by Think Currituck, on 5/13/19 2:03 PM
Census Bureau Releases Population Estimates for North Carolina Metropolitan and Micropolitan Areas and Counties
We always knew that there was something special about living in North Carolina.
Now it seems like the rest of the country is catching on.
The populations of cities, counties and towns all across the state are getting bigger, and that forecast isn't likely to change, according to a recent release from the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management.
North Carolina’s metropolitan and micropolitan areas are among the largest and fastest growing in the nation, according to population estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau on April 18.
Between April 1, 2010 and July 1, 2018, the Tarheel state had the 4th largest numeric change in the nation.
Fifty-seven percent of North Carolina’s 100 counties grew during that 8-year period.
And even more impressively, 71% of them grew between 2017 and 2018 (compared to only 55 percent of all counties nationwide).
The fastest population growth between 2017 and 2018 occurred in Brunswick (4.6%), Johnston (3.2%), Currituck (2.8%), Chatham (2.7%), Franklin (2.3%), Pender (2.3%), and Cabarrus (2.2%) Counties.
NC Metropolitan/Micropolitan Areas See Big Changes
At 2.6 million, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia (NC-SC) Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was the 23rd largest in the United States in 2018 (ranked 24th in 2010).
At 1.4 million, the Raleigh MSA ranked 42nd (ranked 48th in 2010) and the Greensboro-High Point MSA was ranked 75th (at 768,000) nationally.
Currituck County and Gates County are included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA which ranked 37th nationally in 2018 (it ranked 36th in 2010).
Census numbers show that population growth continues to be concentrated in and around major metropolitan areas of the state –and particularly in the piedmont and coastal areas.
The population in Currituck County grew by 5,368 people between 2000 and 2010... an incredible 29.5% increase!
Between 2010 and 2017, the total dropped down a bit to 2,784, an 11.8% increase in overall county population.
But that number won't stay low for long. The projected population change in Currituck County between 2020 and 2030 shows an increase of 22.9% increase over the next decade. Included in that estimate are over 3,300 births and more than 6,400 new residents.
Even further out, from 2030 to 2038, the county is projected to grow by another 15%!
More Concrete Numbers Coming in 2020
The Census Bureau develops county, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area population estimates by measuring population change since the most recent census.
At least for another year, that most recent census is the one that took place in 2010.
The State of North Carolina and many counties, municipalities and other organizations are already working to ensure a complete count of the total population in North Carolina on April 1, 2020 – the count date for the next decennial census.
More information about these efforts can be found at: https://census.nc.gov/.
