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 2024, at 519,711. Kinston, NC had the lowest, at 7,340. The median was 23,856. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest519,711Charlotte, NC
Lowest7,340Kinston, NC
Median23,85644 cities

All cities, 2024

Charlotte, NC: 519,711 personsCharlotte, NC519,711Raleigh, NC: 288,154 personsRaleigh, NC288,154Durham, NC: 169,901 personsDurham, NC169,901Greensboro, NC: 149,577 personsGreensboro, NC149,577Winston-Salem, NC: 116,774 personsWinston-Salem, NC116,774Cary, NC: 100,652 personsCary, NC100,652Fayetteville, NC: 80,105 personsFayetteville, NC80,105Wilmington, NC: 65,421 personsWilmington, NC65,421Concord, NC: 57,095 personsConcord, NC57,095High Point, NC: 54,202 personsHigh Point, NC54,202Asheville, NC: 51,655 personsAsheville, NC51,655Greenville, NC: 46,893 personsGreenville, NC46,893Apex, NC: 41,210 personsApex, NC41,210Gastonia, NC: 40,768 personsGastonia, NC40,768Huntersville, NC: 36,924 personsHuntersville, NC36,924Chapel Hill, NC: 31,969 personsChapel Hill, NC31,969Kannapolis, NC: 29,960 personsKannapolis, NC29,960Wake Forest, NC: 29,433 personsWake Forest, NC29,433Mooresville, NC: 28,060 personsMooresville, NC28,060Burlington, NC: 27,622 personsBurlington, NC27,622Holly Springs, NC: 24,850 personsHolly Springs, NC24,850Indian Trail, NC: 23,918 personsIndian Trail, NC23,918Fuquay-Varina, NC: 23,794 personsFuquay-Varina, NC23,794Rocky Mount, NC: 23,791 personsRocky Mount, NC23,791Wilson, NC: 21,326 personsWilson, NC21,326Garner, NC: 21,139 personsGarner, NC21,139Hickory, NC: 20,575 personsHickory, NC20,575Morrisville, NC: 19,579 personsMorrisville, NC19,579Jacksonville, NC: 19,238 personsJacksonville, NC19,238Monroe, NC: 18,947 personsMonroe, NC18,947Cornelius, NC: 17,554 personsCornelius, NC17,554Clayton, NC: 17,316 personsClayton, NC17,316Matthews, NC: 16,503 personsMatthews, NC16,503Leland, NC: 15,916 personsLeland, NC15,916Salisbury, NC: 15,501 personsSalisbury, NC15,501Statesville, NC: 15,291 personsStatesville, NC15,291New Bern, NC: 14,937 personsNew Bern, NC14,937Mint Hill, NC: 14,857 personsMint Hill, NC14,857Sanford, NC: 14,606 personsSanford, NC14,606Kernersville, NC: 14,477 personsKernersville, NC14,477Goldsboro, NC: 12,645 personsGoldsboro, NC12,645Thomasville, NC: 12,435 personsThomasville, NC12,435Asheboro, NC: 11,881 personsAsheboro, NC11,881Kinston, NC: 7,340 personsKinston, NC7,340Charlotte, NC: 519,711 personsCharlotte, NC519,711Raleigh, NC: 288,154 personsRaleigh, NC288,154Durham, NC: 169,901 personsDurham, NC169,901Greensboro, NC: 149,577 personsGreensboro, NC149,577Winston-Salem, NC: 116,774 personsWinston-Salem, NC116,774Cary, NC: 100,652 personsCary, NC100,652Fayetteville, NC: 80,105 personsFayetteville, NC80,105Wilmington, NC: 65,421 personsWilmington, NC65,421Concord, NC: 57,095 personsConcord, NC57,095High Point, NC: 54,202 personsHigh Point, NC54,202Asheville, NC: 51,655 personsAsheville, NC51,655Greenville, NC: 46,893 personsGreenville, NC46,893Apex, NC: 41,210 personsApex, NC41,210Gastonia, NC: 40,768 personsGastonia, NC40,768Huntersville, NC: 36,924 personsHuntersville, NC36,924Chapel Hill, NC: 31,969 personsChapel Hill, NC31,969Kannapolis, NC: 29,960 personsKannapolis, NC29,960Wake Forest, NC: 29,433 personsWake Forest, NC29,433Mooresville, NC: 28,060 personsMooresville, NC28,060Burlington, NC: 27,622 personsBurlington, NC27,622Holly Springs, NC: 24,850 personsHolly Springs, NC24,850Indian Trail, NC: 23,918 personsIndian Trail, NC23,918Fuquay-Varina, NC: 23,794 personsFuquay-Varina, NC23,794Rocky Mount, NC: 23,791 personsRocky Mount, NC23,791Wilson, NC: 21,326 personsWilson, NC21,326Garner, NC: 21,139 personsGarner, NC21,139Hickory, NC: 20,575 personsHickory, NC20,575Morrisville, NC: 19,579 personsMorrisville, NC19,579Jacksonville, NC: 19,238 personsJacksonville, NC19,238Monroe, NC: 18,947 personsMonroe, NC18,947Cornelius, NC: 17,554 personsCornelius, NC17,554Clayton, NC: 17,316 personsClayton, NC17,316Matthews, NC: 16,503 personsMatthews, NC16,503Leland, NC: 15,916 personsLeland, NC15,916Salisbury, NC: 15,501 personsSalisbury, NC15,501Statesville, NC: 15,291 personsStatesville, NC15,291New Bern, NC: 14,937 personsNew Bern, NC14,937Mint Hill, NC: 14,857 personsMint Hill, NC14,857Sanford, NC: 14,606 personsSanford, NC14,606Kernersville, NC: 14,477 personsKernersville, NC14,477Goldsboro, NC: 12,645 personsGoldsboro, NC12,645Thomasville, NC: 12,435 personsThomasville, NC12,435Asheboro, NC: 11,881 personsAsheboro, NC11,881Kinston, NC: 7,340 personsKinston, NC7,340
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

