Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Population in 2021
Updated on August 1, 2024.
Based on the US Census Vintage data estimates, in 2021, the Population for North Carolina was 10.57M. Among all North Carolina counties, Wake County had the highest population (1.15M), followed by Mecklenburg County (1.13M), and Guilford County (542.50K).
The chart below shows the top 10 counties, and the table below shows the ranking of all North Carolina counties.
You can see similar ranking information for related topics, and for other states. You can also see the ranking of all counties in the United States.
Related Topics: North Carolina Census Vintage Data Topic List.
Data Source: US Census Bureau (Vintage), 2021 Census.
See this for other years:
Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Population in 2021
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| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake County | 1152301 |
| 2 | Mecklenburg County | 1126283 |
| 3 | Guilford County | 542495 |
| 4 | Forsyth County | 386376 |
| 5 | Cumberland County | 337888 |
| 6 | Durham County | 329849 |
| 7 | Buncombe County | 271945 |
| 8 | Union County | 244259 |
| 9 | Cabarrus County | 231788 |
| 10 | Gaston County | 231277 |
| 11 | New Hanover County | 230019 |
| 12 | Johnston County | 227302 |
| 13 | Onslow County | 206018 |
| 14 | Iredell County | 192186 |
| 15 | Alamance County | 173968 |
| 16 | Pitt County | 172235 |
| 17 | Davidson County | 170717 |
| 18 | Catawba County | 161675 |
| 19 | Orange County | 148693 |
| 20 | Rowan County | 147937 |
| 21 | Randolph County | 145154 |
| 22 | Brunswick County | 144843 |
| 23 | Harnett County | 135586 |
| 24 | Henderson County | 117155 |
| 25 | Wayne County | 116857 |
| 26 | Robeson County | 116142 |
| 27 | Moore County | 103044 |
| 28 | Craven County | 100396 |
| 29 | Cleveland County | 100341 |
| 30 | Nash County | 95204 |
| 31 | Rockingham County | 91211 |
| 32 | Lincoln County | 89941 |
| 33 | Burke County | 87589 |
| 34 | Caldwell County | 80547 |
| 35 | Wilson County | 78241 |
| 36 | Chatham County | 78141 |
| 37 | Franklin County | 71832 |
| 38 | Surry County | 71257 |
| 39 | Carteret County | 68729 |
| 40 | Wilkes County | 65826 |
| 41 | Rutherford County | 64616 |
| 42 | Lee County | 64052 |
| 43 | Stanly County | 63100 |
| 44 | Pender County | 63020 |
| 45 | Haywood County | 62522 |
| 46 | Granville County | 61365 |
| 47 | Sampson County | 59022 |
| 48 | Watauga County | 54968 |
| 49 | Lenoir County | 54683 |
| 50 | Hoke County | 53179 |
| 51 | Columbus County | 50020 |
| 52 | Duplin County | 48558 |
| 53 | Halifax County | 48353 |
| 54 | Edgecombe County | 48333 |
| 55 | Stokes County | 44625 |
| 56 | McDowell County | 44530 |
| 57 | Beaufort County | 44462 |
| 58 | Davie County | 43652 |
| 59 | Richmond County | 42805 |
| 60 | Jackson County | 42587 |
| 61 | Vance County | 42101 |
| 62 | Pasquotank County | 40807 |
| 63 | Person County | 39148 |
| 64 | Dare County | 37914 |
| 65 | Macon County | 37470 |
| 66 | Yadkin County | 37276 |
| 67 | Alexander County | 36364 |
| 68 | Scotland County | 34285 |
| 69 | Transylvania County | 33272 |
| 70 | Currituck County | 29700 |
| 71 | Bladen County | 29544 |
| 72 | Cherokee County | 29194 |
| 73 | Ashe County | 26757 |
| 74 | Montgomery County | 25862 |
| 75 | Caswell County | 22691 |
| 76 | Anson County | 21905 |
| 77 | Martin County | 21741 |
| 78 | Madison County | 21728 |
| 79 | Greene County | 20280 |
| 80 | Hertford County | 19953 |
| 81 | Polk County | 19714 |
| 82 | Warren County | 18798 |
| 83 | Yancey County | 18764 |
| 84 | Avery County | 17522 |
| 85 | Bertie County | 17371 |
| 86 | Northampton County | 17116 |
| 87 | Mitchell County | 14975 |
| 88 | Swain County | 14128 |
| 89 | Chowan County | 13761 |
| 90 | Perquimans County | 13117 |
| 91 | Pamlico County | 12342 |
| 92 | Clay County | 11375 |
| 93 | Alleghany County | 11079 |
| 94 | Washington County | 10883 |
| 95 | Camden County | 10821 |
| 96 | Gates County | 10403 |
| 97 | Jones County | 9210 |
| 98 | Graham County | 8008 |
| 99 | Hyde County | 4643 |
| 100 | Tyrrell County | 3379 |