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U.S. Census Bureau · 2025 Population Estimates Program (PEP)

North Carolina County Population — 2025 PEP

July 1, 2025 resident population estimates for 100 counties. State total (sum of these county estimates): 11,197,968 persons.

Separate 2025 TIGER/Line county boundaries validate county identity; these are not ACS 2024 survey estimates.

Official Vintage 2025 county identities and unsimplified TIGER coordinates; separate-period ACS housing is joined only by exact full GEOID. Original 2020 counts require separately evidenced compatible geography; incompatible observations remain null with reasons. The revised April estimates base is not an original census count; no boundary allocation is invented.

Source and downloads

2025 Census PEP county estimates, 2020–2025 series; counts are persons, migration counts are persons, published rates are per 1,000, and unavailable values remain null (not zero). 2020 rates are unavailable for the partial-year interval. County totals and characteristics are verified against the pinned raw Census CSV receipts and independent 2025 county geometry.

Official Census PEP county source · Download JSON · Download CSV · Download source metadata

Official state totals and county summaries

Official NST July 1, 2025 state total: 11,197,968 persons (SUMLEV 040, PEP Vintage 2025). County sum: 11,197,968 persons; comparison status: equal.

Official NST July 2020: 10,450,215 persons; July 2020–July 2025 change: +747,753 persons; growth: 7.155384 percent (denominator: official July 2020 population).

County July 2024–July 2025: Growing: 81 · Shrinking: 18 · Unchanged: 1 · Missing: 0. Median county growth: 0.575383 percent.

Largest county: Wake County (GEOID 37183): 1257235 persons.

Fastest county growth: Brunswick County (GEOID 37019): 4.681555 percent.

Greatest numeric increase: Wake County (GEOID 37183): 27760 persons.

no minimum population; missing excluded per measure; median of county percentages, not population weighted; equal values use ascending full GEOID.

Official state demographics

Resident population · SUMLEV 040 · July 1, 2025 · Census PEP Vintage 2025. Denominator for every share: 11,197,968 resident persons. Six exclusive race groups; Hispanic origin overlaps race and must not be added to it. Release: June 2026; exact day unproved; PEP estimates have no ACS sampling MOE.

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Official state age, sex, race and overlapping Hispanic origin
MeasureCountShare
Female5,774,828 persons51.570321 percent
Male5,423,140 persons48.429679 percent
Ages 18–241,071,492 persons9.568629 percent
Ages 25–442,933,921 persons26.200477 percent
Ages 45–642,713,175 persons24.229173 percent
Ages 65 and older2,119,438 persons18.926987 percent
Under 182,359,942 persons21.074734 percent
American Indian or Alaska Native alone227,697 persons2.033378 percent
Asian alone470,162 persons4.198637 percent
Black or African American alone2,380,139 persons21.255097 percent
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone14,208 persons0.126880 percent
Two or more races512,167 persons4.573749 percent
White alone7,593,595 persons67.812258 percent
Hispanic (any race)1,415,022 persons12.636418 percent
Not Hispanic9,782,946 persons87.363582 percent

Official state median age: 39.5 years. Published state SYASEX median age; not a county aggregation, not ACS.

Download all state demographic observations (CSV)

Revised April 1, 2020 estimates base (official NST): 10,441,392 persons; county base sum: 10,441,392 persons; comparison: equal. This is not the original decennial census count.

Original April 1, 2020 Census count: 96 compatible counties; 4 unavailable. Published Census county centers-of-population POPULATION, original 2020 Gazetteer and official 2020–2025 geographic-change evidence; no boundary allocation. Original count, revised April estimates base and July 2020 estimate are separate observations. Documentation: November 2021; exact file release day unproved; retrieval is not release. Official original count source. Original 2020 Gazetteer identity plus Census geographic-change notes 2014–2025; no county-level change recorded from 2020 onward, exact full modern name, and original count required. Any recorded county-level change or referenced counterparty is conservatively unavailable, including unresolved internal redistricting. Same GEOID alone is insufficient. Not a claim of identical cartographic coordinates; no invented allocations.

Source release date unavailable: retained pins do not attest an official release date; retrieval is not release. Reference dates and Vintage 2025 are explicit; no current-vintage refresh is implied.

County population and demographic explorer

Choose a measure, observation year and county without downloading boundaries. Rankings, search, trends and CSV work without a map. Load map explicitly to download the full, unsimplified 2025 TIGER boundaries; this defers rather than removes their payload. The table remains available without JavaScript.

PEP population · persons · July 1, 2025. Denominator: none. Calculation/source: CO POPESTIMATEy. Vintage 2025; null with metric_status reason; measured zero remains zero; no imputation.

