North Carolina will break last year’s foreclosure filing record later this month, according to a data analysis released by the NC Justice Center.

The Justice Center analysis breaks down both total foreclosures in North Carolina by county and — for the first time — per capita foreclosure data organized by county.

This year, North Carolina is on pace for 70,476 total foreclosure filings, far outpacing 2009’s previous record of 63,286. Based on filings through the third quarter of this year, North Carolina projects to break last year’s foreclosure record on Nov. 23 of this year.

Topping the list is Mecklenburg County, which far outpaces every other county in total foreclosure filings with 11,713 so far in 2010.

Wake County is expected to finish second with 5,800 filings, compared to 5,177 filings in 2009. Johnston County filings are projected to finish down slightly at 1,296 from 1,306 in 2009.

Dare County has topped the per capita foreclosure list for two years running. The extremely high rate of foreclosure (3 percent in 2009, 2.76 percent in 2010) is nearly double that of second place Brunswick County.

The per capita figures understate the problem considerably, said NC Justice Center Communications Director Jeff Shaw because the per capita figures include everyone living in a given county – including children and non-homeowners. Still, he says, it provides a thumbnail sketch of how widespread foreclosure is throughout North Carolina.

“Foreclosures continue to cause significant damage to low and moderate income neighborhoods,” said Chris Estes, Executive Director of the NC Housing Coalition. “The solution is more investment by all levels of government in quality affordable rental housing that will create construction jobs and stabilize households in a quality home they can afford.” Top 10 counties by total projected foreclosure filings Mecklenburg (11,713) Wake (5,800) Guilford (4,360) Forsyth (2,532) Union (2,132) New Hanover (1,979) Durham (1,900) Gaston (1,828) Brunswick (1,801) Cumberland (1,698) Top 10 counties by per capita projected foreclosure filings Dare (2.76 percent of individuals) Brunswick (1.63) Currituck (1.45) Mecklenburg (1.29) Clay (1.16) Cherokee (1.13) Union (1.06) Pender (1.05) New Hanover (1.01) Jackson (.97)