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List of municipalities in North Carolina facts for kids

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North Carolina in United States
Map of the United States with North Carolina highlighted

North Carolina is a state in the Southern United States. It's a big state with many people! In 2020, about 10.4 million people lived there, making it the 9th most populated state. But when it comes to size, it's the 28th largest, covering about 53,819 square miles (139,390 square kilometers). North Carolina has 100 counties and 552 towns, cities, or villages. These different names don't mean much legally; they are all just places where people live.

North Carolina's Biggest Cities and Towns

North Carolina has many exciting cities and towns. Here are some of the largest ones, where lots of people live and work!

 ‡  This is the state capital and also a county seat.
 †  This is a county seat.

Below is a list of the 50 most populated cities and towns in North Carolina. This information comes from the 2020 census and estimates from 2022.


Name Population (2022 estimate) Population (2020) Change Type County
Charlotte† 897,720 874,579 +2.65% City Mecklenburg
Raleigh‡ 476,587 467,665 +1.91% City Wake (seat), Durham
Greensboro† 301,115 299,035 +0.70% City Guilford
Durham† 291,928 283,506 +2.97% City Durham (seat), Wake, Orange
Winston-Salem† 251,350 249,545 +0.72% City Forsyth
Fayetteville† 208,873 208,501 +0.18% City Cumberland
Cary 180,388 174,721 +3.24% Town Wake, Chatham
Wilmington† 120,324 115,451 +4.22% City New Hanover
High Point 115,067 114,059 +0.88% City Guilford, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth
Concord† 109,896 105,240 +4.43% City Cabarrus
Asheville† 93,776 94,589 -0.86% City Buncombe
Greenville† 89,233 87,521 +1.96% City Pitt
Gastonia† 82,653 80,411 +2.79% City Gaston
Apex 71,065 58,780 +20.91% Town Wake
Jacksonville† 70,420 72,723 -3.17% City Onslow
Huntersville 63,035 61,376 +2.70% Town Mecklenburg
Chapel Hill 62,098 61,960 +0.22% Town Orange, Durham
Burlington 59,287 55,481 +6.86% City Alamance
Kannapolis 55,448 53,114 +4.39% City Cabarrus, Rowan
Rocky Mount 54,013 54,341 -0.60% City Edgecombe, Nash
Mooresville 52,656 50,193 +4.91% Town Iredell
Wake Forest 51,113 47,601 +7.38% Town Wake, Franklin
Wilson† 47,606 47,851 -0.51% City Wilson
Holly Springs 45,945 41,239 +11.41% Town Wake
Hickory 44,084 43,490 +1.37% City Catawba, Burke, Caldwell
Indian Trail 41,724 39,997 +4.32% Town Union
Fuquay-Varina 40,810 34,152 +19.49% Town Wake
Monroe† 36,018 34,562 +4.21% City Union
Salisbury† 35,808 35,540 +0.75% City Rowan
Garner 33,669 31,159 +8.06% Town Wake
Goldsboro† 33,215 33,657 -1.31% City Wayne
Cornelius 32,294 31,412 +2.81% Town Mecklenburg
New Bern† 31,539 31,291 +0.79% City Craven
Morrisville 31,493 29,630 +6.30% Town Wake, Durham
Sanford† 31,224 30,261 +3.18% City Lee
Matthews 30,124 29,435 +2.34% Town Mecklenburg
Statesville† 29,681 28,419 +4.44% City Iredell
Clayton 29,445 26,307 +11.93% Town Johnston, Wake
Leland 28,591 22,908 +24.81% Town Brunswick
Kernersville 27,763 26,449 +4.97% Town Forsyth, Guilford
Asheboro† 27,482 27,156 +1.20% City Randolph
Thomasville 27,399 27,183 +0.79% City Davidson, Randolph
Mint Hill 27,143 26,450 +2.62% Town Mecklenburg, Union
Waxhaw 22,533 20,534 +9.74% Town Union
Shelby† 21,855 21,918 -0.29% City Cleveland
Clemmons 21,823 21,163 +3.12% Village Forsyth
Carrboro 21,298 21,295 +0.01% Town Orange
Harrisburg 19,822 18,967 +4.51% Town Cabarrus
Boone† 19,756 19,092 +3.48% Town Watauga
Knightdale 19,703 19,435 +1.38% Town Wake

Alphabetical List of North Carolina Towns and Cities

North Carolina has many towns and cities, each with its own unique story. Here's a list of some of them, organized by the first letter of their name.

Towns and Cities Starting with A

Towns and Cities Starting with B

Towns and Cities Starting with C

Towns and Cities Starting with D

Towns and Cities Starting with E

Towns and Cities Starting with F

Towns and Cities Starting with G

Towns and Cities Starting with H

Towns and Cities Starting with I

Towns and Cities Starting with J

Towns and Cities Starting with K

Towns and Cities Starting with L

Towns and Cities Starting with M

Towns and Cities Starting with N

Towns and Cities Starting with O

Towns and Cities Starting with P

Towns and Cities Starting with R

Towns and Cities Starting with S

Towns and Cities Starting with T

Towns and Cities Starting with U

Towns and Cities Starting with V

Towns and Cities Starting with W

Towns and Cities Starting with Y

Towns and Cities Starting with Z

More to Explore

A friendly robot pointing to more information In Spanish: Anexo:Localidades de Carolina del Norte para niños

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