faggart (2017)

Other awards

* Miss Congeniality: Jeanne Swanner (1964) * Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Miracle Maker Award: Hailey Best (2012) * Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Miracle Maker Award 1st runners-up: Victoria Huggins (2018), Alexandra Badgett (2020) * Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Medalists: Hailey Best (2012), Arlie Honeycutt (2013) * Equity & Justice Scholarship Award Winners: Alexandra Badgett (2020) * Quality of Life Award 1st runners-up: Heidi Sue Williams (1993) * Quality of Life Award 2nd runners-up: Dana Reason (2004) * Quality of Life Award Finalists: Amanda Watson (2009) *Top Fundraiser 2nd runner-up: Carli Batson (2022)