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After loading, Tab to a county and press Enter or Space; colors and the legend indicate signed direction and magnitude. Outlines show selection. The county picker works before and after map loading.

Selected county demographic breakdown

July 1, 2025 · Wake County (GEOID 37183). Same-period county population is the share denominator. Hispanic origin overlaps race; do not add origin to race counts. Other overlapping classifications are not additive. Official county median age is from PEP AGESEX MEDIAN_AGE_TOT, not ACS.

County demographics: counts, shares and official median age
Classification / sourceCount or statisticShare / status
Sex · PEP male609,071 persons48.445279 percent
Sex · PEP female648,164 persons51.554721 percent
Age bands · PEP under18276,488 persons21.991752 percent
Age bands · PEP age18 24115,796 persons9.210370 percent
Age bands · PEP age25 44376,086 persons29.913739 percent
Age bands · PEP age45 64307,961 persons24.495102 percent
Age bands · PEP age65plus180,904 persons14.389036 percent
Race alone (partition) · PEP white alone801,846 persons63.778530 percent
Race alone (partition) · PEP black alone240,762 persons19.150119 percent
Race alone (partition) · PEP aian alone14,864 persons1.182277 percent
Race alone (partition) · PEP asian alone140,267 persons11.156785 percent
Race alone (partition) · PEP nhpi alone970 persons0.077153 percent
Race alone (partition) · PEP two or more58,526 persons4.655136 percent
Hispanic origin (overlaps race) · PEP hispanic any race153,605 persons12.217684 percent
Hispanic origin (overlaps race) · PEP not hispanic1,103,630 persons87.782316 percent
Other overlapping classifications (not additive) · PEP white alone or combination855,191 persons68.021571 percent
Other overlapping classifications (not additive) · PEP not hispanic white alone689,839 persons54.869535 percent
Official county median age · AGESEX MEDIAN_AGE_TOT37.5 yearsNot a share; not ACS or an average of county medians

Use Ctrl/Command or Shift to select multiple counties. The following trend uses exact resident persons, not percentages; county size affects the scale. Missing observations break lines; the revised April estimates base is a separate dashed partial interval.

2025 county population rankings

All 100 county estimates are present without JavaScript, ranked by 2025 population (largest first). Signed changes compare July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025. Unavailable is not zero; equal values break ties by GEOID (ascending).

Showing all 100 counties; ranked by 2025 population, descending.

