North Carolina statistical areas
The U.S. State of North Carolina currently has 48 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated nine combined statistical areas, 15 metropolitan statistical areas, and 24 micropolitan statistical areas in North Carolina.[1] As of 2023, the largest of these is the Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA, comprising the state's largest city of Charlotte and its suburbs.
Statistical areas
[edit]The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico.[2] These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population,[2] "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core".[2] The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.[2]
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%.[2] The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.
| 2025 rank | Core-based statistical area[1] | Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 estimate[3] | Change | 2020 Census[4] | Change | 2010 Census[5] | ||
| 1 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA (NC) | 2,484,646 | +10.43% | 2,249,929 | +17.91% | 1,908,095 |
| 2 | Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA | 1,595,720 | +12.85% | 1,413,982 | +25.08% | 1,130,490 |
| 3 | Greensboro-High Point, NC MSA | 805,945 | +3.78% | 776,566 | +7.29% | 723,801 |
| 4 | Winston-Salem, NC MSA | 712,206 | +5.36% | 675,966 | +5.52% | 640,595 |
| 5 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC MSA | 625,485 | +6.21% | 588,911 | +16.76% | 504,357 |
| 6 | Wilmington, NC MSA | 492,772 | +16.61% | 422,598 | +16.64% | 362,315 |
| 7 | Asheville, NC MSA | 422,345 | +3.79% | 406,926 | +11.24% | 365,822 |
| 8 | Fayetteville, NC MSA | 395,412 | +2.22% | 386,810 | +5.58% | 366,383 |
| 9 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC MSA | 376,890 | +3.18% | 365,276 | −0.06% | 365,497 |
| 10 | Jacksonville, NC MSA | 217,175 | +6.16% | 204,576 | +15.08% | 177,772 |
| 11 | Burlington, NC MSA | 186,177 | +8.61% | 171,415 | +13.42% | 151,131 |
| 12 | Greenville, NC MSA | 182,936 | +7.46% | 170,243 | +1.25% | 168,148 |
| 13 | Rocky Mount, NC MSA | 148,486 | +3.21% | 143,870 | −5.59% | 152,392 |
| 14 | Anderson Creek, NC μSA | 150,137 | +12.40% | 133,568 | +16.47% | 114,678 |
| 15 | New Bern, NC μSA | 127,358 | +4.25% | 122,168 | −3.65% | 126,802 |
| 16 | Goldsboro, NC MSA | 122,278 | +4.21% | 117,333 | −4.31% | 122,623 |
| 17 | Lumberton, NC μSA | 119,941 | +2.93% | 116,530 | −13.15% | 134,168 |
| 18 | Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC μSA | 110,619 | +10.92% | 99,727 | +13.01% | 88,247 |
| 19 | Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC μSA | 103,325 | +3.82% | 99,519 | +1.47% | 98,078 |
| 20 | Wilson, NC μSA | 81,150 | +3.00% | 78,784 | −3.02% | 81,234 |
| 21 | Mount Airy, NC μSA | 72,287 | +1.30% | 71,359 | −3.14% | 73,673 |
| 22 | Morehead City, NC μSA | 70,469 | +4.11% | 67,686 | +1.83% | 66,469 |
| 23 | Sanford, NC μSA | 70,258 | +11.02% | 63,285 | +9.36% | 57,866 |
| 24 | North Wilkesboro, NC μSA | 66,233 | +0.40% | 65,969 | −4.86% | 69,340 |
| 25 | Albemarle, NC μSA | 68,830 | +10.12% | 62,504 | +3.17% | 60,585 |
| 26 | Forest City, NC μSA | 65,745 | +2.02% | 64,444 | −4.96% | 67,810 |
| 27 | Roanoke Rapids, NC μSA | 63,025 | −4.64% | 66,093 | −13.93% | 76,790 |
| 28 | Waynesville, NC μSA | 63,369 | +2.06% | 62,089 | +5.17% | 59,036 |
| 29 | Kinston, NC μSA | 55,837 | +1.30% | 55,122 | −7.35% | 59,495 |
| 30 | Boone, NC μSA | 54,786 | +1.29% | 54,086 | +5.89% | 51,079 |
| 31 | Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA-NC MSA (NC) | 54,707 | +11.80% | 48,933 | +7.02% | 45,724 |
| 32 | Marion, NC μSA | 45,198 | +1.39% | 44,578 | −0.93% | 44,996 |
