North Carolina Counties by Population (2024)

Population

100K

200K

300K

400K

500K

600K

700K

800K

900K

1M

1.1M

1.2M

Hover/click a county for data.

100 counties

County
2024 Pop.
Change (2020)
Area (mi²)
Density (/mi²)
Location
Wake County1,209,7727.01%3221,449Wake County location
Mecklenburg County1,183,3275.9%2022,258Mecklenburg County location
Guilford County553,2752.59%249856Guilford County location
Forsyth County396,1813.39%157971Forsyth County location
Durham County340,4924.58%1111,182Durham County location
Cumberland County338,9991.05%252519Cumberland County location
Buncombe County278,0123.08%253424Buncombe County location
Union County263,73210.13%244417Union County location
Johnston County249,00814.32%306314Johnston County location
Cabarrus County244,1237.44%139676Cabarrus County location
New Hanover County241,9206.89%741,260New Hanover County location
Gaston County240,5145.24%137676Gaston County location
Onslow County218,3215.08%294287Onslow County location
Iredell County203,5468.45%222355Iredell County location
Alamance County181,7125.67%163430Alamance County location
Davidson County177,2284.74%213320Davidson County location
Pitt County176,6283.66%252271Pitt County location
Brunswick County167,02020.88%328196Brunswick County location
Catawba County166,1233.25%155414Catawba County location
Rowan County153,6494.4%198300Rowan County location
Orange County150,9995.15%154379Orange County location
Randolph County148,7202.97%302190Randolph County location
Harnett County144,4768.01%230243Harnett County location
Henderson County120,1623.08%144322Henderson County location
Wayne County119,9232.31%214216Wayne County location
Robeson County118,2641.68%366125Robeson County location
Moore County108,3057.99%269155Moore County location
Craven County103,6953.38%273147Craven County location
Cleveland County102,1032.29%179220Cleveland County location
Lincoln County98,24212.64%114332Lincoln County location
Nash County97,2822.23%208180Nash County location
Rockingham County93,0702.06%218164Rockingham County location
Burke County88,7041.3%195175Burke County location
Chatham County83,3098.67%263122Chatham County location
Caldwell County80,8010.18%182171Caldwell County location
Wilson County79,6341.05%142216Wilson County location
Franklin County79,60215.09%190162Franklin County location
Surry County71,4420.1%206134Surry County location
Pender County71,34417.65%33682Pender County location
Carteret County69,9043.21%196138Carteret County location
Lee County68,5758.1%98269Lee County location
Stanly County67,1677.22%152170Stanly County location
Wilkes County66,2350.48%29188Wilkes County location
Rutherford County66,0692.45%218117Rutherford County location
Haywood County63,3231.78%214114Haywood County location
Granville County62,6822.65%205118Granville County location
Sampson County60,1751.84%36564Sampson County location
Lenoir County55,2910.45%154139Lenoir County location
Hoke County55,2015.68%151142Hoke County location
Watauga County54,4830.67%120175Watauga County location
Columbus County50,167-0.65%36253Columbus County location
Duplin County50,1062.98%31561Duplin County location
Edgecombe County49,2751.03%19598Edgecombe County location
Halifax County46,885-3.39%27965Halifax County location
Stokes County45,9283.04%173102Stokes County location
Jackson County45,2267.08%19092Jackson County location
Davie County45,0835.08%102171Davie County location
McDowell County45,0311.09%170102McDowell County location
Beaufort County44,562-0.3%32253Beaufort County location
Vance County42,448-0.22%97168Vance County location
Richmond County42,075-1.96%18389Richmond County location
Pasquotank County41,7202.82%88184Pasquotank County location
Person County40,1312.41%151102Person County location
Macon County38,8554.74%19975Macon County location
Dare County38,2333.22%148100Dare County location
Yadkin County38,0412.11%129114Yadkin County location
Alexander County36,6300.39%100141Alexander County location
Scotland County34,4020.33%123108Scotland County location
Transylvania County33,7252.05%14689Transylvania County location
Currituck County32,17813.28%101123Currituck County location
Cherokee County30,4595.55%17667Cherokee County location
Bladen County29,577-0.19%33834Bladen County location
Ashe County27,0641.81%16464Ashe County location
Montgomery County26,3292.32%19054Montgomery County location
Caswell County23,1832.14%16455Caswell County location
Madison County22,2614.58%17449Madison County location
Anson County21,836-0.91%20541Anson County location
Martin County21,416-2.44%17647Martin County location
Greene County20,6931.21%10378Greene County location
Polk County20,1083.7%9284Polk County location
Hertford County19,272-9.85%13655Hertford County location
Yancey County19,1083.31%12161Yancey County location
Warren County18,9952.15%16644Warren County location
Avery County17,581-1.49%9571Avery County location
Bertie County16,776-6.09%27024Bertie County location
Northampton County16,603-4.76%20731Northampton County location
Mitchell County14,9500.34%8568Mitchell County location
Swain County13,896-1.47%20426Swain County location
Chowan County13,8841.32%6780Chowan County location
Perquimans County13,5333.96%9555Perquimans County location
Pamlico County12,6122.54%13037Pamlico County location
Clay County12,1138.71%8356Clay County location
Alleghany County11,4915.47%9149Alleghany County location
Camden County11,1847.46%9347Camden County location
Washington County10,650-3.01%13431Washington County location
Gates County10,316-1.3%13230Gates County location
Jones County9,5834.74%18220Jones County location
Graham County8,0720.45%11328Graham County location
Hyde County4,5580.11%2367Hyde County location
Tyrrell County3,4496.42%1519Tyrrell County location
  1. North Carolina State Data Center
  2. US Census State Population Estimates - Most recent state estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  3. US Census County Population Estimates - Most recent county estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  4. American Community Survey (2009 - 2013)
  5. Census QuickFacts
  6. Historical Populations of States and Counties (1790 - 1990)

Sources