List of municipalities in North Carolina

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, while 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

 ‡  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 2024 census estimate.[4][5][6]

Name Population (2024) Population (2020) Change Type County
Charlotte† 943,476 874,579 +7.88% City Mecklenburg
Raleigh‡ 499,825 467,665 +6.88% City Wake (seat), Durham
Greensboro† 307,381 299,035 +2.79% City Guilford
Durham† 301,870 283,506 +6.48% City Durham (seat), Wake, Orange
Winston-Salem† 255,769 249,545 +2.49% City Forsyth
Fayetteville† 209,496 208,501 +0.48% City Cumberland
Cary 182,659 174,721 +4.54% Town Wake, Chatham, Durham
Wilmington† 125,284 115,451 +8.52% City New Hanover
High Point 118,601 114,059 +3.98% City Guilford, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth
Concord† 112,395 105,240 +6.80% City Cabarrus
Greenville† 95,138 87,521 +8.70% City Pitt
Asheville† 94,992 94,589 +0.43% City Buncombe
Gastonia† 85,535 80,411 +6.37% City Gaston
Apex 75,977 58,780 +29.26% Town Wake
Jacksonville† 70,840 72,723 −2.59% City Onslow
Huntersville 67,087 61,376 +9.30% Town Mecklenburg
Chapel Hill 64,028 61,960 +3.34% Town Orange, Durham
Burlington 61,365 57,303 +7.09% City Alamance
Kannapolis 60,521 53,114 +13.95% City Cabarrus, Rowan
Wake Forest 56,764 47,601 +19.25% Town Wake, Franklin
Rocky Mount 54,541 54,341 +0.37% City Edgecombe, Nash
Mooresville 52,884 50,193 +5.36% Town Iredell
Holly Springs 48,674 41,239 +18.03% Town Wake
Wilson† 48,579 47,851 +1.52% City Wilson
Fuquay-Varina 46,317 34,152 +35.62% Town Wake
Hickory 45,081 43,490 +3.66% City Catawba, Burke, Caldwell
Indian Trail 43,864 39,997 +9.67% Town Union
Monroe† 40,054 34,562 +15.89% City Union
Garner 39,345 31,159 +26.27% Town Wake
Salisbury† 36,579 35,540 +2.92% City Rowan
Cornelius 34,366 31,412 +9.40% Town Mecklenburg
Goldsboro† 34,629 33,657 +2.89% City Wayne
Leland 34,451 22,908 +50.39% Town Brunswick
New Bern† 34,218 31,291 +9.35% City Craven
Sanford† 32,971 30,261 +8.96% City Lee
Morrisville 32,628 29,630 +10.12% Town Wake, Durham
Matthews 32,048 29,435 +8.88% Town Mecklenburg
Clayton 31,732 26,307 +20.62% Town Johnston, Wake
Statesville† 31,693 28,419 +11.52% City Iredell
Mint Hill 28,825 26,450 +8.98% Town Mecklenburg, Union
Kernersville 28,760 26,449 +8.74% Town Forsyth, Guilford
Asheboro† 27,928 27,156 +2.84% City Randolph
Thomasville 27,605 27,183 +1.55% City Davidson, Randolph
Waxhaw 23,178 20,534 +12.88% Town Union
Clemmons 22,471 21,163 +6.18% Village Forsyth
Shelby† 22,778 21,918 +3.92% City Cleveland
Knightdale 21,829 19,435 +12.32% Town Wake
Carrboro 21,079 21,295 −1.01% Town Orange
Mebane 20,654 17,797 +16.05% City Alamance, Orange
Harrisburg 20,335 18,967 +7.21% Town Cabarrus

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See also

References

  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 January 12, 2026.
  6. ^ Carney, Kristen (June 20, 2024). "North Carolina Cities by Population (2024)". www.northcarolina-demographics.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
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