[4] Edgecombe County is part of the Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

This area eventually comprising Edgecombe County was historically home to the Tuscarora, a Native American people.

[11] In the aftermath of the American Civil War, the economy of eastern North Carolina was adversely affected.

In the Reconstruction era, freedmen gained political power and, as a result, three blacks were elected to the North Carolina General Assembly between 1868 and 1872 and blacks held significant influence in local government.

[10] In 1871, after significant political controversy, all parts of Edgecombe County west of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad were annexed to Nash[12][10] leading to the bifurcation of the Edgecombe communities of Battleboro and Sharpsburg between the two counties.

[10] In 1883, the county was reduced to its present dimensions when part of it was annexed to Wilson.

[6][13] From the Reconstruction era until the Great Depression in the 1930s, the county experienced demographic increases and the development of industry.

Edgecombe County is a member of the regional Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments.

[26] Edgecombe County's unemployment has been declining from a peak of 17.1 percent in February 2010.

[30] The county is home to Edgecombe Community College with campuses in Tarboro and Rocky Mount.