North Carolina Counties by Population (2026)

2026 Pop.

100K

200K

300K

400K

500K

600K

700K

800K

900K

1M

1.1M

1.2M

Top 5 Most Populous Counties

100 Counties

County
2026 Pop. ↓
Area (mi²)
Density
Change (2020)
Wake County1,290,5448351,54614.14%
Mecklenburg County1,266,3995242,41713.45%
Guilford County570,6886468835.93%
Forsyth County406,7594089976.3%
Durham County356,4082881,23810.51%
Cumberland County338,4686535180.38%
Buncombe County284,0526564335.32%
Union County275,13863343514.79%
Johnston County264,66679233421.73%
Cabarrus County253,55936170211.58%
New Hanover County249,8911921,30210.36%
Gaston County249,7243567019.23%
Iredell County218,46157438116.39%
Onslow County216,4947622845.55%
Alamance County189,88642344910.64%
Pitt County184,4376522836.22%
Davidson County183,6535533328.64%
Brunswick County181,62685021431.45%
Catawba County171,2524014276.44%
Rowan County156,3865123056.45%
Harnett County154,70459526015.7%
Orange County154,1533983877.25%
Randolph County149,8857821923.79%
Henderson County123,1613733305.65%
Wayne County121,8745542203.48%
Robeson County120,4629471273.88%
Moore County111,10769815910.78%
Craven County105,8437071504.27%
Cleveland County103,4604642233.52%
Lincoln County101,26129634216.17%
Nash County100,3785401865.48%
Rockingham County95,2755661684.45%
Burke County89,3415061772.4%
Chatham County87,63868112914.32%
Franklin County85,12949217323.33%
Caldwell County81,0594721720.59%
Wilson County80,6623682191.72%
Pender County73,5198718421.27%
Surry County71,7275331350.5%
Carteret County71,3535081405.4%
Lee County70,76925527811.62%
Stanly County70,34239517812.23%
Wilkes County66,524754880.99%
Rutherford County66,0235651172.59%
Haywood County63,3005541141.74%
Granville County61,9085321162.92%
Sampson County61,728946654.5%
Hoke County56,9723901469.04%
Lenoir County56,0623991411.82%
Watauga County54,151312174-0.59%
Duplin County51,979815646.8%
Columbus County49,88293853-1.17%
Edgecombe County49,480505981.44%
Davie County46,9612641789.48%
Halifax County46,84072465-3.26%
Stokes County46,5994491044.53%
McDowell County45,8714401042.96%
Jackson County45,743491938.53%
Beaufort County44,908833540.49%
Vance County42,353252168-0.48%
Richmond County41,96447489-1.78%
Pasquotank County41,8942271854.03%
Person County40,7653921044.03%
Macon County39,291516765.92%
Yadkin County38,3893351153.05%
Dare County38,1873831003.1%
Alexander County37,2252601432.24%
Transylvania County34,441378913.56%
Scotland County34,3743191082.85%
Currituck County33,61626212818.35%
Cherokee County31,215456688.15%
Bladen County30,321875352.33%
Ashe County27,662426654.03%
Montgomery County26,610492543.46%
Madison County22,978450517.9%
Anson County22,534531422.27%
Caswell County22,13142552-1.52%
Martin County21,60145647-1.63%
Polk County20,900238887.84%
Greene County20,725267781.4%
Warren County19,719429466.01%
Yancey County19,099313613.26%
Hertford County19,03935354-12.61%
Avery County18,011247731.1%
Bertie County16,79169924-5.23%
Northampton County16,33053730-6.36%
Mitchell County15,084221681.25%
Swain County13,98952826-0.81%
Chowan County13,885173801.3%
Perquimans County13,646247554.79%
Pamlico County12,750337383.56%
Clay County12,3802155811.08%
Alleghany County11,457235495.22%
Camden County11,288240478.47%
Washington County10,48434730-4.53%
Gates County10,18934130-2.5%
Jones County9,490471203.77%
Graham County8,379292294.23%
Hyde County4,4736127-0.91%
Tyrrell County3,51139198.57%

Overview of North Carolina Counties

There are 100 counties in North Carolina.

Wake County is the largest county in the state, with a population of 1,290,544. The most recent census shows that its population has increased by 0.14% since the previous census.

A number of other North Carolina counties also boast relatively large populations for their state, though not able to match the density of Wake County:

North Carolina Counties with the Fewest Residents

The smallest county in North Carolina is Tyrrell County , with a population of just 3,511. This total represents a increase of 0.1% since the last census count was performed.

Other small counties include:

North Carolina Counties with Rapid Growth

Brunswick County , with its sizeable population of 181,626, has shown the largest population growth, with an increase of 0.3% since the last census.

Wake County has also had relatively high population growth of 0.14% with 1,290,544 residents.

On the other hand, Hertford County has had the largest decrease in population, with its 19,039 current residents totalling 0.1% less than the previous census.

Sources

  1. US Census State Population Estimates - Most recent state estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  2. US Census County Population Estimates - Most recent county estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  3. American Community Survey (2009 - 2013)
  4. Census QuickFacts
  5. Historical Populations of States and Counties (1790 - 1990)

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