Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Net Migration in 2021

Updated on June 18, 2025.

Based on the US Census Vintage data estimates, in 2021, the Net Migration for North Carolina was 113.13K. Among all North Carolina counties, Wake County had the highest net migration (16.11K), followed by Johnston County (9.37K), and Brunswick County (8.03K).

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.

See this for other years:
Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Net Migration in 2021
Wake
Johnston
Brunswick
Orange
Iredell
Union
New Hanover
Cabarrus
Gaston
Moore
Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Net Migration in 2021
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Rank County Net Migration
1 Wake County 16111
2 Johnston County 9372
3 Brunswick County 8025
4 Orange County 5181
5 Iredell County 4763
6 Union County 4271
7 New Hanover County 4137
8 Cabarrus County 3957
9 Gaston County 3226
10 Moore County 3044
11 Lincoln County 3019
12 Buncombe County 3001
13 Guilford County 2807
14 Franklin County 2800
15 Forsyth County 2757
16 Durham County 2711
17 Pender County 2637
18 Alamance County 2195
19 Davidson County 2187
20 Chatham County 1766
21 Mecklenburg County 1592
22 Carteret County 1576
23 Pitt County 1491
24 Catawba County 1379
25 Currituck County 1375
26 Harnett County 1316
27 Rowan County 1275
28 Henderson County 1178
29 Randolph County 1073
30 Watauga County 1031
31 Dare County 1006
32 Cleveland County 956
33 Davie County 947
34 Haywood County 798
35 Stanly County 699
36 Macon County 686
37 Rockingham County 684
38 Lee County 658
39 Rutherford County 610
40 Cherokee County 594
41 Madison County 572
42 Polk County 556
43 Hoke County 550
44 Transylvania County 507
45 Burke County 490
46 Camden County 462
47 Jackson County 457
48 Cumberland County 450
49 Caldwell County 440
50 Granville County 433
51 Yancey County 415
52 Ashe County 396
53 Warren County 383
54 Stokes County 374
55 Craven County 363
56 Anson County 348
57 Clay County 320
58 Nash County 286
59 Wilkes County 257
60 Alleghany County 255
61 Surry County 253
62 McDowell County 249
63 Perquimans County 240
64 Montgomery County 238
65 Pasquotank County 235
66 Mitchell County 213
67 Scotland County 196
68 Yadkin County 194
69 Pamlico County 185
70 Chowan County 184
71 Caswell County 183
72 Tyrrell County 169
73 Halifax County 163
74 Jones County 161
75 Swain County 143
76 Hyde County 116
77 Alexander County 115
78 Person County 88
79 Bladen County 81
80 Sampson County 37
81 Richmond County 35
82 Graham County 26
83 Washington County 24
84 Beaufort County 22
85 Gates County 6
86 Martin County -37
87 Duplin County -67
88 Lenoir County -86
89 Robeson County -89
90 Greene County -142
91 Northampton County -155
92 Edgecombe County -159
93 Avery County -177
94 Columbus County -226
95 Bertie County -274
96 Wilson County -277
97 Vance County -302
98 Wayne County -438
99 Hertford County -1623
100 Onslow County -3583