RankCities2024
persons		Change on 2023
1Charlotte, NC519,711+0.7%
2Raleigh, NC288,154+1%
3Durham, NC169,901+1.6%
4Greensboro, NC149,577+0.7%
5Winston-Salem, NC116,774-0.9%
6Cary, NC100,6520%
7Fayetteville, NC80,105-1%
8Wilmington, NC65,421+0.1%
9Concord, NC57,095-0.1%
10High Point, NC54,202+0.4%
11Asheville, NC51,655-0.7%
12Greenville, NC46,893+0.4%
13Apex, NC41,210+3.6%
14Gastonia, NC40,768-0.3%
15Huntersville, NC36,924+0.7%
16Chapel Hill, NC31,969+1.1%
17Kannapolis, NC29,960-0%
18Wake Forest, NC29,433+3.5%
19Mooresville, NC28,060-3.6%
20Burlington, NC27,622-0.2%
21Holly Springs, NC24,850+3.7%
22Indian Trail, NC23,918+0.2%
23Fuquay-Varina, NC23,794+4.3%
24Rocky Mount, NC23,791-0.6%
25Wilson, NC21,326-1.8%
26Garner, NC21,139+9.5%
27Hickory, NC20,575-1.3%
28Morrisville, NC19,579+0.9%
29Jacksonville, NC19,238-1.5%
30Monroe, NC18,947+3.7%
31Cornelius, NC17,554+0.8%
32Clayton, NC17,316+3.8%
33Matthews, NC16,503+0.8%
34Leland, NC15,916+8.5%
35Salisbury, NC15,501-1.2%
36Statesville, NC15,291+2.8%
37New Bern, NC14,937+0.2%
38Mint Hill, NC14,857+0.7%
39Sanford, NC14,606+1.6%
40Kernersville, NC14,477+0.3%
41Goldsboro, NC12,645-0.4%
42Thomasville, NC12,435-1%
43Asheboro, NC11,881-0.3%
44Kinston, NC7,340-0.3%

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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_north_carolina_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/north-carolina-cities?period=2024.
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  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest civilian labor force?

Charlotte, NC, with 519,711 in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

Kinston, NC, with 7,340 in 2024.

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