| Inipta | community in W Alleghany County. |
| Ink | See Newlife. |
| Inland Waterway | See Intracoastal Waterway. |
| Inman | community in S Robeson County served by post office, 1896-1902. |
| Inman Branch | rises in S Haywood County and flows SE into West Fork Pigeon River. |
| Inner Diamond Shoal | See Diamond Shoals. |
| Institute | community in NW Lenoir County. Named for the Lenoir Collegiate Institute, which operated there for a number of years after 1855. Some of the buildings of the institute were later used as residences. |
| Institute Branch | rises in W Hertford County and flows NE into Worrell Mill Pond. |
| Institute Township | NW Lenoir County. |
| Intelligence | community in W Rockingham County served by post office, 1901-11. Known as Bald Hill until about 1920. Between 1850 and 1900, several tobacco factories flourished there. Named because the first public school in North Carolina was there. "Danbury," plantation home of Governor Alexander Martin (1740-1807), was nearby. Sharp's Institute, operated by James Sharp, father of N.C. Supreme Court justice Susie Sharp, was there. |