North Carolina Counties by Population (2025)

by Kristen Carney Kristen Carney

Updated: December 17, 2024

The most populous counties in North Carolina are Wake County with 1,190,275, Mecklenburg County at 1,163,701, Guilford County with 549,866, Forsyth County at 392,921, and Cumberland County with 337,890. 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 2023 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 1,190,275
2 Mecklenburg County 1,163,701
3 Guilford County 549,866
4 Forsyth County 392,921
5 Cumberland County 337,890
6 Durham County 336,892
7 Buncombe County 275,901
8 Union County 256,452
9 Johnston County 241,955
10 Cabarrus County 240,016
11 New Hanover County 238,852
12 Gaston County 237,242
13 Onslow County 213,676
14 Iredell County 199,710
15 Alamance County 179,165
16 Pitt County 175,119
17 Davidson County 174,804
18 Catawba County 164,645
19 Brunswick County 159,964
20 Rowan County 151,661
21 Orange County 150,626
22 Randolph County 147,458
23 Harnett County 141,477
24 Henderson County 119,230
25 Wayne County 118,686
26 Robeson County 117,365
27 Moore County 106,898
28 Craven County 102,391
29 Cleveland County 101,378
30 Nash County 96,551
31 Lincoln County 95,675
32 Rockingham County 92,518
33 Burke County 88,338
34 Chatham County 81,624
35 Caldwell County 80,574
36 Wilson County 78,970
37 Franklin County 77,001
38 Surry County 71,462
39 Carteret County 69,615
40 Pender County 68,521
41 Lee County 67,059
42 Wilkes County 66,013
43 Stanly County 65,699
44 Rutherford County 65,507
45 Haywood County 62,969
46 Granville County 62,192
47 Sampson County 59,601
48 Lenoir County 54,895
49 Watauga County 54,748
50 Hoke County 54,446
51 Columbus County 50,121
52 Duplin County 49,520
53 Edgecombe County 48,832
54 Halifax County 47,298
55 Stokes County 45,532
56 McDowell County 44,893
57 Davie County 44,599
58 Jackson County 44,574
59 Beaufort County 44,481
60 Richmond County 42,324
61 Vance County 42,301
62 Pasquotank County 41,444
63 Person County 39,737
64 Macon County 38,412
65 Dare County 38,110
66 Yadkin County 37,774
67 Alexander County 36,473
68 Scotland County 34,376
69 Transylvania County 33,549
70 Currituck County 31,593
71 Cherokee County 29,959
72 Bladen County 29,484
73 Ashe County 27,063
74 Montgomery County 26,085
75 Caswell County 22,807
76 Madison County 22,071
77 Anson County 21,897
78 Martin County 21,447
79 Greene County 20,530
80 Polk County 20,060
81 Hertford County 19,453
82 Yancey County 18,938
83 Warren County 18,836
84 Avery County 17,561
85 Bertie County 16,922
86 Northampton County 16,715
87 Mitchell County 14,999
88 Swain County 13,916
89 Chowan County 13,891
90 Perquimans County 13,377
91 Pamlico County 12,423
92 Clay County 11,864
93 Alleghany County 11,342
94 Camden County 11,137
95 Washington County 10,713
96 Gates County 10,343
97 Jones County 9,401
98 Graham County 8,052
99 Hyde County 4,607
100 Tyrrell County 3,461

United States Census Bureau. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023. Population Division. May 2024.

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