North Carolina Counties by Population (2026)

by Kristen Carney

Updated: February 9, 2026

The most populous counties in North Carolina are Wake County with 1,178,653, Mecklenburg County at 1,154,681, Guilford County with 547,940, Forsyth County at 389,977, and Cumberland County with 338,545. 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 American Community Survey.

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 1,178,653
2 Mecklenburg County 1,154,681
3 Guilford County 547,940
4 Forsyth County 389,977
5 Cumberland County 338,545
6 Durham County 332,353
7 Buncombe County 274,360
8 Union County 250,958
9 Cabarrus County 236,133
10 New Hanover County 235,229
11 Gaston County 234,881
12 Johnston County 234,263
13 Onslow County 207,906
14 Iredell County 196,544
15 Pitt County 177,193
16 Alamance County 176,893
17 Davidson County 172,954
18 Catawba County 163,573
19 Brunswick County 152,568
20 Rowan County 149,875
21 Orange County 149,678
22 Randolph County 146,348
23 Harnett County 139,150
24 Wayne County 118,652
25 Henderson County 118,484
26 Robeson County 116,902
27 Moore County 104,876
28 Craven County 102,612
29 Cleveland County 100,991
30 Nash County 96,216
31 Lincoln County 92,716
32 Rockingham County 92,131
33 Burke County 87,795
34 Caldwell County 80,536
35 Chatham County 80,151
36 Wilson County 79,290
37 Franklin County 74,386
38 Surry County 71,425
39 Carteret County 69,148
40 Wilkes County 65,935
41 Lee County 65,816
42 Pender County 65,550
43 Rutherford County 64,930
44 Stanly County 64,651
45 Haywood County 62,662
46 Granville County 60,877
47 Sampson County 59,470
48 Watauga County 55,123
49 Lenoir County 54,919
50 Hoke County 53,835
51 Columbus County 50,140
52 Duplin County 49,335
53 Edgecombe County 48,736
54 Halifax County 47,675
55 Stokes County 45,139
56 McDowell County 44,817
57 Beaufort County 44,499
58 Davie County 44,122
59 Jackson County 43,771
60 Richmond County 42,344
61 Vance County 42,322
62 Pasquotank County 40,834
63 Person County 39,542
64 Macon County 37,941
65 Dare County 37,875
66 Yadkin County 37,574
67 Alexander County 36,412
68 Transylvania County 33,691
69 Scotland County 33,590
70 Currituck County 30,601
71 Bladen County 29,566
72 Cherokee County 29,562
73 Ashe County 26,950
74 Montgomery County 26,007
75 Caswell County 22,404
76 Anson County 22,289
77 Madison County 21,867
78 Martin County 21,644
79 Greene County 20,486
80 Hertford County 19,908
81 Polk County 19,891
82 Yancey County 18,797
83 Warren County 18,795
84 Avery County 17,680
85 Bertie County 17,170
86 Northampton County 16,931
87 Mitchell County 14,992
88 Swain County 14,013
89 Chowan County 13,836
90 Perquimans County 13,244
91 Pamlico County 12,390
92 Clay County 11,610
93 Alleghany County 11,174
94 Camden County 10,927
95 Washington County 10,812
96 Gates County 10,376
97 Jones County 9,302
98 Graham County 8,072
99 Hyde County 4,592
100 Tyrrell County 3,423

United States Census Bureau. B01001 SEX BY AGE, 2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Office. Web. January 29, 2026. http://www.census.gov/.

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