Charlotte increases lead as North Carolina’s largest city; Huntersville surpasses prominent college town

(QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Charlotte added the most people of any city in the state from 2020-24, remaining the largest in North Carolina by more than 400,000 people, new population data shows. 

The Office of State Budget and Management unveiled last week municipalities’ changes in population ending July 1, 2024. The Queen City reached 944,742 people, up adding 70,000 from April 2020, an 8 percent change. 

The state demographer data has Raleigh still as the second-largest city, eclipsing half-a-million residents this decade. The City of Oaks also grew rapidly at a 7 percent rate. 

The region’s other fastest growing municipalities include Concord, which grew by 9,2 percent to 115,053, and Huntersville, which grew by 9 percent to surpass Chapel Hill with a population of 66,955. 

North Carolina’s top 10 cities by population

City	April 2020 Population	July 2024 Population	Percent Change
1. Charlotte	874,687	944,742	8%
2. Raleigh	467,911	500,639	7%
3. Greensboro	299,190	306,749	2.5%
4. Durham	283,827	300,907	6%
5. Winston-Salem	249,567	259,045	3.8%
6. Fayetteville	208,472	211,756	1.6%
7. Cary	174,797	187,378	7.2%
8. Wilmington	115,459	126,256	9.4%
9. High Point	114,115	171,674	3.1%
10. Concord	105,329	115,053	9.2%

Southern Iredell County exploded with people this decade. Mooresville saw 18 percent growth, from 50,000 people to 59,500, and just to the north, Troutman grew by a staggering 75 percent to 6,600.

Besides Charlotte and Raleigh, five of the top municipalities with population gains of 10,000 or more were located in the Triangle area.

Union County once again experienced strong growth. Monroe grew by 13.4 percent, Indian Trail by 12.3 percent, Waxhaw by 17.5 percent, Weddington by 11.9, and to the east Wingate grew by 14 percent. 

Beyond the Triangle, the demographer reports Wilmington (+11,000) and nearby Leland (+10,000), as well as Concord (+10,000), also saw substantial increases. 

Between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, municipal populations grew by an average of 1.8 percent. During this period, 87 percent of all North Carolina municipalities saw population increases.    

Several towns in the eastern part of the QCN viewing area saw population losses. Rockingham and Hamlet each declined by 1.9 percent, Polkton took a 15.6 percent hit, and Wadesboro slipped by 0.01 percent, or six people.

The northeast part of the state (east of I-95, north of US 64) saw the most widespread population loss.