US Census Data

Largest by population in North Carolina

North Carolina counties and cities ranked by population.

This page ranks the counties and cities of North Carolina by population — which have the most people, according to the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Among counties, Wake County leads at 1,151,009.

Among cities & places, Charlotte leads at 886,283.

Counties

Top 100.
#NamePopulation
1Wake County1,151,009
2Mecklenburg County1,130,906
3Guilford County542,987
4Forsyth County386,740
5Cumberland County336,749
6Durham County329,405
7Buncombe County271,790
8Union County244,975
9Gaston County231,485
10Cabarrus County231,262
11New Hanover County231,214
12Johnston County226,623
13Onslow County208,537
14Iredell County191,800
15Alamance County174,286
16Pitt County172,279
17Davidson County171,063
18Catawba County162,051
19Rowan County148,487
20Orange County147,292
21Brunswick County145,889
22Randolph County145,322
23Harnett County136,503
24Wayne County117,606
25Henderson County117,387
26Robeson County116,858
27Moore County102,840
28Craven County101,074
29Cleveland County100,170
30Nash County95,451
31Rockingham County91,585
32Lincoln County90,359
33Burke County87,863
34Caldwell County80,618
35Wilson County78,648
36Chatham County78,319
37Franklin County71,962
38Surry County71,407
39Carteret County68,652
40Wilkes County65,983
41Rutherford County64,850
42Lee County64,565
43Stanly County63,557
44Pender County63,475
45Haywood County62,432
46Granville County61,439
47Sampson County59,245
48Lenoir County54,917
49Watauga County54,607
50Hoke County53,102
51Columbus County50,453
52Duplin County49,053
53Edgecombe County48,777
54Halifax County48,219
55Stokes County44,889
56McDowell County44,679
57Beaufort County44,597
58Davie County43,526
59Jackson County43,089
60Richmond County42,818
61Vance County42,361
62Pasquotank County40,830
63Person County39,275
64Dare County37,534
65Macon County37,533
66Yadkin County37,419
67Alexander County36,440
68Scotland County34,353
69Transylvania County33,243
70Currituck County29,612
71Bladen County29,591
72Cherokee County29,197
73Ashe County26,831
74Montgomery County25,874
75Caswell County22,689
76Anson County21,903
77Martin County21,773
78Madison County21,640
79Hertford County20,492
80Greene County20,421
81Polk County19,689
82Warren County18,751
83Yancey County18,676
84Avery County17,643
85Bertie County17,482
86Northampton County17,212
87Mitchell County14,973
88Swain County14,065
89Chowan County13,814
90Perquimans County13,146
91Pamlico County12,315
92Clay County11,391
93Alleghany County11,075
94Washington County10,905
95Camden County10,743
96Gates County10,437
97Jones County9,245
98Graham County8,041
99Hyde County4,625
100Tyrrell County3,376

Cities & places

Top 100.
#NamePopulation
1Charlotte886,283
2Raleigh470,763
3Greensboro298,564
4Durham288,465
5Winston-Salem250,887
6Fayetteville209,692
7Cary176,686
8Wilmington118,578
9High Point115,263
10Concord106,518
11Asheville94,369
12Greenville88,540
13Gastonia81,632
14Jacksonville73,507
15Apex67,765
16Huntersville62,458
17Chapel Hill59,889
18Burlington58,599
19Kannapolis56,470
20Rocky Mount54,175
21Mooresville51,447
22Wake Forest51,199
23Wilson47,740
24Hickory43,747
25Holly Springs43,429
26Indian Trail41,146
27Fuquay-Varina37,749
28Salisbury35,730
29Monroe35,596
30Goldsboro33,448
31Garner32,543
32Cornelius32,009
33New Bern31,563
34Sanford30,833
35Morrisville30,471
36Matthews29,959
37Statesville29,161
38Clayton28,043
39Kernersville27,439
40Asheboro27,353
41Thomasville27,261
42Mint Hill26,954
43Leland26,307
44Shelby21,868
45Clemmons21,574
46Waxhaw21,565
47Carrboro21,170
48Lexington19,691
49Kinston19,576
50Boone19,534
51Knightdale19,532
52Lumberton19,220
53Harrisburg19,203
54Mebane18,899
55Elizabeth City18,740
56Lenoir18,282
57Pinehurst17,992
58Mount Holly17,928
59Hope Mills17,823
60Morganton17,541
61Graham17,537
62Murraysville17,307
63Albemarle16,527
64Stallings16,495
65Havelock16,471
66Southern Pines16,052
67Eden15,353
68Hendersonville15,253
69Belmont15,140
70Laurinburg15,079
71Roanoke Rapids15,024
72Henderson14,922
73Davidson14,852
74Reidsville14,547
75Piney Green14,205
76Anderson Creek14,021
77Lewisville13,655
78Weddington13,468
79Newton13,223
80Lake Norman of Iredell12,496
81Myrtle Grove12,404
82Archdale11,992
83Smithfield11,798
84Spring Lake11,613
85Wendell11,585
86Lincolnton11,503
87Kings Mountain11,472
88Elon11,325
89Spout Springs11,073
90Summerfield11,031
91Pineville10,780
92Tarboro10,705
93Mount Airy10,631
94Winterville10,624
95Waynesville10,408
96Rolesville10,200
97Washington9,754
98Morehead City9,696
99Hillsborough9,656
100St. Stephens9,409

Nationwide

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Other rankings in North Carolina

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