List of municipalities in North Carolina

Map of the United States with North Carolina highlighted
Most populous municipalities in North Carolina. Red dots represent top 10 municipalities; Green dots represent top 11-20 municipalities.

North Carolina is a state located in the Southern United States. According to the 2020 United States census, North Carolina is the 9th-most populous state with 10,439,388 inhabitants, but the 28th-largest by land area spanning 53,819 square miles (139,390 km2) of land.[1][2] North Carolina is divided into 100 counties and contains 551 municipalities consisting of cities, towns, or villages.[3] The three different terms have no legal distinction.

Most populous municipalities

[edit]

 ‡  State capital and county seat
 †  County seat

Below is a list of the 50 most populous municipalities in North Carolina according to the 2020 census and 2023 census estimate.[4][5][6]

Name Population (2023) Population (2020) Change Type County
Charlotte 911,311 874,579 +4.20% City Mecklenburg
Raleigh 482,295 467,665 +3.13% City Wake (seat), Durham
Greensboro 302,296 299,035 +1.09% City Guilford
Durham 296,186 283,506 +4.47% City Durham (seat), Wake, Orange
Winston-Salem 252,975 249,545 +1.37% City Forsyth
Fayetteville 209,749 208,501 +0.60% City Cumberland
Cary 180,010 174,721 +3.03% Town Wake, Chatham
Wilmington 122,698 115,451 +6.28% City New Hanover
High Point 116,926 114,059 +2.51% City Guilford, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth
Concord 110,119 105,240 +4.64% City Cabarrus
Asheville 95,056 94,589 +0.49% City Buncombe
Greenville 90,053 87,521 +2.89% City Pitt
Gastonia 83,942 80,411 +4.39% City Gaston
Jacksonville 72,879 72,723 +0.21% City Onslow
Apex 72,225 58,780 +22.87% Town Wake
Huntersville 64,688 61,376 +5.40% Town Mecklenburg
Chapel Hill 62,043 61,960 +0.13% Town Orange, Durham
Burlington 60,032 57,303 +4.76% City Alamance
Kannapolis 59,321 53,114 +11.69% City Cabarrus, Rowan
Wake Forest 54,337 47,601 +14.15% Town Wake, Franklin
Rocky Mount 54,245 54,341 −0.18% City Edgecombe, Nash
Mooresville 53,721 50,193 +7.03% Town Iredell
Wilson 47,833 47,851 −0.04% City Wilson
Holly Springs 46,271 41,239 +12.20% Town Wake
Hickory 44,415 43,490 +2.13% City Catawba, Burke, Caldwell
Fuquay-Varina 43,817 34,152 +28.30% Town Wake
Indian Trail 42,854 39,997 +7.14% Town Union
Monroe 37,797 34,562 +9.36% City Union
Salisbury 36,319 35,540 +2.19% City Rowan
Garner 35,265 31,159 +13.18% Town Wake
Goldsboro 33,469 33,657 −0.56% City Wayne
Cornelius 33,139 31,412 +5.50% Town Mecklenburg
New Bern 32,226 31,291 +2.99% City Craven
Sanford 32,064 30,261 +5.96% City Lee
Morrisville 31,703 29,630 +7.00% Town Wake, Durham
Matthews 30,934 29,435 +5.09% Town Mecklenburg
Leland 30,542 22,908 +33.32% Town Brunswick
Statesville 30,220 28,419 +6.34% City Iredell
Clayton 30,216 26,307 +14.86% Town Johnston, Wake
Kernersville 28,016 26,449 +5.92% Town Forsyth, Guilford
Mint Hill 27,815 26,450 +5.16% Town Mecklenburg, Union
Asheboro 27,726 27,156 +2.10% City Randolph
Thomasville 27,435 27,183 +0.93% City Davidson, Randolph
Waxhaw 23,073 20,534 +12.36% Town Union
Clemmons 22,159 21,163 +4.71% Village Forsyth
Shelby 22,010 21,918 +0.42% City Cleveland
Carrboro 21,103 21,295 −0.90% Town Orange
Knightdale 20,275 19,435 +4.32% Town Wake
Mebane 20,212 17,797 +13.57% City Alamance, Orange
Harrisburg 19,883 18,967 +4.83% Town Cabarrus

A

[edit]

B

[edit]

C

[edit]

D

[edit]

E

[edit]

F

[edit]

G

[edit]

H

[edit]

I

[edit]

J

[edit]

K

[edit]

L

[edit]

M

[edit]

N

[edit]

O

[edit]

P

[edit]

R

[edit]

S

[edit]

T

[edit]

U

[edit]

V

[edit]

W

[edit]

Y

[edit]

Z

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: North Carolina". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  2. ^ "North Carolina | Capital, Map, History, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  3. ^ "How NC Cities Work". North Carolina League of Municipalities. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  4. ^ "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  5. ^ Brinkhoff, Thomas (June 7, 2024). "USA: North Carolina". City Population. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Carney, Kristen (June 20, 2024). "North Carolina Cities by Population (2024)". www.northcarolina-demographics.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
[edit]