North Carolina has seen a large growth in diversity, mostly fueled by immigrants from India, Southeast Asia and Latin America. According to state projections, North Carolina will reach a population of 10.5 million in 2020, and will then surpass 11 million by 2030. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that the census of 2020 will show that the population has far exceeded 10 million. The population density is significant but there is space still to accommodate an ever-growing territory. With healthy natural growth and net migration, there is nothing apparent that would suggest that the North Carolina population growth will slow down. Similar rises were noted in the Censuses that followed, and in 1870 it was confirmed that numbers had exceeded one million for the very first time.Īverage percentage rises in the years that have followed have tended to be in the region of 18%, and when the numbers are already healthy, that leads to a growing population and a densely populated state. In 1790, recorded figures show that the North Carolina population had already reached 393,751 and just ten years later those numbers had climbed to 478,103. It’s a simplistic view at times to suggest that the western states within the US had healthy populations from the very birth of the United States' independence but the figures in relation to North Carolina certainly back up that view. The population for 1810 includes Walton County, enumerated as part of Georgia although actually within North Carolina. In 1790 census coverage included most of the State, except for areas at the western end, parts of which were not enumerated until 1840. North Carolina was one of the 13 original States and by the time of the 1790 census had essentially its current boundaries. North Carolina Boundary, Census, and Statehood History In terms of religious preferences across the state, 77% of the population report affiliation with a Christian based faith, 3% are affiliated with non-Christian based faiths, and 20% are unaffiliated with any faith in particular. The ratio of females to males in the state is about 51.4% females to 48.6% males. The median age of the population in North Carolina is approximately 38.3 years of age. North Carolina Gender and Religion Statistics The most populated counties in North Carolina are Mecklenburg (1,076,837), Wake (1,072,203), and Guilford (526,953) counties. Today, most of the residents of North Carolina live in urban and suburban areas. While North Carolina has historically been a rural area, the past thirty years have seen a rapid increase in urbanization, like most of the United States. The Triad (Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, North Carolina), pop 1.5 millionĬharlotte is by far the largest city in North Carolina, claiming 827,097 residents out of the total population of over 10 million.

The Triangle (Raleigh - Durham - Chapel Hill, North Carolina), pop 1.8 million.

Metrolina (Charlotte - Gastonia - Salisbury, North Carolina - South Carolina), pop 2.38 million.

North Carolina has three major Combined Statistical Areas with populations over 1.6 million, as of 2016. This makes North Carolina the 15th most densely populated state in the US. The total surface area is 53,819 square miles (139,390 square kilometers) and there is an average of 196 people for every square mile.

North Carolina may only rank in the lower middle half of the US in terms of size but it more than makes up for those statistics with its population density. Situated on the east coast of the United States, North Carolina is just the 28th largest state in the country in terms of area but it has a relatively high population density. North Carolina Area and Population Density At the time, it was reported that there were 9,535,483 people living in the state, and that represented a significant rise of 18.5% from the numbers declared in 2000. It's essential to look at the last set of confirmed figures which were declared at the time of the official US census of 2010. The North Carolina population statistics make for very interesting reading as a whole, but how do the numbers stack up in recent years? North Carolina currently has a very healthy growth rate of 1.13%, which ranks 14th in the nation.

Us hispanic population density map