Cities in North Carolina by households

Charlotte, NC had the highest households of 93 cities in 2022, at 354,442. Zebulon, NC had the lowest, at 2,633. The median was 8,711 and the figure for North Carolina was 4.11 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest354,442Charlotte, NC

Lowest2,633Zebulon, NC

Median8,71193 cities

North Carolina4,105,232History

Top 40 cities, 2022

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

Rank	Cities	2022 count	Change on 2021
1	Charlotte, NC	354,442	+2.5%
2	Raleigh, NC	189,830	+1.4%
3	Durham, NC	120,386	+2.3%
4	Greensboro, NC	120,137	+1.2%
5	Winston-Salem, NC	98,749	+0.9%
6	Fayetteville, NC	80,852	+1%
7	Cary, NC	66,120	+2.5%
8	Wilmington, NC	53,374	+1.4%
9	High Point, NC	44,049	+2.6%
10	Asheville, NC	38,229	-1.8%
11	Greenville, NC	37,901	+1.1%
12	Concord, NC	36,205	+1.9%
13	Gastonia, NC	31,151	+0.5%
14	Burlington, NC	23,883	+1.4%
15	Huntersville, NC	22,974	+2.8%
16	Apex, NC	22,965	+12.4%
17	Rocky Mount, NC	22,666	+2%
18	Jacksonville, NC	22,089	+2.2%
19	Chapel Hill, NC	19,965	-0.7%
20	Wilson, NC	19,658	+0.6%
21	Mooresville, NC	19,365	+3.3%
22	Kannapolis, NC	19,026	+3.7%
23	Hickory, NC	17,663	+1.7%
24	Wake Forest, NC	16,811	+1.8%
25	Goldsboro, NC	14,911	+3.2%
26	New Bern, NC	14,182	+1.3%
27	Holly Springs, NC	13,596	+4.7%
28	Cornelius, NC	13,352	+3.4%
29	Salisbury, NC	13,258	+0.9%
30	Indian Trail, NC	13,078	+3%
31	Fuquay-Varina, NC	12,449	+7.6%
32	Garner, NC	12,360	+1.1%
33	Kernersville, NC	11,953	+3.3%
34	Monroe, NC	11,700	+2.6%
35	Statesville, NC	11,400	+0.6%
36	Morrisville, NC	11,151	+3.1%
37	Asheboro, NC	11,084	-1.4%
38	Matthews, NC	11,061	+1.4%
39	Sanford, NC	10,863	+1%
40	Thomasville, NC	10,786	+2.7%
41	Leland, NC	10,423	+8.7%
42	Mint Hill, NC	10,000	-0.5%
43	Clayton, NC	9,579	+5.4%
44	Shelby, NC	9,223	-2.8%
45	Carrboro, NC	9,182	+2.5%
46	Clemmons, NC	8,748	+3.9%
47	Kinston, NC	8,711	-1.7%
48	Pinehurst, NC	8,216	+3.3%
49	Lexington, NC	7,751	-0.8%
50	Hendersonville, NC	7,651	+1.6%
51	Lenoir, NC	7,612	+2.9%
52	Graham, NC	7,496	+5.8%
53	Knightdale, NC	7,436	+1.6%
54	Mebane, NC	7,296	+7.9%
55	Elizabeth City, NC	7,103	+5.5%
56	Southern Pines, NC	7,080	+4.6%
57	Mount Holly, NC	7,037	+1.3%
58	Lumberton, NC	6,947	+0.8%
59	Albemarle, NC	6,535	+1.4%
60	Morganton, NC	6,469	+1.2%
61	Reidsville, NC	6,376	-3.1%
62	Roanoke Rapids, NC	6,318	+1.9%
63	Waxhaw, NC	6,312	+6.4%
64	Eden, NC	6,266	-0.8%
65	Hope Mills, NC	6,235	+2.5%
66	Belmont, NC	6,049	+9.5%
67	Stallings, NC	5,861	+3.4%
68	Boone, NC	5,839	+10.1%
69	Henderson, NC	5,832	+0.4%
70	Davidson, NC	5,510	+4.1%
71	Harrisburg, NC	5,508	+6.5%
72	Laurinburg, NC	5,237	-3.8%
73	Newton, NC	5,233	-1.4%
74	Havelock, NC	5,153	-1.4%
75	Morehead City, NC	4,961	+4.2%
76	Lewisville, NC	4,928	+3.3%
77	Mount Airy, NC	4,899	+2.2%
78	Waynesville, NC	4,803	+2.5%
79	Tarboro, NC	4,776	+1.9%
80	Lincolnton, NC	4,759	+2.4%
81	Archdale, NC	4,620	-4.1%
82	Smithfield, NC	4,524	+0.2%
83	Spring Lake, NC	4,457	+5.5%
84	Pineville, NC	4,417	+5.3%
85	Winterville, NC	4,309	+1.5%
86	Weddington, NC	4,240	+1.5%
87	Kings Mountain, NC	4,184	+1.3%
88	Summerfield, NC	3,910	-1%
89	Wendell, NC	3,760	+2.5%
90	Aberdeen, NC	3,546	+5.6%
91	Rolesville, NC	3,047	+5.3%
92	Elon, NC	2,949	-2.6%
93	Zebulon, NC	2,633	+5.6%

Other periods

2024
2023
2022
2021

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/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-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, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-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, 2022. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2022. 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, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2022.

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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2022. 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/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-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, 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/north-carolina-cities?period=2022.
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/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which city has the highest households?

Charlotte, NC, with 354,442 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest households?

Zebulon, NC, with 2,633 in 2022.

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.