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

There are 100 counties in North Carolina. Location of the Wright brothers' first powered air flight and a stunning landscape that offers the tranquility of the mountains and beautiful beaches, North Carolina’s population has been increasing steadily over the last 8 years. Since 2010, more than half of North Carolina’s 100 counties has experienced a growth in population – 53 to be exact.

North Carolina Counties with Positive Population Growth

In 2018, Mecklenburg County has the largest population with 1,076,837, closely followed by Wake County which has a population of 1,072,203 experiencing an increase of 17.1% and 19% since 2010, respectively.

North Carolina Counties with Rapid Growth

These are by no means the highest surge in numbers. Brunswick County has a fairly small population in comparison at 130,897 but grew by 21.8%

Smaller counties that are similar to Brunswick have experienced significant population growth as well. Durham County’s population has grown by 15.4%, Union County by 14.47%, Carrabus County by 16.27% and Johnston County by 15.93%

North Carolina Counties with Negative Population Growth

47 counties decreased in population but by less than 10%. The largest drop in numbers was experienced in Northampton and Bertie with 9.86% and 9.53%

52 states and territories

State
Counties
Texas254
Georgia159
Virginia133
Kentucky120
Missouri115
Kansas105
Illinois102
North Carolina100
Iowa99
Tennessee95
Nebraska93
Indiana92
Ohio88
Minnesota87
Michigan83
Mississippi82
Puerto Rico78
Oklahoma77
Arkansas75
Wisconsin72
Alabama67
Florida67
Pennsylvania67
South Dakota66
Colorado64
Louisiana64
New York62
California58
Montana56
West Virginia55
North Dakota53
South Carolina46
Idaho44
Washington39
Oregon36
New Mexico33
Alaska30
Utah29
Maryland24
Wyoming23
New Jersey21
Nevada17
Maine16
Arizona15
Massachusetts14
Vermont14
New Hampshire10
Connecticut9
Hawaii5
Rhode Island5
Delaware3
District of Columbia1
  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