Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Population in 2024
Updated on June 21, 2025.
Based on the US Census Vintage data estimates, in 2024, the Population for North Carolina was 11.05M. Among all North Carolina counties, Wake County had the highest population (1.23M), followed by Mecklenburg County (1.21M), and Guilford County (558.82K).
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), 2024 Census.
See this for other years:
Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Population in 2024
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| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake County | 1232444 |
| 2 | Mecklenburg County | 1206285 |
| 3 | Guilford County | 558816 |
| 4 | Forsyth County | 398143 |
| 5 | Durham County | 343628 |
| 6 | Cumberland County | 338430 |
| 7 | Buncombe County | 279210 |
| 8 | Union County | 263386 |
| 9 | Johnston County | 249794 |
| 10 | Cabarrus County | 244925 |
| 11 | New Hanover County | 243333 |
| 12 | Gaston County | 242010 |
| 13 | Onslow County | 212954 |
| 14 | Iredell County | 206361 |
| 15 | Alamance County | 183040 |
| 16 | Pitt County | 180783 |
| 17 | Davidson County | 177809 |
| 18 | Brunswick County | 167112 |
| 19 | Catawba County | 167054 |
| 20 | Rowan County | 153384 |
| 21 | Orange County | 152877 |
| 22 | Randolph County | 148389 |
| 23 | Harnett County | 146096 |
| 24 | Henderson County | 120771 |
| 25 | Wayne County | 120338 |
| 26 | Robeson County | 118624 |
| 27 | Moore County | 108417 |
| 28 | Craven County | 104167 |
| 29 | Cleveland County | 102194 |
| 30 | Nash County | 97990 |
| 31 | Lincoln County | 97611 |
| 32 | Rockingham County | 93517 |
| 33 | Burke County | 88545 |
| 34 | Chatham County | 83874 |
| 35 | Caldwell County | 80739 |
| 36 | Wilson County | 79958 |
| 37 | Franklin County | 79771 |
| 38 | Surry County | 71547 |
| 39 | Carteret County | 70259 |
| 40 | Pender County | 70077 |
| 41 | Lee County | 68537 |
| 42 | Stanly County | 67326 |
| 43 | Wilkes County | 66186 |
| 44 | Rutherford County | 65587 |
| 45 | Haywood County | 63048 |
| 46 | Granville County | 61544 |
| 47 | Sampson County | 60404 |
| 48 | Hoke County | 55382 |
| 49 | Lenoir County | 55332 |
| 50 | Watauga County | 54997 |
| 51 | Duplin County | 50539 |
| 52 | Columbus County | 50054 |
| 53 | Edgecombe County | 49124 |
| 54 | Halifax County | 46992 |
| 55 | Stokes County | 45857 |
| 56 | Davie County | 45383 |
| 57 | Jackson County | 45281 |
| 58 | McDowell County | 45269 |
| 59 | Beaufort County | 44576 |
| 60 | Vance County | 42337 |
| 61 | Richmond County | 41990 |
| 62 | Pasquotank County | 41418 |
| 63 | Person County | 40143 |
| 64 | Macon County | 38717 |
| 65 | Dare County | 38183 |
| 66 | Yadkin County | 37995 |
| 67 | Alexander County | 36693 |
| 68 | Transylvania County | 34103 |
| 69 | Scotland County | 33898 |
| 70 | Currituck County | 32278 |
| 71 | Cherokee County | 30373 |
| 72 | Bladen County | 29777 |
| 73 | Ashe County | 27266 |
| 74 | Montgomery County | 26364 |
| 75 | Anson County | 22432 |
| 76 | Caswell County | 22363 |
| 77 | Madison County | 22352 |
| 78 | Martin County | 21523 |
| 79 | Greene County | 20671 |
| 80 | Polk County | 20320 |
| 81 | Hertford County | 19169 |
| 82 | Warren County | 19081 |
| 83 | Yancey County | 18993 |
| 84 | Avery County | 17811 |
| 85 | Bertie County | 16939 |
| 86 | Northampton County | 16580 |
| 87 | Mitchell County | 15030 |
| 88 | Swain County | 13945 |
| 89 | Chowan County | 13891 |
| 90 | Perquimans County | 13460 |
| 91 | Pamlico County | 12550 |
| 92 | Clay County | 12042 |
| 93 | Alleghany County | 11379 |
| 94 | Camden County | 11184 |
| 95 | Washington County | 10654 |
| 96 | Gates County | 10299 |
| 97 | Jones County | 9462 |
| 98 | Graham County | 8179 |
| 99 | Hyde County | 4583 |
| 100 | Tyrrell County | 3517 |