North Carolina County Population — 2025 PEP — July 1, 2025; rank reflects the selected ordering
RankCountyGEOIDPopulation (persons)Signed change (persons)Signed change (percent)
1Wake County371831,257,235+27760 persons+2.257874%
2Mecklenburg County371191,233,383+26554 persons+2.200312%
3Guilford County37081562,234+5175 persons+0.928986%
4Forsyth County37067401,718+3882 persons+0.975779%
5Durham County37063347,240+4926 persons+1.439030%
6Cumberland County37051338,473+1225 persons+0.363234%
7Buncombe County37021277,417-1810 persons-0.648218%
8Union County37179267,674+3970 persons+1.505476%
9Johnston County37101256,448+6926 persons+2.775707%
10Cabarrus County37025249,725+4052 persons+1.649347%
11Gaston County37071246,558+3538 persons+1.455847%
12New Hanover County37129245,959+2624 persons+1.078349%
13Onslow County37133217,175+2503 persons+1.165965%
14Iredell County37097211,798+5679 persons+2.755205%
15Alamance County37001186,177+2816 persons+1.535768%
16Pitt County37147182,936+2054 persons+1.135547%
17Davidson County37057180,182+2201 persons+1.236649%
18Brunswick County37019174,702+7813 persons+4.681555%
19Catawba County37035170,172+2983 persons+1.784208%
20Rowan County37159155,096+1383 persons+0.899729%
21Orange County37135152,498+753 persons+0.496227%
22Harnett County37085150,137+3681 persons+2.513383%
23Randolph County37151149,516+700 persons+0.470380%
24Henderson County37089122,375+1089 persons+0.897878%
25Wayne County37191122,278+1110 persons+0.916083%
26Robeson County37155119,941+541 persons+0.453099%
27Moore County37125110,619+2236 persons+2.063054%
28Craven County37049105,025+852 persons+0.817870%
29Cleveland County37045103,325+819 persons+0.798978%
30Nash County3712799,365+575 persons+0.582043%
31Lincoln County3710998,654+1135 persons+1.163876%
32Rockingham County3715794,195+525 persons+0.560478%
33Burke County3702388,655+86 persons+0.097099%
34Chatham County3703785,111+1279 persons+1.525670%
35Franklin County3706982,037+2107 persons+2.636057%
36Wilson County3719581,150+265 persons+0.327626%
37Caldwell County3702781,105+251 persons+0.310436%
38Surry County3717172,287+221 persons+0.306663%
39Pender County3714172,111+1961 persons+2.795438%
40Carteret County3703170,469+254 persons+0.361746%
41Lee County3710570,258+1439 persons+2.090992%
42Stanly County3716768,830+1298 persons+1.922052%
43Wilkes County3719366,233-19 persons-0.028678%
44Rutherford County3716165,745+166 persons+0.253130%
45Haywood County3708763,369+136 persons+0.215078%
46Sampson County3716361,504+427 persons+0.699118%
47Granville County3707761,421-207 persons-0.335886%
48Hoke County3709356,939+1280 persons+2.299718%
49Lenoir County3710755,837+405 persons+0.730625%
50Watauga County3718954,786-135 persons-0.245808%
51Duplin County3706151,571+569 persons+1.115643%
52Columbus County3704750,487+186 persons+0.369774%
53Edgecombe County3706549,121+55 persons+0.112094%
54Halifax County3708346,534-459 persons-0.976741%
55Stokes County3716946,126+314 persons+0.685410%
56Davie County3705945,855+370 persons+0.813455%
57McDowell County3711145,198-100 persons-0.220760%
58Jackson County3709945,039+53 persons+0.117814%
59Beaufort County3701344,670-60 persons-0.134138%
60Vance County3718142,638+36 persons+0.084503%
61Pasquotank County3713942,201+581 persons+1.395963%
62Richmond County3715342,041-96 persons-0.227828%
63Person County3714540,636+370 persons+0.918889%
64Macon County3711339,232+412 persons+1.061309%
65Yadkin County3719738,325+102 persons+0.266855%
66Dare County3705538,245+17 persons+0.044470%
67Alexander County3700336,958+209 persons+0.568723%
68Transylvania County3717534,211+2 persons+0.005846%
69Scotland County3716533,322-288 persons-0.856888%
70Currituck County3705333,158+722 persons+2.225922%
71Cherokee County3703930,830+415 persons+1.364458%
72Bladen County3701730,007+40 persons+0.133480%
73Ashe County3700927,514+136 persons+0.496749%
74Montgomery County3712326,403+55 persons+0.208744%
75Caswell County3703322,563+102 persons+0.454120%
76Madison County3711522,553+87 persons+0.387252%
77Anson County3700721,758+234 persons+1.087159%
78Martin County3711721,601+39 persons+0.180874%
79Greene County3707920,7000 persons0.000000%
80Polk County3714920,533+145 persons+0.711203%
81Yancey County3719919,084+22 persons+0.115413%
82Hertford County3709119,015-84 persons-0.439814%
83Warren County3718518,898-157 persons-0.823931%
84Avery County3701118,110+7 persons+0.038668%
85Bertie County3701517,086-98 persons-0.570298%
86Northampton County3713116,491-35 persons-0.211787%
87Mitchell County3712115,062-80 persons-0.528332%
88Chowan County3704114,082+57 persons+0.406417%
89Swain County3717314,024-23 persons-0.163736%
90Perquimans County3714313,490+16 persons+0.118747%
91Pamlico County3713712,758+70 persons+0.551702%
92Clay County3704312,239+273 persons+2.281464%
93Alleghany County3700511,479+77 persons+0.675320%
94Camden County3702911,315+66 persons+0.586719%
95Washington County3718710,638-12 persons-0.112676%
96Gates County3707310,234-54 persons-0.524883%
97Jones County371039,575+75 persons+0.789474%
98Graham County370758,190+55 persons+0.676091%
99Hyde County370954,554-39 persons-0.849118%
100Tyrrell County371773,537+39 persons+1.114923%

County population trend · 2020–2025

Resident population (persons), not ACS housing. April 1, 2020 estimates base is distinct from the July 1, 2020 estimate. The April–July 2020 change is partial-year; the July 2020–July 2021 interval is the first July-to-July comparison. No 2020 annual rate is shown. Missing observations are unavailable, never zero.

Showing Wake County (GEOID 37183). Select a county on the map or in the rankings table to update this trend.

Horizontal axis: year (2020–2025); vertical axis: resident population (persons). The 2020 base is a separate April 1 observation; July 1 estimates run from 2020 through 2025. Focus the chart viewport and use Left/Right arrows to scroll on narrow screens. Complete axis labels stay here outside the scrolling chart; the table gives exact values and availability.

