Fastest-Growing Counties in North Carolina

North Carolina's counties, ranked by how much their population changed between two official U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Population change from July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 · all 100 counties ranked

Counties ranked by percentage population change from 2020 to 2025. Both endpoint estimates and the numeric change are shown beside the percentage.
RankCounty20202025Change% change
1Brunswick County138,135174,702+36,567+26.5%
2Pender County60,61472,111+11,497+19.0%
3Franklin County69,02982,037+13,008+18.8%
4Johnston County217,450256,448+38,998+17.9%
5Currituck County28,40533,158+4,753+16.7%
6Lincoln County87,15398,654+11,501+13.2%
7Iredell County187,676211,798+24,122+12.9%
8Harnett County133,716150,137+16,421+12.3%
9Union County239,615267,674+28,059+11.7%
10Wake County1,130,9031,257,235+126,332+11.2%
11Chatham County76,66385,111+8,448+11.0%
12Lee County63,38870,258+6,870+10.8%
13Mecklenburg County1,116,1831,233,383+117,200+10.5%
14Moore County100,295110,619+10,324+10.3%
15Cabarrus County227,240249,725+22,485+9.9%
16Clay County11,14112,239+1,098+9.9%
17Stanly County62,66668,830+6,164+9.8%
18Tyrrell County3,2373,537+300+9.3%
19Hoke County52,23056,939+4,709+9.0%
20Camden County10,40511,315+910+8.7%
21New Hanover County226,449245,959+19,510+8.6%
22Alamance County171,624186,177+14,553+8.5%
23Gaston County228,640246,558+17,918+7.8%
24Durham County322,465347,240+24,775+7.7%
25Jackson County42,14245,039+2,897+6.9%
26Davie County42,90945,855+2,946+6.9%
27Cherokee County28,86630,830+1,964+6.8%
28Davidson County169,029180,182+11,153+6.6%
29Orange County143,748152,498+8,750+6.1%
30Duplin County48,66051,571+2,911+6.0%
31Polk County19,37820,533+1,155+6.0%
32Onslow County204,984217,175+12,191+5.9%
33Madison County21,29222,553+1,261+5.9%
34Macon County37,08539,232+2,147+5.8%
35Catawba County160,892170,172+9,280+5.8%
36Rowan County146,893155,096+8,203+5.6%
37Alleghany County10,89111,479+588+5.4%
38Pitt County173,642182,936+9,294+5.4%
39Forsyth County382,618401,718+19,100+5.0%
40Henderson County116,564122,375+5,811+5.0%
41Jones County9,1509,575+425+4.6%
42Pasquotank County40,40042,201+1,801+4.5%
43Guilford County538,726562,234+23,508+4.4%
44Sampson County59,07861,504+2,426+4.1%
45Carteret County67,69270,469+2,777+4.1%
46Nash County95,63399,365+3,732+3.9%
47Wayne County117,758122,278+4,520+3.8%
48Person County39,18440,636+1,452+3.7%
49Pamlico County12,30812,758+450+3.7%
50Perquimans County13,02413,490+466+3.6%
51Randolph County144,401149,516+5,115+3.5%
52Stokes County44,56546,126+1,561+3.5%
53Ashe County26,58527,514+929+3.5%
54Craven County101,514105,025+3,511+3.5%
55Robeson County115,980119,941+3,961+3.4%
56Cleveland County99,926103,325+3,399+3.4%
57Rockingham County91,20194,195+2,994+3.3%
58Dare County37,03638,245+1,209+3.3%
59Yancey County18,49219,084+592+3.2%
60Yadkin County37,25038,325+1,075+2.9%
61Transylvania County33,25534,211+956+2.9%
62Buncombe County269,703277,417+7,714+2.9%
63Chowan County13,70214,082+380+2.8%
64Montgomery County25,70026,403+703+2.7%
65Rutherford County64,37065,745+1,375+2.1%
66Granville County60,17861,421+1,243+2.1%
67Graham County8,0398,190+151+1.9%
68Haywood County62,21963,369+1,150+1.8%
69Wilson County79,81681,150+1,334+1.7%
70Burke County87,26288,655+1,393+1.6%
71Warren County18,60618,898+292+1.6%
72Alexander County36,40636,958+552+1.5%
73McDowell County44,55445,198+644+1.4%
74Lenoir County55,06255,837+775+1.4%
75Bladen County29,62830,007+379+1.3%
76Greene County20,44120,700+259+1.3%
77Surry County71,38672,287+901+1.3%
78Mitchell County14,90115,062+161+1.1%
79Avery County17,91818,110+192+1.1%
80Hyde County4,5084,554+46+1.0%
81Edgecombe County48,78149,121+340+0.7%
82Caldwell County80,58281,105+523+0.6%
83Watauga County54,46654,786+320+0.6%
84Wilkes County65,87166,233+362+0.5%
85Cumberland County337,000338,473+1,473+0.4%
86Caswell County22,47622,563+87+0.4%
87Vance County42,55442,638+84+0.2%
88Columbus County50,48750,48700.0%
89Beaufort County44,69444,670-24-0.1%
90Scotland County33,41333,322-91-0.3%
91Swain County14,10714,024-83-0.6%
92Martin County21,95421,601-353-1.6%
93Richmond County42,72942,041-688-1.6%
94Gates County10,45010,234-216-2.1%
95Anson County22,23321,758-475-2.1%
96Washington County10,97610,638-338-3.1%
97Bertie County17,72217,086-636-3.6%
98Halifax County48,40146,534-1,867-3.9%
99Northampton County17,43316,491-942-5.4%
100Hertford County21,41419,015-2,399-11.2%

About this ranking

Source
U.S. Census Bureau — County Resident Population Estimates (CO-EST2025-ALLDATA), Vintage 2025
Reference interval
July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025, both from the same release
Universe
100 counties in North Carolina; 100 ranked
Ranked by
Percentage change, largest increase first
Formula
Change = 2025 estimate − 2020 estimate; percentage = change ÷ 2020 estimate × 100
Ties
Counties with equal percentage change share a rank; their display order is settled by name and then by official Census geographic identifier, so the order is the same everywhere.

A percentage change can look large when the starting population is small, which is why every row shows both endpoint estimates and the numeric change beside it. These estimates record how a county's population changed, not why it changed.

← Back to North Carolina