Data / Rankings / Households / Cities in North Carolina

Cities in North Carolina by households

Charlotte, NC had the highest households of 93 cities in 2021, at 345,944. Zebulon, NC had the lowest, at 2,493. The median was 8,419 and the figure for North Carolina was 4.03 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest345,944Charlotte, NC
Lowest2,493Zebulon, NC
Median8,41993 cities
North Carolina4,034,684History

Top 40 cities, 2021

Charlotte, NC: 345,944 countCharlotte, NC345,944Raleigh, NC: 187,234 countRaleigh, NC187,234Greensboro, NC: 118,663 countGreensboro, NC118,663Durham, NC: 117,638 countDurham, NC117,638Winston-Salem, NC: 97,869 countWinston-Salem, NC97,869Fayetteville, NC: 80,057 countFayetteville, NC80,057Cary, NC: 64,512 countCary, NC64,512Wilmington, NC: 52,656 countWilmington, NC52,656High Point, NC: 42,947 countHigh Point, NC42,947Asheville, NC: 38,933 countAsheville, NC38,933Greenville, NC: 37,507 countGreenville, NC37,507Concord, NC: 35,546 countConcord, NC35,546Gastonia, NC: 30,991 countGastonia, NC30,991Burlington, NC: 23,557 countBurlington, NC23,557Huntersville, NC: 22,351 countHuntersville, NC22,351Rocky Mount, NC: 22,232 countRocky Mount, NC22,232Jacksonville, NC: 21,614 countJacksonville, NC21,614Apex, NC: 20,434 countApex, NC20,434Chapel Hill, NC: 20,114 countChapel Hill, NC20,114Wilson, NC: 19,535 countWilson, NC19,535Mooresville, NC: 18,744 countMooresville, NC18,744Kannapolis, NC: 18,349 countKannapolis, NC18,349Hickory, NC: 17,363 countHickory, NC17,363Wake Forest, NC: 16,513 countWake Forest, NC16,513Goldsboro, NC: 14,445 countGoldsboro, NC14,445New Bern, NC: 14,005 countNew Bern, NC14,005Salisbury, NC: 13,143 countSalisbury, NC13,143Holly Springs, NC: 12,988 countHolly Springs, NC12,988Cornelius, NC: 12,913 countCornelius, NC12,913Indian Trail, NC: 12,696 countIndian Trail, NC12,696Garner, NC: 12,221 countGarner, NC12,221Kernersville, NC: 11,572 countKernersville, NC11,572Fuquay-Varina, NC: 11,567 countFuquay-Varina, NC11,567Monroe, NC: 11,398 countMonroe, NC11,398Statesville, NC: 11,327 countStatesville, NC11,327Asheboro, NC: 11,236 countAsheboro, NC11,236Matthews, NC: 10,909 countMatthews, NC10,909Morrisville, NC: 10,819 countMorrisville, NC10,819Sanford, NC: 10,760 countSanford, NC10,760Thomasville, NC: 10,498 countThomasville, NC10,498Charlotte, NC: 345,944 countCharlotte, NC345,944Raleigh, NC: 187,234 countRaleigh, NC187,234Greensboro, NC: 118,663 countGreensboro, NC118,663Durham, NC: 117,638 countDurham, NC117,638Winston-Salem, NC: 97,869 countWinston-Salem, NC97,869Fayetteville, NC: 80,057 countFayetteville, NC80,057Cary, NC: 64,512 countCary, NC64,512Wilmington, NC: 52,656 countWilmington, NC52,656High Point, NC: 42,947 countHigh Point, NC42,947Asheville, NC: 38,933 countAsheville, NC38,933Greenville, NC: 37,507 countGreenville, NC37,507Concord, NC: 35,546 countConcord, NC35,546Gastonia, NC: 30,991 countGastonia, NC30,991Burlington, NC: 23,557 countBurlington, NC23,557Huntersville, NC: 22,351 countHuntersville, NC22,351Rocky Mount, NC: 22,232 countRocky Mount, NC22,232Jacksonville, NC: 21,614 countJacksonville, NC21,614Apex, NC: 20,434 countApex, NC20,434Chapel Hill, NC: 20,114 countChapel Hill, NC20,114Wilson, NC: 19,535 countWilson, NC19,535Mooresville, NC: 18,744 countMooresville, NC18,744Kannapolis, NC: 18,349 countKannapolis, NC18,349Hickory, NC: 17,363 countHickory, NC17,363Wake Forest, NC: 16,513 countWake Forest, NC16,513Goldsboro, NC: 14,445 countGoldsboro, NC14,445New Bern, NC: 14,005 countNew Bern, NC14,005Salisbury, NC: 13,143 countSalisbury, NC13,143Holly Springs, NC: 12,988 countHolly Springs, NC12,988Cornelius, NC: 12,913 countCornelius, NC12,913Indian Trail, NC: 12,696 countIndian Trail, NC12,696Garner, NC: 12,221 countGarner, NC12,221Kernersville, NC: 11,572 countKernersville, NC11,572Fuquay-Varina, NC: 11,567 countFuquay-Varina, NC11,567Monroe, NC: 11,398 countMonroe, NC11,398Statesville, NC: 11,327 countStatesville, NC11,327Asheboro, NC: 11,236 countAsheboro, NC11,236Matthews, NC: 10,909 countMatthews, NC10,909Morrisville, NC: 10,819 countMorrisville, NC10,819Sanford, NC: 10,760 countSanford, NC10,760Thomasville, NC: 10,498 countThomasville, NC10,498
