Data / Rankings / Civilian labor force / Cities in North Carolina

Cities in North Carolina by civilian labor force

Charlotte, NC had the highest civilian labor force of 44 cities in 2021, at 481,422. Kinston, NC had the lowest, at 7,245. The median was 21,578. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest481,422Charlotte, NC
Lowest7,245Kinston, NC
Median21,57844 cities

All cities, 2021

Charlotte, NC: 481,422 personsCharlotte, NC481,422Raleigh, NC: 261,358 personsRaleigh, NC261,358Durham, NC: 153,879 personsDurham, NC153,879Greensboro, NC: 144,544 personsGreensboro, NC144,544Winston-Salem, NC: 114,983 personsWinston-Salem, NC114,983Cary, NC: 93,121 personsCary, NC93,121Fayetteville, NC: 79,280 personsFayetteville, NC79,280Wilmington, NC: 60,528 personsWilmington, NC60,528Concord, NC: 53,597 personsConcord, NC53,597High Point, NC: 52,723 personsHigh Point, NC52,723Asheville, NC: 49,346 personsAsheville, NC49,346Greenville, NC: 43,866 personsGreenville, NC43,866Gastonia, NC: 38,573 personsGastonia, NC38,573Apex, NC: 35,216 personsApex, NC35,216Huntersville, NC: 33,462 personsHuntersville, NC33,462Chapel Hill, NC: 29,252 personsChapel Hill, NC29,252Kannapolis, NC: 27,528 personsKannapolis, NC27,528Mooresville, NC: 27,015 personsMooresville, NC27,015Burlington, NC: 26,576 personsBurlington, NC26,576Wake Forest, NC: 25,303 personsWake Forest, NC25,303Rocky Mount, NC: 24,320 personsRocky Mount, NC24,320Indian Trail, NC: 21,969 personsIndian Trail, NC21,969Wilson, NC: 21,186 personsWilson, NC21,186Holly Springs, NC: 21,165 personsHolly Springs, NC21,165Hickory, NC: 19,951 personsHickory, NC19,951Jacksonville, NC: 18,783 personsJacksonville, NC18,783Fuquay-Varina, NC: 18,075 personsFuquay-Varina, NC18,075Morrisville, NC: 17,951 personsMorrisville, NC17,951Garner, NC: 16,621 personsGarner, NC16,621Monroe, NC: 16,504 personsMonroe, NC16,504Cornelius, NC: 15,962 personsCornelius, NC15,962Matthews, NC: 15,022 personsMatthews, NC15,022Salisbury, NC: 14,903 personsSalisbury, NC14,903Clayton, NC: 14,785 personsClayton, NC14,785Statesville, NC: 14,021 personsStatesville, NC14,021New Bern, NC: 13,757 personsNew Bern, NC13,757Kernersville, NC: 13,536 personsKernersville, NC13,536Mint Hill, NC: 13,531 personsMint Hill, NC13,531Sanford, NC: 13,375 personsSanford, NC13,375Goldsboro, NC: 12,535 personsGoldsboro, NC12,535Thomasville, NC: 12,342 personsThomasville, NC12,342Leland, NC: 12,336 personsLeland, NC12,336Asheboro, NC: 11,620 personsAsheboro, NC11,620Kinston, NC: 7,245 personsKinston, NC7,245Charlotte, NC: 481,422 personsCharlotte, NC481,422Raleigh, NC: 261,358 personsRaleigh, NC261,358Durham, NC: 153,879 personsDurham, NC153,879Greensboro, NC: 144,544 personsGreensboro, NC144,544Winston-Salem, NC: 114,983 personsWinston-Salem, NC114,983Cary, NC: 93,121 personsCary, NC93,121Fayetteville, NC: 79,280 personsFayetteville, NC79,280Wilmington, NC: 60,528 personsWilmington, NC60,528Concord, NC: 53,597 personsConcord, NC53,597High Point, NC: 52,723 personsHigh Point, NC52,723Asheville, NC: 49,346 personsAsheville, NC49,346Greenville, NC: 43,866 personsGreenville, NC43,866Gastonia, NC: 38,573 personsGastonia, NC38,573Apex, NC: 35,216 personsApex, NC35,216Huntersville, NC: 33,462 personsHuntersville, NC33,462Chapel Hill, NC: 29,252 personsChapel Hill, NC29,252Kannapolis, NC: 27,528 personsKannapolis, NC27,528Mooresville, NC: 27,015 personsMooresville, NC27,015Burlington, NC: 26,576 personsBurlington, NC26,576Wake Forest, NC: 25,303 personsWake Forest, NC25,303Rocky Mount, NC: 24,320 personsRocky Mount, NC24,320Indian Trail, NC: 21,969 personsIndian Trail, NC21,969Wilson, NC: 21,186 personsWilson, NC21,186Holly Springs, NC: 21,165 personsHolly Springs, NC21,165Hickory, NC: 19,951 personsHickory, NC19,951Jacksonville, NC: 18,783 personsJacksonville, NC18,783Fuquay-Varina, NC: 18,075 personsFuquay-Varina, NC18,075Morrisville, NC: 17,951 personsMorrisville, NC17,951Garner, NC: 16,621 