2021 County Population Estimates are out: What you need to know | Eastern NC Now

The 2021 county population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau are the first set of population estimates based on the 2020 Census.

ENCNow
News Release:

    The 2021 county population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau are the first set of population estimates based on the 2020 Census. Here's what the new data tells us about how North Carolina counties have changed in the year following the Census.

    73 NC counties have grown since 2020

    North Carolina grew by 112,000 people or 1.1% between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, faster than the national rate of 0.1%. According to the estimates, 73 North Carolina counties grew in the 15 months following the Census.

    The counties with the fastest-growth were coastal counties or Triangle suburbs: both Brunswick and Currituck had an estimated population increase of 5.5%, followed by Johnston (4.9%), Camden and Franklin (4.6%), and Pender (4.3%).

    Other counties with growth above the state rate included:

  • Dare, Carteret, and New Hanover on the coast
  • suburbs around Mecklenburg (Lincoln, Iredell, Cabarrus, Union, and Gaston)
  • Wake County and other Triangle suburbs and exurbs (Chatham, Harnett, Granville)
  • Moore, Hoke, and Lee counties
  • The western counties of Clay, Macon, and Cherokee, as well as Yancey, Madison, and Polk


    See how each county changed

    Foreign-born population trends: Impact of COVID-19

    Between 2010 and 2020, about 70% of North Carolina's population growth was from net migration, meaning more people moving here than moving away. About one-quarter of these net gains from migration--18% of all North Carolina's population growth--was from international migration. Between 2020 and 2021, North Carolina experienced natural decrease (more deaths than births) for the first time; net migration was the only source of growth over the year. At the same time, net international migration fell significantly.

Read more

    New ACS data helps us understand social and economic changes in NC

    Last week, the Census Bureau released the 2016-2020 5-Year American Community Survey data. Here's what you need to know.

Read more

    What we're reading


    Questions about this data or future data releases?

   Contact:

   Email: demography@unc.edu
Go Back

HbAD0

Latest State and Federal

“I’m from America, 250 years ago we were way bigger than 6/1 dogs, and look at us thriving now.” Justin Gaethje pulls off an all time sports upset.
Raleigh, N.C. — The State Board of Elections has received complaints from county boards of elections and citizens about a recent mailing from a group attempting to register voters in North Carolina.
"I plan to keep his counsel close until our paths cross again," JD Vance said on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein signed an executive order creating the bipartisan Health Care Affordability Commission that he said will look at ways to make healthcare more affordable for North Carolinians.
"Margo’s Got Money Troubles" explores how financial desperation drives women to OnlyFans. That’s not empowering. It’s exploitative.

HbAD1

"He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State."
"We are leveraging counterterrorism tools and global partnerships to deter this threat before it metastasizes," an official shared.
Not giving our kids their own devices was one of the best parenting decisions my husband and I made.
How federal policies influenced family formation and the mid-20th century baby boom — and could do so again.

HbAD2


HbAD3

 
 
Back to Top