North Carolina Tops 11 Million Residents with Nation’s Fourth Largest Population Growth
About 165,000 people moved to North Carolina from mid-2023 to mid-2024, pushing the state past 11 million residents. The state now ranks fourth in U.S. population growth. If things keep going this way, North Carolina will become the 7th largest state by 2030, with about 11.7 million people.
Since the 2020 Census count, North Carolina has grown by 605,000 people. The yearly average is now 142,000 new residents – way up from the previous decade’s 90,000 yearly newcomers. The latest numbers show 152,000 people moved in last year. Of those, 70,000 came from other countries while 82,000 moved from other states. Natural growth added another 12,000 through births. Things look different after COVID-19. Wake and Mecklenburg counties used to attract nearly half of all new residents. Now they only bring in about a quarter of newcomers.
“The population growth has become more evenly distributed across North Carolina in recent years,” said Michael Cline, the state demographer, to the Charlotte Business Journal.
Smaller towns near cities are now drawing lots of new residents. Johnston County gained 25,000 people, while Union County saw 19,000 new residents looking for more affordable housing. Brunswick County is popular with retirees, pushing the state’s median age to 38.3 years. This aging trend means we’ll need more services for older residents.
In mid-2020, the state had 10.4 million residents. The previous ten years brought in 904,000 new people, with Wake County getting 228,000 and Mecklenburg following with 196,000.
More people are coming from other countries lately. The state welcomed 26,000 international residents last year, now making up almost half of all newcomers.
Growth looks steady going forward. By 2025, North Carolina should reach 10.9 million residents, showing an 18.5% increase since 2000 and maintaining its position as one of America’s fastest-growing states.
