Counties in North Carolina by net domestic migration, July to June
Wake County had the highest net domestic migration, July to June of 100 counties in 2021, at 14,398. Onslow County had the lowest, at -3,302. The median was 387 and the figure for North Carolina was 103,627. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 counties, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake County Estimated | 14,398 | +35.4% |
| 2 | Johnston County Estimated | 9,284 | +63.5% |
| 3 | Brunswick County Estimated | 7,989 | +16.2% |
| 4 | Orange County Estimated | 5,056 | +1,680.3% |
| 5 | Iredell County Estimated | 4,649 | +26.3% |
| 6 | Union County Estimated | 4,138 | +9.6% |
| 7 | New Hanover County Estimated | 4,060 | +69.8% |
| 8 | Cabarrus County Estimated | 3,865 | -10.5% |
| 9 | Gaston County Estimated | 3,098 | +60.6% |
| 10 | Moore County Estimated | 3,034 | +36.5% |
| 11 | Lincoln County Estimated | 2,989 | +94.7% |
| 12 | Buncombe County Estimated | 2,870 | +71.2% |
| 13 | Franklin County Estimated | 2,761 | +38.2% |
| 14 | Pender County Estimated | 2,613 | +58% |
| 15 | Forsyth County Estimated | 2,447 | +241.8% |
| 16 | Guilford County Estimated | 2,104 | +304.6% |
| 17 | Davidson County Estimated | 2,096 | +84.8% |
| 18 | Alamance County Estimated | 2,071 | -0.3% |
| 19 | Chatham County Estimated | 1,736 | +10.8% |
| 20 | Durham County Estimated | 1,677 | +27.6% |
| 21 | Carteret County Estimated | 1,564 | +219.8% |
| 22 | Pitt County Estimated | 1,412 | +32.2% |
| 23 | Currituck County Estimated | 1,377 | +28.1% |
| 24 | Catawba County Estimated | 1,307 | +39% |
| 25 | Harnett County Estimated | 1,262 | +848.9% |
| 26 | Rowan County Estimated | 1,250 | +55.3% |
| 27 | Henderson County Estimated | 1,185 | -25.8% |
| 28 | Randolph County Estimated | 1,062 | -15.1% |
| 29 | Watauga County Estimated | 988 | +325.9% |
| 30 | Dare County Estimated | 970 | +102.5% |
| 31 | Cleveland County Estimated | 962 | -22.4% |
| 32 | Davie County Estimated | 948 | +37% |
| 33 | Haywood County Estimated | 790 | +1.5% |
| 34 | Stanly County Estimated | 720 | +1% |
| 35 | Rockingham County Estimated | 681 | +15.4% |
| 36 | Macon County Estimated | 671 | +72.1% |
| 37 | Lee County Estimated | 638 | +84.4% |
| 38 | Rutherford County Estimated | 598 | +89.2% |
| 39 | Cherokee County Estimated | 596 | +19.9% |
| 40 | Madison County Estimated | 571 | +228.2% |
| 41 | Polk County Estimated | 553 | +24% |
| 42 | Hoke County Estimated | 538 | +167.7% |
| 43 | Transylvania County Estimated | 498 | +22.7% |
| 44 | Burke County Estimated | 468 | +125% |
| 44 | Jackson County Estimated | 468 | +46.7% |
| 46 | Camden County Estimated | 463 | +148.9% |
| 47 | Granville County Estimated | 433 | +167.3% |
| 48 | Caldwell County Estimated | 432 | +928.6% |
| 49 | Yancey County Estimated | 407 | +276.9% |
| 50 | Ashe County Estimated | 387 | +170.6% |
| 50 | Warren County Estimated | 387 | +1,067.5% |
| 52 | Stokes County Estimated | 372 | +23.6% |
| 53 | Craven County Estimated | 323 | +132% |
| 54 | Clay County Estimated | 322 | +9.9% |
| 55 | Alleghany County Estimated | 263 | +110.4% |
| 56 | Montgomery County Estimated | 258 | +210.8% |
| 57 | Perquimans County Estimated | 247 | +102.5% |
| 58 | Surry County Estimated | 238 | +38.4% |
| 59 | Nash County Estimated | 234 | -65.1% |
| 60 | Pasquotank County Estimated | 229 | -30.6% |
| 61 | McDowell County Estimated | 228 | +83.9% |
| 61 | Wilkes County Estimated | 228 | +500% |
| 63 | Mitchell County Estimated | 211 | +263.8% |
| 64 | Caswell County Estimated | 198 | +300% |
| 65 | Yadkin County Estimated | 190 | +63.8% |
| 66 | Pamlico County Estimated | 185 | +2.2% |
| 67 | Chowan County Estimated | 183 | +2,133.3% |
| 68 | Cumberland County Estimated | 173 | +105.4% |
| 69 | Tyrrell County Estimated | 170 | +780% |
| 70 | Halifax County Estimated | 164 | +146.2% |
| 71 | Jones County Estimated | 162 | +444.7% |
| 72 | Swain County Estimated | 140 | +404.3% |
| 73 | Hyde County Estimated | 134 | +312.7% |
| 74 | Alexander County Estimated | 116 | +6.4% |
| 75 | Person County Estimated | 86 | -76.9% |
| 76 | Scotland County Estimated | 71 | +151.4% |
| 77 | Bladen County Estimated | 64 | -66.3% |
| 78 | Beaufort County Estimated | 43 | -76.6% |
| 79 | Richmond County Estimated | 42 | +111.7% |
