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The 2021 county population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau are the first set of population estimates based on the 2020 Census. Here’s what the new data tells us about how North Carolina counties have changed in the year following the Census.
73 NC counties have grown since 2020
North Carolina grew by 112,000 people or 1.1% between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, faster than the national rate of 0.1%. According to the estimates, 73 North Carolina counties grew in the 15 months following the Census.
The counties with the fastest-growth were coastal counties or Triangle suburbs: both Brunswick and Currituck had an estimated population increase of 5.5%, followed by Johnston (4.9%), Camden and Franklin (4.6%), and Pender (4.3%).
Other counties with growth above the state rate included:
- Dare, Carteret, and New Hanover on the coast
- suburbs around Mecklenburg (Lincoln, Iredell, Cabarrus, Union, and Gaston)
- Wake County and other Triangle suburbs and exurbs (Chatham, Harnett, Granville)
- Moore, Hoke, and Lee counties
- The western counties of Clay, Macon, and Cherokee, as well as Yancey, Madison, and Polk
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