North Carolina · $5 tickets
Best $5 North Carolina Scratch-Off Tickets
There are 21 active $5 scratch-off games in the NC Education Lottery right now. Ranked by expected return — how much, on average, comes back for every $1 spent — the best is $400,000 Jackpot at $0.72 per $1. Updated Oct 31, 2026.
Across the 21 $5 North Carolina games with a calculable return, the strongest pays back $0.72 per $1 and the weakest $0.63 — a 9-cent gap on the dollar, averaging $0.68. The biggest prize still in play at this price is $400,000 on $400,000 Jackpot (2 still unclaimed).
| # | Game | Price | Return / $1 | Odds to Win | Top Prize | Est. Tickets Left | Prize Tiers Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  $400,000 Jackpot#928 | $5 | $0.72 / $1 | — | $400,000 | 1,467,584 | 12/12 |
| 2 |  CASH#53 | $5 | $0.71 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 2,652,486 | 11/11 |
| 3 | $5 | $0.70 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 2,979,284 | 11/11 | |
| 4 |  Tar Heels®#59 | $5 | $0.70 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 1,691,577 | 11/11 |
| 5 |  NC State®#60 | $5 | $0.70 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 1,900,892 | 11/11 |
| 6 | $5 | $0.69 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 1,369,931 | 9/9 | |
| 7 |  20X The Cash#30 | $5 | $0.69 / $1 | — | $250,000 | 14,987,696 | 11/11 |
| 8 | $5 | $0.69 / $1 | — | $277,740 | 2,997,880 | 11/11 | |
| 9 |  $5 MONOPOLY®#22 | $5 | $0.68 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 2,170,482 | 11/11 |
| 10 | $5 | $0.68 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 3,965,647 | 13/13 | |
| 11 | $5 | $0.68 / $1 | — | $150,000 | 4,567,022 | 16/16 | |
| 12 | $5 | $0.67 / $1 | — | $150,000 | 2,867,813 | 14/14 | |
| 13 |  $500 Frenzy#33 | $5 | $0.67 / $1 | — | $500 | 3,470,111 | 6/6 |
| 14 |  Mega Bucks#45 | $5 | $0.67 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 3,030,950 | 11/11 |
| 15 |  20X The Cash#980 | $5 | $0.67 / $1 | — | $250,000 | 2,737,205 | 11/11 |
| 16 | $5 | $0.67 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 1,774,891 | 11/11 | |
| 17 |  Cash King#26 | $5 | $0.67 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 879,290 | 11/11 |
| 18 | $5 | $0.66 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 1,947,730 | 12/12 | |
| 19 |  MEGA BUCKS#947 | $5 | $0.65 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 1,120,874 | 10/10 |
| 20 |  Xtreme Cashword#949 | $5 | $0.63 / $1 | — | $150,000 | 1,188,371 | 13/13 |
| 21 | $5 | $0.63 / $1 | — | $200,000 | 592,677 | 8/10 |
Even the best $5 ticket almost always returns less than $1 per $1 played. These rankings tell you which games are less bad, not which are profitable. Play for fun, not for income.