North Carolina County Population — All 100 Counties Ranked

All 100 North Carolina counties — ranked by population

Rank	County	Seat	Region	Pop. (latest)	% of state	Density (/sq mi)
1	Wake	Raleigh	Piedmont	1,129,410	10.82%	1,353
2	Mecklenburg	Charlotte	Piedmont	1,115,482	10.68%	2,121
3	Guilford	Greensboro	Piedmont	541,299	5.18%	839
4	Forsyth	Winston-Salem	Piedmont	382,590	3.66%	933
5	Cumberland	Fayetteville	Coastal Plain	334,728	3.21%	513
6	Durham	Durham	Piedmont	324,833	3.11%	1,136
7	Buncombe	Asheville	Mountains	269,452	2.58%	411
8	Union	Monroe	Piedmont	238,267	2.28%	377
9	Gaston	Gastonia	Piedmont	227,943	2.18%	640
10	Cabarrus	Concord	Piedmont	225,804	2.16%	624
11	New Hanover	Wilmington	Coastal Plain	225,702	2.16%	1,176
12	Johnston	Smithfield	Coastal Plain	215,999	2.07%	273
13	Onslow	Jacksonville	Coastal Plain	204,576	1.96%	268
14	Iredell	Statesville	Piedmont	186,693	1.79%	325
15	Alamance	Graham	Piedmont	171,415	1.64%	405
16	Pitt	Greenville	Coastal Plain	170,243	1.63%	261
17	Davidson	Lexington	Piedmont	168,930	1.62%	305
18	Catawba	Newton	Piedmont	160,610	1.54%	401
19	Orange	Hillsborough	Piedmont	148,696	1.42%	374
20	Rowan	Salisbury	Piedmont	146,875	1.41%	287
21	Randolph	Asheboro	Piedmont	144,171	1.38%	183
22	Brunswick	Bolivia	Coastal Plain	136,693	1.31%	161
23	Harnett	Lillington	Piedmont	133,568	1.28%	224
24	Wayne	Goldsboro	Coastal Plain	117,333	1.12%	212
25	Robeson	Lumberton	Coastal Plain	116,530	1.12%	123
26	Henderson	Hendersonville	Mountains	116,281	1.11%	312
27	Craven	New Bern	Coastal Plain	100,720	0.96%	142
28	Moore	Carthage	Piedmont	99,727	0.96%	143
29	Cleveland	Shelby	Piedmont	99,519	0.95%	214
30	Nash	Nashville	Coastal Plain	94,970	0.91%	176
31	Rockingham	Wentworth	Piedmont	91,096	0.87%	161
32	Burke	Morganton	Mountains	87,570	0.84%	173
33	Lincoln	Lincolnton	Piedmont	86,111	0.82%	289
34	Caldwell	Lenoir	Mountains	80,652	0.77%	171
35	Wilson	Wilson	Coastal Plain	78,580	0.75%	212
36	Chatham	Pittsboro	Piedmont	76,285	0.73%	112
37	Surry	Dobson	Piedmont	71,219	0.68%	133
38	Franklin	Louisburg	Piedmont	68,573	0.66%	139
39	Carteret	Beaufort	Coastal Plain	67,686	0.65%	134
40	Wilkes	Wilkesboro	Mountains	65,969	0.63%	87
41	Rutherford	Rutherfordton	Mountains	64,444	0.62%	114
42	Lee	Sanford	Piedmont	63,285	0.61%	246
43	Stanly	Albemarle	Piedmont	62,806	0.60%	159
44	Haywood	Waynesville	Mountains	62,317	0.60%	113
45	Granville	Oxford	Piedmont	60,992	0.58%	115
46	Pender	Burgaw	Coastal Plain	60,203	0.58%	69
47	Sampson	Clinton	Coastal Plain	59,036	0.57%	62
48	Lenoir	Kinston	Coastal Plain	55,122	0.53%	138
49	Watauga	Boone	Mountains	54,086	0.52%	173
50	Hoke	Raeford	Coastal Plain	52,082	0.50%	133
51	Columbus	Whiteville	Coastal Plain	50,623	0.48%	54
52	Duplin	Kenansville	Coastal Plain	49,043	0.47%	60
53	Edgecombe	Tarboro	Coastal Plain	48,903	0.47%	97
54	Halifax	Halifax	Coastal Plain	48,622	0.47%	67
55	Stokes	Danbury	Piedmont	45,591	0.44%	101
56	Beaufort	Washington	Coastal Plain	44,652	0.43%	54
57	McDowell	Marion	Mountains	44,578	0.43%	101
58	Jackson	Sylva	Mountains	43,109	0.41%	88
59	Richmond	Rockingham	Piedmont	42,946	0.41%	91
60	Davie	Mocksville	Piedmont	42,712	0.41%	162
61	Vance	Henderson	Piedmont	42,578	0.41%	168
62	Pasquotank	Elizabeth City	Coastal Plain	40,568	0.39%	179
63	Person	Roxboro	Piedmont	39,097	0.37%	100
64	Yadkin	Yadkinville	Piedmont	37,214	0.36%	111
65	Macon	Franklin	Mountains	37,014	0.35%	72
66	Dare	Manteo	Coastal Plain	36,915	0.35%	96
67	Alexander	Taylorsville	Piedmont	36,063	0.35%	139
68	Scotland	Laurinburg	Coastal Plain	34,782	0.33%	109
69	Transylvania	Brevard	Mountains	33,090	0.32%	87
70	Bladen	Elizabethtown	Coastal Plain	29,606	0.28%	34
71	Cherokee	Murphy	Mountains	28,612	0.27%	63
72	Currituck	Currituck	Coastal Plain	28,100	0.27%	107
73	Ashe	Jefferson	Mountains	26,577	0.25%	62
74	Montgomery	Troy	Piedmont	25,564	0.24%	52
75	Caswell	Yanceyville	Piedmont	22,736	0.22%	53
76	Martin	Williamston	Coastal Plain	22,158	0.21%	48
77	Anson	Wadesboro	Piedmont	22,055	0.21%	42
78	Hertford	Winton	Coastal Plain	21,552	0.21%	61
79	Madison	Marshall	Mountains	21,193	0.20%	47
80	Greene	Snow Hill	Coastal Plain	20,456	0.20%	77
81	Polk	Columbus	Mountains	19,328	0.19%	81
82	Warren	Warrenton	Piedmont	18,642	0.18%	43
83	Yancey	Burnsville	Mountains	18,470	0.18%	59
84	Bertie	Windsor	Coastal Plain	17,934	0.17%	26
85	Avery	Newland	Mountains	17,557	0.17%	71
86	Northampton	Jackson	Coastal Plain	17,471	0.17%	33
87	Mitchell	Bakersville	Mountains	14,903	0.14%	67
88	Swain	Bryson City	Mountains	14,117	0.14%	27
89	Chowan	Edenton	Coastal Plain	13,943	0.13%	81
90	Perquimans	Hertford	Coastal Plain	13,005	0.12%	53
91	Pamlico	Bayboro	Coastal Plain	12,276	0.12%	37
92	Clay	Hayesville	Mountains	11,089	0.11%	52
93	Washington	Plymouth	Coastal Plain	11,003	0.11%	32
94	Alleghany	Sparta	Mountains	10,888	0.10%	46
95	Camden	Camden	Coastal Plain	10,867	0.10%	45
96	Gates	Gatesville	Coastal Plain	10,478	0.10%	31
97	Jones	Trenton	Coastal Plain	9,172	0.09%	19
98	Graham	Robbinsville	Mountains	8,030	0.08%	28
99	Hyde	Swan Quarter	Coastal Plain	4,589	0.04%	7
100	Tyrrell	Columbia	Coastal Plain	3,245	0.03%	8