personsGarner, NC16,621Monroe, NC: 16,504 personsMonroe, NC16,504Cornelius, NC: 15,962 personsCornelius, NC15,962Matthews, NC: 15,022 personsMatthews, NC15,022Salisbury, NC: 14,903 personsSalisbury, NC14,903Clayton, NC: 14,785 personsClayton, NC14,785Statesville, NC: 14,021 personsStatesville, NC14,021New Bern, NC: 13,757 personsNew Bern, NC13,757Kernersville, NC: 13,536 personsKernersville, NC13,536Mint Hill, NC: 13,531 personsMint Hill, NC13,531Sanford, NC: 13,375 personsSanford, NC13,375Goldsboro, NC: 12,535 personsGoldsboro, NC12,535Thomasville, NC: 12,342 personsThomasville, NC12,342Leland, NC: 12,336 personsLeland, NC12,336Asheboro, NC: 11,620 personsAsheboro, NC11,620Kinston, NC: 7,245 personsKinston, NC7,245
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Charlotte, NC481,422+1.5%
2Raleigh, NC261,358+3.2%
3Durham, NC153,879+3.2%
4Greensboro, NC144,544+0.8%
5Winston-Salem, NC114,983+1.1%
6Cary, NC93,121+4.1%
7Fayetteville, NC79,280+1.3%
8Wilmington, NC60,528+3.2%
9Concord, NC53,597+3.1%
10High Point, NC52,723+0.5%
11Asheville, NC49,346+0.6%
12Greenville, NC43,866+2.2%
13Gastonia, NC38,573+1.5%
14Apex, NC35,216+7.9%
15Huntersville, NC33,462+1.8%
16Chapel Hill, NC29,252+10.7%
17Kannapolis, NC27,528+2.8%
18Mooresville, NC27,015+3.5%
19Burlington, NC26,576+4%
20Wake Forest, NC25,303+5.1%
21Rocky Mount, NC24,320+0.8%
22Indian Trail, NC21,969+3.5%
23Wilson, NC21,186-0.1%
24Holly Springs, NC21,165+7.3%
25Hickory, NC19,951+1.5%
26Jacksonville, NC18,783+0.9%
27Fuquay-Varina, NC18,075+9.5%
28Morrisville, NC17,951+7.9%
29Garner, NC16,621+4.3%
30Monroe, NC16,504+2.5%
31Cornelius, NC15,962+1.8%
32Matthews, NC15,022+1.6%
33Salisbury, NC14,903+0.2%
34Clayton, NC14,785+9.6%
35Statesville, NC14,021+2.8%
36New Bern, NC13,757+2.4%
37Kernersville, NC13,536+2.1%
38Mint Hill, NC13,531+1.8%
39Sanford, NC13,375+1.8%
40Goldsboro, NC12,535-0.3%
41Thomasville, NC12,342+0.4%
42Leland, NC12,336+11.9%
43Asheboro, NC11,620+0.9%
44Kinston, NC7,245-0.7%

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed plus unemployed residents, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. Counts people where they live, not jobs: for wage and salary jobs by state use oews_employment. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average (Cities in North Carolina by civilian labor force, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Cities in North Carolina by civilian labor force, 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/north-carolina-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Cities in North Carolina by civilian labor force, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/north-carolina-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Cities in North Carolina by civilian labor force, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/north-carolina-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_north_carolina_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Cities in North Carolina by civilian labor force, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/north-carolina-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Cities in North Carolina by civilian labor force, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/north-carolina-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/north-carolina-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in North Carolina by civilian labor force using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"civilian_labor_force","level":"municipality","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=civilian_labor_force&level=municipality&within=North%20Carolina&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest civilian labor force?

Charlotte, NC, with 481,422 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

Kinston, NC, with 7,245 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Civilian labor force: other rankings

Cities in North Carolina: more rankings