| 80 | Graham County Estimated | 37 | +15.6% |
| 81 | Washington County Estimated | 24 | +125.5% |
| 82 | Gates County Estimated | 5 | +113.9% |
| 83 | Sampson County Estimated | -11 | +89.5% |
| 84 | Martin County Estimated | -34 | +81.2% |
| 85 | Lenoir County Estimated | -113 | +36.9% |
| 86 | Greene County Estimated | -141 | -527.3% |
| 87 | Duplin County Estimated | -149 | +15.3% |
| 87 | Robeson County Estimated | -149 | +75.9% |
| 89 | Northampton County Estimated | -159 | +40.7% |
| 90 | Edgecombe County Estimated | -177 | +60.7% |
| 91 | Avery County Estimated | -204 | -229.1% |
| 92 | Columbus County Estimated | -240 | +45.2% |
| 93 | Bertie County Estimated | -273 | -92.3% |
| 94 | Wilson County Estimated | -317 | -266.8% |
| 95 | Vance County Estimated | -339 | -4,137.5% |
| 96 | Anson County Estimated | -435 | -173.7% |
| 97 | Wayne County Estimated | -482 | -104.2% |
| 98 | Hertford County Estimated | -1,283 | -199.1% |
| 99 | Mecklenburg County Estimated | -1,426 | -135.6% |
| 100 | Onslow County Estimated | -3,302 | -130.9% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Estimated moves into a US state or county from elsewhere in the United States minus moves out to the rest of the country, from July 1 of the previous year through June 30 of the reported year. A negative value means more people left than arrived.
Sums to zero for the United States as a whole, so there is no national value.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
U.S. Census Bureau. Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021 (Counties in North Carolina by net domestic migration, July to June, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html
MLA 9
Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021, Counties in North Carolina by net domestic migration, July to June, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 Mar. 2026, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/net-domestic-migration-july-june/north-carolina-counties?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021. Counties in North Carolina by net domestic migration, July to June, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/net-domestic-migration-july-june/north-carolina-counties?period=2021.
Harvard
U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021, Counties in North Carolina by net domestic migration, July to June, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/net-domestic-migration-july-june/north-carolina-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2021,
author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
title = {{Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021: Counties in North Carolina by net domestic migration, July to June, 2021}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/net-domestic-migration-july-june/north-carolina-counties?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Census Bureau
TI - Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021: Counties in North Carolina by net domestic migration, July to June, 2021
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/03/26
PB - U.S. Census Bureau
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/net-domestic-migration-july-june/north-carolina-counties?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/net-domestic-migration-july-june/north-carolina-counties?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
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Rank Counties in North Carolina by net domestic migration, July to June using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"net_domestic_migration_july_june","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=net_domestic_migration_july_june&level=province&within=North%20Carolina&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest net domestic migration, July to June?
Wake County, with 14,398 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest net domestic migration, July to June?
Onslow County, with -3,302 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, Population Estimates Program: net domestic migration, states and counties, July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the reported year; vintage 2020 files for 2011 to 2020 and the latest 2020s vintage from 2021. Retrieved 2026-10-12.