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
count
1Charlotte, NC345,944
2Raleigh, NC187,234
3Greensboro, NC118,663
4Durham, NC117,638
5Winston-Salem, NC97,869
6Fayetteville, NC80,057
7Cary, NC64,512
8Wilmington, NC52,656
9High Point, NC42,947
10Asheville, NC38,933
11Greenville, NC37,507
12Concord, NC35,546
13Gastonia, NC30,991
14Burlington, NC23,557
15Huntersville, NC22,351
16Rocky Mount, NC22,232
17Jacksonville, NC21,614
18Apex, NC20,434
19Chapel Hill, NC20,114
20Wilson, NC19,535
21Mooresville, NC18,744
22Kannapolis, NC18,349
23Hickory, NC17,363
24Wake Forest, NC16,513
25Goldsboro, NC14,445
26New Bern, NC14,005
27Salisbury, NC13,143
28Holly Springs, NC12,988
29Cornelius, NC12,913
30Indian Trail, NC12,696
31Garner, NC12,221
32Kernersville, NC11,572
33Fuquay-Varina, NC11,567
34Monroe, NC11,398
35Statesville, NC11,327
36Asheboro, NC11,236
37Matthews, NC10,909
38Morrisville, NC10,819
39Sanford, NC10,760
40Thomasville, NC10,498
41Mint Hill, NC10,050
42Leland, NC9,591
43Shelby, NC9,487
44Clayton, NC9,090
45Carrboro, NC8,956
46Kinston, NC8,859
47Clemmons, NC8,419
48Pinehurst, NC7,954
49Lexington, NC7,811
50Hendersonville, NC7,531
51Lenoir, NC7,397
52Knightdale, NC7,322
53Graham, NC7,088
54Mount Holly, NC6,950
55Lumberton, NC6,893
56Southern Pines, NC6,767
57Mebane, NC6,761
58Elizabeth City, NC6,731
59Reidsville, NC6,582
60Albemarle, NC6,443
61Morganton, NC6,395
62Eden, NC6,316
63Roanoke Rapids, NC6,202
64Hope Mills, NC6,084
65Waxhaw, NC5,930
66Henderson, NC5,807
67Stallings, NC5,668
68Belmont, NC5,523
69Laurinburg, NC5,442
70Newton, NC5,309
71Boone, NC5,304
72Davidson, NC5,292
73Havelock, NC5,224
74Harrisburg, NC5,171
75Archdale, NC4,817
76Mount Airy, NC4,795
77Lewisville, NC4,772
78Morehead City, NC4,761
79Tarboro, NC4,689
80Waynesville, NC4,684
81Lincolnton, NC4,648
82Smithfield, NC4,513
83Winterville, NC4,247
84Spring Lake, NC4,226
85Pineville, NC4,195
86Weddington, NC4,179
87Kings Mountain, NC4,130
88Summerfield, NC3,950
89Wendell, NC3,668
90Aberdeen, NC3,357
91Elon, NC3,027
92Rolesville, NC2,895
93Zebulon, NC2,493

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of households, which equals the number of occupied housing units. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

People living in group quarters, such as college dormitories, nursing homes and prisons, are not in households.

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. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. 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. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in North Carolina by households, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in North Carolina by households, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in North Carolina by households, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in North Carolina by households, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in North Carolina by households, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in North Carolina by households, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest households?

Charlotte, NC, with 345,944 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest households?

Zebulon, NC, with 2,493 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Households: other rankings

Cities in North Carolina: more rankings