| 33 | Washington, NC μSA | 44,670 | +0.04% | 44,652 | −6.51% | 47,759 |
| 34 | Rockingham, NC μSA | 42,041 | −2.11% | 42,946 | −7.92% | 46,639 |
| 35 | Henderson, NC μSA | 42,638 | +0.14% | 42,578 | −6.26% | 45,422 |
| 36 | Elizabeth City, NC μSA | 42,201 | +4.03% | 40,568 | −0.23% | 40,661 |
| 37 | Kill Devil Hills, NC μSA | 38,245 | +3.60% | 36,915 | +8.83% | 33,920 |
| 38 | Laurinburg, NC μSA | 33,322 | −2.49% | 34,174 | −5.48% | 36,157 |
| 39 | Brevard, NC μSA | 34,211 | +3.71% | 32,986 | −0.31% | 33,090 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA | 2,938,830 | +10.47% | 2,660,329 | +18.56% | 2,243,960 | |
| Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA-NC MSA | 1,797,213 | +0.96% | 1,780,059 | +5.09% | 1,693,860 | |
| 2025 rank | Combined statistical area[1] | Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 estimate[3] | Change | 2020 Census[4] | Change | 2010 Census[5] | ||
| 1 | Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA (NC) | 3,078,889 | +9.11% | 2,821,806 | +13.91% | 2,477,251 |
| 2 | Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC CSA | 2,484,238 | +10.79% | 2,242,324 | +21.02% | 1,852,813 |
| 3 | Greensboro–-Winston-Salem–-High Point, NC CSA | 1,776,615 | +4.80% | 1,695,306 | +6.68% | 1,589,200 |
| 4 | Fayetteville-Lumberton-Pinehurst, NC CSA | 701,335 | +3.11% | 680,187 | +1.28% | 671,594 |
| 5 | Asheville-Waynesville-Brevard, NC CSA | 519,925 | +3.57% | 502,001 | +9.62% | 457,948 |
| 6 | Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids, NC CSA | 292,661 | +1.36% | 288,747 | −6.98% | 310,416 |
| 7 | Greenville-Washington, NC CSA | 227,606 | +5.91% | 214,895 | −0.47% | 215,907 |
| 8 | New Bern-Morehead City, NC CSA | 197,827 | +4.20% | 189,854 | −1.77% | 193,271 |
| 9 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC CSA (NC) | 135,153 | +6.91% | 126,416 | +5.08% | 120,305 |
| Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA | 3,533,073 | +9.31% | 3,232,206 | +14.90% | 2,813,116 | |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC CSA | 1,877,659 | +1.08% | 1,857,542 | +5.04% | 1,768,441 | |
See also
[edit]
Notes
[edit]- ^ An out-of-state area and its population are displayed in green. An area that extends into more than one state is displayed in purple. A purple population number over a black population number show the total population versus the in-state population. The state's abbreviation is also shown next to the in-state total.
- ^ For CBSAs comprising populations from multiple states, they are listed twice to show both their intrastate population within that CBSA as well as the CBSA's total population. Only the intrastate population is ranked.
- ^ For CSAs comprising populations from multiple states, they are listed twice to show both their intrastate population within that CSA as well as the CSA's total population. Only the intrastate population is ranked.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas (July 21, 2023). "0MB BULLETIN NO. 23-01" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e "2020 Standards for Delineating Core Based Statistical Areas". Office of Management and Budget. July 16, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2025". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 2025. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
- ^ a b "PROFILE OF GENERAL POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS". U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
- ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019". U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
External links
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