How North Carolina's population is distributed

North Carolina's population is unusually concentrated for a state of its physical size. The ten largest counties — almost all in the Piedmont urban crescent from Charlotte through the Triad to the Triangle — contain roughly 46% of all residents, while the smallest 25 counties combined account for less than 7%. The median county has only about 52,082 residents, far below the state average of about 104,409 per county.

This concentration is a relatively modern story. As late as 1950, only Mecklenburg and Guilford counties exceeded 200,000 people; today, sixteen do.

Population density

The densest county in North Carolina is Mecklenburg, at roughly 2,121 residents per square mile — a function of its compact footprint as much as its raw population. Mecklenburg, Durham, and Forsyth follow. Outside the urban band, density drops sharply: the median NC county has fewer than 150 residents per square mile, and the least-dense counties in the Mountains and northeastern Coastal Plain fall below 30.

Growth patterns

Three patterns dominate recent growth:

Suburban ring growth around Charlotte (Union, Cabarrus, Iredell), Raleigh-Durham (Johnston, Chatham, Franklin), and the Triad (Davidson, Randolph).
Coastal growth in Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender, Dare, and Currituck — driven by retirement migration and remote-work relocations.
Mountain plateau in Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood — slower than the urban crescent but steadily positive.

Rural Coastal Plain counties (Bertie, Halifax, Northampton, Edgecombe, Tyrrell) have continued to lose population over the same period.

Data & sources

Population figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau, latest official data — Decennial Census Table P1 supplemented by Vintage population estimates for counties. Boundaries and land area come from Census cartographic boundary files, cross-checked against NC OneMap. We round all figures to the nearest whole person and the nearest square mile. See our full methodology.

Frequently asked questions

What is the total population of North Carolina?

North Carolina's latest official population is 10,440,889, the 9th-largest of any U.S. state, summed across all 100 counties.

Which NC county has the largest population?

Wake County, anchored by Raleigh, with 1,129,410 residents in the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.

Which NC county has the smallest population?

Tyrrell County (Columbia), with about 3,245 residents — the only NC county under 4,000.

What is the median NC county population?

The median county has roughly 52,082 residents — meaning half of NC's 100 counties have fewer than that, and half have more.

Which NC county is the most densely populated?

Mecklenburg County is the densest at roughly 2,121 residents per square mile, driven by its compact footprint and large urban population.

How concentrated is NC's population?

Roughly 46% of all North Carolinians live in just the ten largest counties — Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Forsyth, Cumberland, Buncombe, Durham, New Hanover, Union, and Cabarrus.