100K
200K
300K
400K
500K
600K
700K
800K
900K
1M
1.1M
1.2M
County | 2024 Population | Growth Since 2020 | Area (mi²) | Density (/mi²) | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wake County | 1,209,772 | 7.01% | 835 | 1,449 | |
Mecklenburg County | 1,183,327 | 5.9% | 524 | 2,258 | |
Guilford County | 553,275 | 2.59% | 646 | 856 | |
Forsyth County | 396,181 | 3.39% | 408 | 971 | |
Durham County | 340,492 | 4.58% | 288 | 1,182 | |
Cumberland County | 338,999 | 1.05% | 653 | 519 | |
Buncombe County | 278,012 | 3.08% | 656 | 424 | |
Union County | 263,732 | 10.13% | 633 | 417 | |
Johnston County | 249,008 | 14.32% | 792 | 314 | |
Cabarrus County | 244,123 | 7.44% | 361 | 676 | |
New Hanover County | 241,920 | 6.89% | 192 | 1,260 | |
Gaston County | 240,514 | 5.24% | 356 | 676 | |
Onslow County | 218,321 | 5.08% | 762 | 287 | |
Iredell County | 203,546 | 8.45% | 574 | 355 | |
Alamance County | 181,712 | 5.67% | 423 | 430 | |
Davidson County | 177,228 | 4.74% | 553 | 320 | |
Pitt County | 176,628 | 3.66% | 652 | 271 | |
Brunswick County | 167,020 | 20.88% | 850 | 196 | |
Catawba County | 166,123 | 3.25% | 401 | 414 | |
Rowan County | 153,649 | 4.4% | 512 | 300 | |
Orange County | 150,999 | 5.15% | 398 | 379 | |
Randolph County | 148,720 | 2.97% | 782 | 190 | |
Harnett County | 144,476 | 8.01% | 595 | 243 | |
Henderson County | 120,162 | 3.08% | 373 | 322 | |
Wayne County | 119,923 | 2.31% | 554 | 216 | |
Robeson County | 118,264 | 1.68% | 947 | 125 | |
Moore County | 108,305 | 7.99% | 698 | 155 | |
Craven County | 103,695 | 3.38% | 707 | 147 | |
Cleveland County | 102,103 | 2.29% | 464 | 220 | |
Lincoln County | 98,242 | 12.64% | 296 | 332 | |
Nash County | 97,282 | 2.23% | 540 | 180 | |
Rockingham County | 93,070 | 2.06% | 566 | 164 | |
Burke County | 88,704 | 1.3% | 506 | 175 | |
Chatham County | 83,309 | 8.67% | 681 | 122 | |
Caldwell County | 80,801 | 0.18% | 472 | 171 | |
Wilson County | 79,634 | 1.05% | 368 | 216 | |
Franklin County | 79,602 | 15.09% | 492 | 162 | |
Surry County | 71,442 | 0.1% | 533 | 134 | |
Pender County | 71,344 | 17.65% | 871 | 82 | |
Carteret County | 69,904 | 3.21% | 508 | 138 | |
Lee County | 68,575 | 8.1% | 255 | 269 | |
Stanly County | 67,167 | 7.22% | 395 | 170 | |
Wilkes County | 66,235 | 0.48% | 754 | 88 | |
Rutherford County | 66,069 | 2.45% | 565 | 117 | |
Haywood County | 63,323 | 1.78% | 554 | 114 | |
Granville County | 62,682 | 2.65% | 532 | 118 | |
Sampson County | 60,175 | 1.84% | 946 | 64 | |
Lenoir County | 55,291 | 0.45% | 399 | 139 | |
Hoke County | 55,201 | 5.68% | 390 | 142 | |
Watauga County | 54,483 | 0.67% | 312 | 175 | |
Columbus County | 50,167 | -0.65% | 938 | 53 | |
Duplin County | 50,106 | 2.98% | 815 | 61 | |
Edgecombe County | 49,275 | 1.03% | 505 | 98 | |
Halifax County | 46,885 | -3.39% | 724 | 65 | |
Stokes County | 45,928 | 3.04% | 449 | 102 | |
Jackson County | 45,226 | 7.08% | 491 | 92 | |
Davie County | 45,083 | 5.08% | 264 | 171 | |
McDowell County | 45,031 | 1.09% | 440 | 102 | |
Beaufort County | 44,562 | -0.3% | 833 | 53 | |
Vance County | 42,448 | -0.22% | 252 | 168 | |
Richmond County | 42,075 | -1.96% | 474 | 89 | |
Pasquotank County | 41,720 | 2.82% | 227 | 184 | |
Person County | 40,131 | 2.41% | 392 | 102 | |
Macon County | 38,855 | 4.74% | 516 | 75 | |
Dare County | 38,233 | 3.22% | 383 | 100 | |
Yadkin County | 38,041 | 2.11% | 335 | 114 | |
Alexander County | 36,630 | 0.39% | 260 | 141 | |
Scotland County | 34,402 | 0.33% | 319 | 108 | |
Transylvania County | 33,725 | 2.05% | 378 | 89 | |
Currituck County | 32,178 | 13.28% | 262 | 123 | |
Cherokee County | 30,459 | 5.55% | 456 | 67 | |
Bladen County | 29,577 | -0.19% | 875 | 34 | |
Ashe County | 27,064 | 1.81% | 426 | 64 | |
Montgomery County | 26,329 | 2.32% | 492 | 54 | |
Caswell County | 23,183 | 2.14% | 425 | 55 | |
Madison County | 22,261 | 4.58% | 450 | 49 | |
Anson County | 21,836 | -0.91% | 531 | 41 | |
Martin County | 21,416 | -2.44% | 456 | 47 | |
Greene County | 20,693 | 1.21% | 267 | 78 | |
Polk County | 20,108 | 3.7% | 238 | 84 | |
Hertford County | 19,272 | -9.85% | 353 | 55 | |
Yancey County | 19,108 | 3.31% | 313 | 61 | |
Warren County | 18,995 | 2.15% | 429 | 44 | |
Avery County | 17,581 | -1.49% | 247 | 71 | |
Bertie County | 16,776 | -6.09% | 699 | 24 | |
Northampton County | 16,603 | -4.76% | 537 | 31 | |
Mitchell County | 14,950 | 0.34% | 221 | 68 | |
Swain County | 13,896 | -1.47% | 528 | 26 | |
Chowan County | 13,884 | 1.32% | 173 | 80 | |
Perquimans County | 13,533 | 3.96% | 247 | 55 | |
Pamlico County | 12,612 | 2.54% | 337 | 37 | |
Clay County | 12,113 | 8.71% | 215 | 56 | |
Alleghany County | 11,491 | 5.47% | 235 | 49 | |
Camden County | 11,184 | 7.46% | 240 | 47 | |
Washington County | 10,650 | -3.01% | 347 | 31 | |
Gates County | 10,316 | -1.3% | 341 | 30 | |
Jones County | 9,583 | 4.74% | 471 | 20 | |
Graham County | 8,072 | 0.45% | 292 | 28 | |
Hyde County | 4,558 | 0.11% | 612 | 7 | |
Tyrrell County | 3,449 | 6.42% | 391 | 9 |
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.
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.
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%
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%