North Carolina Counties by Population (2025)

by Kristen Carney Kristen Carney

Updated: August 7, 2025

The most populous counties in North Carolina are Wake County with 1,232,444, Mecklenburg County at 1,206,285, Guilford County with 558,816, Forsyth County at 398,143, and Durham County with 343,628. You can get the most current Census population data for all 100 North Carolina counties, sorted from the most populous counties in North Carolina to the least, according to the 2024 Population Estimates Program.

Sure, you can copy this list right into your favorite spreadsheet tool. Or save yourself formatting headaches and grab the latest North Carolina counties population data as a ready-to-use Excel™ file below. It's time to stop searching and start digging into data!

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Rank County Population
1 Wake County 1,232,444
2 Mecklenburg County 1,206,285
3 Guilford County 558,816
4 Forsyth County 398,143
5 Durham County 343,628
6 Cumberland County 338,430
7 Buncombe County 279,210
8 Union County 263,386
9 Johnston County 249,794
10 Cabarrus County 244,925
11 New Hanover County 243,333
12 Gaston County 242,010
13 Onslow County 212,954
14 Iredell County 206,361
15 Alamance County 183,040
16 Pitt County 180,783
17 Davidson County 177,809
18 Brunswick County 167,112
19 Catawba County 167,054
20 Rowan County 153,384
21 Orange County 152,877
22 Randolph County 148,389
23 Harnett County 146,096
24 Henderson County 120,771
25 Wayne County 120,338
26 Robeson County 118,624
27 Moore County 108,417
28 Craven County 104,167
29 Cleveland County 102,194
30 Nash County 97,990
31 Lincoln County 97,611
32 Rockingham County 93,517
33 Burke County 88,545
34 Chatham County 83,874
35 Caldwell County 80,739
36 Wilson County 79,958
37 Franklin County 79,771
38 Surry County 71,547
39 Carteret County 70,259
40 Pender County 70,077
41 Lee County 68,537
42 Stanly County 67,326
43 Wilkes County 66,186
44 Rutherford County 65,587
45 Haywood County 63,048
46 Granville County 61,544
47 Sampson County 60,404
48 Hoke County 55,382
49 Lenoir County 55,332
50 Watauga County 54,997
51 Duplin County 50,539
52 Columbus County 50,054
53 Edgecombe County 49,124
54 Halifax County 46,992
55 Stokes County 45,857
56 Davie County 45,383
57 Jackson County 45,281
58 McDowell County 45,269
59 Beaufort County 44,576
60 Vance County 42,337
61 Richmond County 41,990
62 Pasquotank County 41,418
63 Person County 40,143
64 Macon County 38,717
65 Dare County 38,183
66 Yadkin County 37,995
67 Alexander County 36,693
68 Transylvania County 34,103
69 Scotland County 33,898
70 Currituck County 32,278
71 Cherokee County 30,373
72 Bladen County 29,777
73 Ashe County 27,266
74 Montgomery County 26,364
75 Anson County 22,432
76 Caswell County 22,363
77 Madison County 22,352
78 Martin County 21,523
79 Greene County 20,671
80 Polk County 20,320
81 Hertford County 19,169
82 Warren County 19,081
83 Yancey County 18,993
84 Avery County 17,811
85 Bertie County 16,939
86 Northampton County 16,580
87 Mitchell County 15,030
88 Swain County 13,945
89 Chowan County 13,891
90 Perquimans County 13,460
91 Pamlico County 12,550
92 Clay County 12,042
93 Alleghany County 11,379
94 Camden County 11,184
95 Washington County 10,654
96 Gates County 10,299
97 Jones County 9,462
98 Graham County 8,179
99 Hyde County 4,583
100 Tyrrell County 3,517

United States Census Bureau. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2024. Population Division. May 2025.

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