North Carolina is a state located in the Southern United States. According to the 2020 United States census, North Carolina is the 9th-most populous state with 10,439,388 inhabitants, but the 28th-largest by land area spanning 53,819 square miles (139,390 km2) of land.[1][2] North Carolina is divided into 100 counties and contains 552 municipalities consisting of cities, towns, or villages.[3] The three different terms have no legal distinction.
‡ State capital and county seat
† County seat
Below is a list of the 50 most populous municipalities in North Carolina according to the 2020 census and 2022 census estimate.[4]
| Name | Population (2022) | Population (2020) | Change | Type | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte† | 897,720 | 874,579 | +2.65% | City | Mecklenburg |
| Raleigh‡ | 476,587 | 467,665 | +1.91% | City | Wake (seat), Durham |
| Greensboro† | 301,115 | 299,035 | +0.70% | City | Guilford |
| Durham† | 291,928 | 283,506 | +2.97% | City | Durham (seat), Wake, Orange |
| Winston-Salem† | 251,350 | 249,545 | +0.72% | City | Forsyth |
| Fayetteville† | 208,873 | 208,501 | +0.18% | City | Cumberland |
| Cary | 180,388 | 174,721 | +3.24% | Town | Wake, Chatham |
| Wilmington† | 120,324 | 115,451 | +4.22% | City | New Hanover |
| High Point | 115,067 | 114,059 | +0.88% | City | Guilford, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth |
| Concord† | 109,896 | 105,240 | +4.42% | City | Cabarrus |
| Asheville† | 93,776 | 94,589 | −0.86% | City | Buncombe |
| Greenville† | 89,233 | 87,521 | +1.96% | City | Pitt |
| Gastonia† | 82,653 | 80,411 | +2.79% | City | Gaston |
| Apex | 71,065 | 58,780 | +20.90% | Town | Wake |
| Jacksonville† | 70,420 | 72,723 | −3.17% | City | Onslow |
| Huntersville | 63,035 | 61,376 | +2.70% | Town | Mecklenburg |
| Chapel Hill | 62,098 | 61,960 | +0.22% | Town | Orange, Durham |
| Burlington | 59,287 | 55,481 | +6.86% | City | Alamance |
| Kannapolis | 55,448 | 53,114 | +4.39% | City | Cabarrus, Rowan |
| Rocky Mount | 54,013 | 54,341 | −0.60% | City | Edgecombe, Nash |
| Mooresville | 52,656 | 50,193 | +4.91% | Town | Iredell |
| Wake Forest | 51,113 | 47,601 | +7.38% | Town | Wake, Franklin |
| Wilson† | 47,606 | 47,851 | −0.51% | City | Wilson |
| Holly Springs | 45,945 | 41,239 | +11.41% | Town | Wake |
| Hickory | 44,084 | 43,490 | +1.37% | City | Catawba, Burke, Caldwell |
| Indian Trail | 41,724 | 39,997 | +4.32% | Town | Union |
| Fuquay-Varina | 40,810 | 34,152 | +19.50% | Town | Wake |
| Monroe† | 36,018 | 34,562 | +4.21% | City | Union |
| Salisbury† | 35,808 | 35,540 | +0.75% | City | Rowan |
| Garner | 33,669 | 31,159 | +8.06% | Town | Wake |
| Goldsboro† | 33,215 | 33,657 | −1.31% | City | Wayne |
| Cornelius | 32,294 | 31,412 | +2.81% | Town | Mecklenburg |
| New Bern† | 31,539 | 31,291 | +0.79% | City | Craven |
| Morrisville | 31,493 | 29,630 | +6.29% | Town | Wake, Durham |
| Sanford† | 31,224 | 30,261 | +3.18% | City | Lee |
| Matthews | 30,124 | 29,435 | +2.34% | Town | Mecklenburg |
| Statesville† | 29,681 | 28,419 | +4.44% | City | Iredell |
| Clayton | 29,445 | 26,307 | +11.93% | Town | Johnston, Wake |
| Leland | 28,591 | 22,908 | +24.81% | Town | Brunswick |
| Kernersville | 27,763 | 26,449 | +4.97% | Town | Forsyth, Guilford |
| Asheboro† | 27,482 | 27,156 | +1.20% | City | Randolph |
| Thomasville | 27,399 | 27,183 | +0.79% | City | Davidson, Randolph |
| Mint Hill | 27,143 | 26,450 | +2.62% | Town | Mecklenburg, Union |
| Waxhaw | 22,533 | 20,534 | +9.74% | Town | Union |
| Shelby† | 21,855 | 21,918 | −0.29% | City | Cleveland |
| Clemmons | 21,823 | 21,163 | +3.12% | Village | Forsyth |
| Carrboro | 21,298 | 21,295 | +0.01% | Town | Orange |
| Harrisburg | 19,822 | 18,967 | +4.51% | Town | Cabarrus |
| Boone† | 19,756 | 19,092 | +3.48% | Town | Watauga |
| Knightdale | 19,703 | 19,435 | +1.38% | Town | Wake |