Population observations for Wake County (GEOID 37183), persons
DatePopulation (persons)Interval
April 1, 2020 base1,129,356Estimates base; not July 1
July 1, 20201,130,903April–July partial-year; no annual rate
July 1, 20211,153,051July 2020–July 2021 comparison
July 1, 20221,173,034July-to-July estimate
July 1, 20231,200,630July-to-July estimate
July 1, 20241,229,475July-to-July estimate
July 1, 20251,257,235July-to-July estimate

County population and median home value · different vintages

Each point pairs a county’s PEP July 1, 2025 resident population (persons) with its ACS 2024 5-year median owner-occupied home value (B25077, U.S. dollars). These are different reference periods and different statistical programs. This descriptive comparison does not imply causality or matched vintages. Suppressed, missing or invalid ACS estimates are unavailable, not zero and not plotted. A valid zero remains zero.

The exact-value table below works without JavaScript; chart loading requires JavaScript.

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County comparison: PEP July 1, 2025 population (persons) and ACS 2024 5-year median owner-occupied home value (U.S. dollars); unavailable values identified
CountyGEOIDPEP July 1, 2025 population (persons)ACS 2024 5-year median home value (U.S. dollars)
Alamance County37001186,177$241,500
Alexander County3700336,958$211,800
Alleghany County3700511,479$214,800
Anson County3700721,758$148,600
Ashe County3700927,514$243,100
Avery County3701118,110$265,800
Beaufort County3701344,670$192,700
Bertie County3701517,086$98,500
Bladen County3701730,007$135,100
Brunswick County37019174,702$349,800
Buncombe County37021277,417$391,800
Burke County3702388,655$185,400
Cabarrus County37025249,725$354,800
Caldwell County3702781,105$192,200
Camden County3702911,315$337,100
Carteret County3703170,469$333,300
Caswell County3703322,563$164,500
Catawba County37035170,172$241,600
Chatham County3703785,111$446,200
Cherokee County3703930,830$232,300
Chowan County3704114,082$235,800
Clay County3704312,239$278,400
Cleveland County37045103,325$200,000
Columbus County3704750,487$146,000
Craven County37049105,025$231,600
Cumberland County37051338,473$199,200
Currituck County3705333,158$378,800
Dare County3705538,245$460,400
Davidson County37057180,182$219,100
Davie County3705945,855$253,900
Duplin County3706151,571$137,400
Durham County37063347,240$389,400
Edgecombe County3706549,121$125,100
Forsyth County37067401,718$250,400
Franklin County3706982,037$284,300
Gaston County37071246,558$266,000
Gates County3707310,234$170,800
Graham County370758,190$170,600
Granville County3707761,421$247,700
Greene County3707920,700$117,400
Guilford County37081562,234$259,900
Halifax County3708346,534$106,200
Harnett County37085150,137$246,200
Haywood County3708763,369$279,200
Henderson County37089122,375$351,400
Hertford County3709119,015$119,200
Hoke County3709356,939$219,300
Hyde County370954,554$124,000
Iredell County37097211,798$321,400
Jackson County3709945,039$284,700
Johnston County37101256,448$305,600
Jones County371039,575$130,300
Lee County3710570,258$240,200
Lenoir County3710755,837$120,500
Lincoln County3710998,654$321,000
McDowell County3711145,198$171,100
Macon County3711339,232$251,900
Madison County3711522,553$284,600
Martin County3711721,601$109,700
Mecklenburg County371191,233,383$406,800
Mitchell County3712115,062$220,100
Montgomery County3712326,403$161,700
Moore County37125110,619$351,400
Nash County3712799,365$191,000
New Hanover County37129245,959$387,800
Northampton County3713116,491$114,500
Onslow County37133217,175$236,400
Orange County37135152,498$459,500
Pamlico County3713712,758$216,800
Pasquotank County3713942,201$234,600
Pender County3714172,111$299,000
Perquimans County3714313,490$231,700
Person County3714540,636$213,900
Pitt County37147182,936$208,900
Polk County3714920,533$315,000
Randolph County37151149,516$197,100
Richmond County3715342,041$127,800
Robeson County37155119,941$94,500
Rockingham County3715794,195$168,600
Rowan County37159155,096$238,400
Rutherford County3716165,745$201,800
Sampson County3716361,504$150,700
Scotland County3716533,322$114,900
Stanly County3716768,830$242,400
Stokes County3716946,126$196,700
Surry County3717172,287$177,600
Swain County3717314,024$207,000
Transylvania County3717534,211$373,600
Tyrrell County371773,537$164,500
Union County37179267,674$417,300
Vance County3718142,638$161,500
Wake County371831,257,235$461,300
Warren County3718518,898$154,200
Washington County3718710,638$125,900
Watauga County3718954,786$358,900
Wayne County37191122,278$178,700
Wilkes County3719366,233$168,800
Wilson County3719581,150$186,000
Yadkin County3719738,325$181,200
Yancey County3719919,084$243,100