Cities in North Carolina by population

Charlotte, NC had the highest population of 93 cities in 2020, at 874,907. Zebulon, NC had the lowest, at 7,038. The median was 20,781 and the figure for North Carolina was 10.45 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest874,907Charlotte, NC

Lowest7,038Zebulon, NC

Median20,78193 cities

North Carolina10,450,215History

Top 40 cities, 2020

persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2020 persons
1	Charlotte, NC	874,907
2	Raleigh, NC	466,310
3	Greensboro, NC	295,849
4	Durham, NC	281,709
5	Winston-Salem, NC	249,208
6	Fayetteville, NC	210,827
7	Cary, NC	174,773
8	Wilmington, NC	115,947
9	High Point, NC	114,722
10	Concord, NC	104,889
11	Asheville, NC	94,377
12	Greenville, NC	90,944
13	Gastonia, NC	80,572
14	Jacksonville, NC	73,158
15	Apex, NC	65,249
16	Huntersville, NC	61,609
17	Burlington, NC	57,561
18	Chapel Hill, NC	57,043
19	Kannapolis, NC	55,350
20	Rocky Mount, NC	54,890
21	Mooresville, NC	50,555
22	Wake Forest, NC	49,725
23	Wilson, NC	49,001
24	Hickory, NC	43,708
25	Holly Springs, NC	41,570
26	Indian Trail, NC	40,370
27	Salisbury, NC	35,211
28	Monroe, NC	34,699
29	Fuquay-Varina, NC	34,571
30	Goldsboro, NC	34,452
31	Cornelius, NC	31,515
32	Garner, NC	31,491
33	New Bern, NC	31,343
34	Sanford, NC	30,227
35	Morrisville, NC	30,106
36	Matthews, NC	29,517
37	Statesville, NC	28,627
38	Asheboro, NC	27,251
39	Thomasville, NC	27,076
40	Clayton, NC	26,688
41	Kernersville, NC	26,565
42	Mint Hill, NC	26,529
43	Leland, NC	25,145
44	Shelby, NC	21,939
45	Carrboro, NC	21,280
46	Clemmons, NC	21,234
47	Waxhaw, NC	20,781
48	Kinston, NC	19,769
49	Boone, NC	19,547
50	Lexington, NC	19,522
51	Knightdale, NC	19,501
52	Harrisburg, NC	18,937
53	Lumberton, NC	18,904
54	Elizabeth City, NC	18,755
55	Lenoir, NC	18,353
56	Mebane, NC	18,255
57	Havelock, NC	17,898
58	Hope Mills, NC	17,838
59	Mount Holly, NC	17,743
60	Pinehurst, NC	17,678
61	Morganton, NC	17,502
62	Graham, NC	17,166
63	Albemarle, NC	16,417
64	Stallings, NC	16,192
65	Southern Pines, NC	15,706
66	Eden, NC	15,418
67	Hendersonville, NC	15,215
68	Roanoke Rapids, NC	15,197
69	Belmont, NC	15,164
70	Henderson, NC	15,139
71	Laurinburg, NC	15,094
72	Davidson, NC	14,885
73	Reidsville, NC	14,591
74	Lewisville, NC	13,420
75	Weddington, NC	13,246
76	Newton, NC	13,148
77	Archdale, NC	11,908
78	Spring Lake, NC	11,517
79	Smithfield, NC	11,380
80	Kings Mountain, NC	11,314
81	Lincolnton, NC	11,126
82	Summerfield, NC	10,956
83	Elon, NC	10,939
84	Tarboro, NC	10,687
85	Mount Airy, NC	10,664
86	Pineville, NC	10,638
87	Winterville, NC	10,509
88	Waynesville, NC	10,231
89	Wendell, NC	9,997
90	Rolesville, NC	9,719
91	Morehead City, NC	9,589
92	Aberdeen, NC	8,629
93	Zebulon, NC	7,038

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón). Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January. Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 1 January. United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

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. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. 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). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in North Carolina by population, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in North Carolina by population, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/north-carolina-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in North Carolina by population, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/north-carolina-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in North Carolina by population, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/north-carolina-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in North Carolina by population, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/north-carolina-cities?period=2020. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in North Carolina by population, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/north-carolina-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/north-carolina-cities?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Cities in North Carolina by population using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Charlotte, NC, with 874,907 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Zebulon, NC, with 7,038 in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.