These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In North Carolina

Is being in an area that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?

Depends on who you ask. Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Charlotte and Raleigh, while others want peace and quiet like in Ahoskie and Ayden, thank you very much.

But today we’re going to put opinions aside and just look at the cold hard facts — over the past five years, which cities in North Carolina have the grown the fastest.

After getting knee deep in the Census’s American Community Survey, we emerged with this set of cities in the Tar Heel State that have people climbing over each other to get in:

1. Harrisburg
2. Leland
3. Morrisville
4. Fuquay-Varina
5. Holly Springs
6. Wake Forest
7. Waxhaw
8. Knightdale
9. Mebane
10. Pinehurst

If you happen to be a resident of one of these communities, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on our list.

If you’re not–and you’re wondering why these places are kind of a big deal–keep reading. We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 places in North Carolina are growing like weeds–but first, a bit about our methodology.

How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In Tar Heel State

To figure out which cities are growing the most, we simply had to look at the growth rates for cities over the last five years, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:

• Population in 2014
• Population in 2010
• Growth rate from 2010 to 2014 (The latest available data)

We ranked all 132 North Carolina cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.

The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest growing city in the Tar Heel State.

And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula:

[Population 2014 – Population 2010] / [Population 2010]

1. Harrisburg

Population 2014: 13,549
Population 2010: 10,328
Growth Rate: 31.19%
Absolute Growth: 3,221

2. Leland

Population 2014: 15,316
Population 2010: 11,925
Growth Rate: 28.44%
Absolute Growth: 3,391

3. Morrisville

Population: 20,728
Population 2010: 16,147
Growth Rate: 28.37%
Absolute Growth: 4,581

4. Fuquay-Varina

Population: 20,246
Population 2010: 16,152
Growth Rate: 25.35%
Absolute Growth: 4,094

5. Holly Springs

Population: 27,339
Population 2010: 21,968
Growth Rate: 24.45%
Absolute Growth: 5,371

6. Wake Forest

Population: 33,319
Population 2010: 26,790
Growth Rate: 24.37%
Absolute Growth: 6,529

7. Waxhaw

Population: 10,878
Population 2010: 8,754
Growth Rate: 24.26%
Absolute Growth: 2,124

8. Knightdale

Population: 12,692
Population 2010: 10,477
Growth Rate: 21.14%
Absolute Growth: 2,215

9. Mebane

Population: 12,509
Population 2010: 10,401
Growth Rate: 20.27%
Absolute Growth: 2,108

10. Pinehurst

Population: 15,052
Population 2010: 12,521
Growth Rate: 20.21%
Absolute Growth: 2,531

Adding It Up

So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in North Carolina are led by Harrisburg which has been growing a blistering pace these past five years relative to other places around the state.

It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same pace over the next five years. We’ll be here to let you know!
For more North Carolina reading , check out:

• 10 Small Towns In North Carolina Where You’d Never Want To Live
• These Are The 10 Most Liberal Cities In North Carolina
• The 10 Bona Fide Happiest Cities In North Carolina

Detailed List Of Fastest Growing Places In North Carolina

City	Rank	Pop 2014	Pop 2010	Growth	% Growth
Harrisburg	1	13,549	10,328	3,221	31.2%
Leland	2	15,316	11,925	3,391	28.4%
Morrisville	3	20,728	16,147	4,581	28.4%
Fuquay-Varina	4	20,246	16,152	4,094	25.3%
Holly Springs	5	27,339	21,968	5,371	24.4%
Wake Forest	6	33,319	26,790	6,529	24.4%
Waxhaw	7	10,878	8,754	2,124	24.3%
Knightdale	8	12,692	10,477	2,215	21.1%
Mebane	9	12,509	10,401	2,108	20.3%
Pinehurst	10	15,052	12,521	2,531	20.2%
Marvin	11	5,806	4,889	917	18.8%
Apex	12	40,631	34,427	6,204	18.0%
Wesley Chapel	13	7,882	6,702	1,180	17.6%
Clayton	14	17,274	14,714	2,560	17.4%
Indian Trail	15	34,950	30,362	4,588	15.1%
Cary	16	146,041	127,587	18,454	14.5%
Huntersville	17	49,279	43,106	6,173	14.3%
Cornelius	18	26,246	22,970	3,276	14.3%
Aberdeen	19	6,702	5,884	818	13.9%
Mooresville	20	34,466	30,582	3,884	12.7%
Stallings	21	14,185	12,682	1,503	11.9%
Winterville	22	9,424	8,462	962	11.4%
Davidson	23	11,492	10,320	1,172	11.4%
Hope Mills	24	16,024	14,416	1,608	11.2%
Boiling Spring Lakes	25	5,529	4,982	547	11.0%
Oak Ridge	26	6,435	5,805	630	10.9%
Spring Lake	27	13,101	11,829	1,272	10.8%
Raleigh	28	423,287	382,729	40,558	10.6%
Charlotte	29	774,807	705,896	68,911	9.8%
Fletcher	30	7,320	6,688	632	9.4%
Garner	31	26,723	24,417	2,306	9.4%
Concord	32	82,266	75,172	7,094	9.4%
Stokesdale	33	5,177	4,732	445	9.4%
Wendell	34	6,085	5,563	522	9.4%
Mint Hill	35	23,934	21,940	1,994	9.1%
Durham	36	240,107	220,324	19,783	9.0%
Summerfield	37	10,477	9,615	862	9.0%
Greenville	38	87,546	80,439	7,107	8.8%
Pineville	39	7,855	7,251	604	8.3%
Gibsonville	40	6,565	6,063	502	8.3%
Matthews	41	28,677	26,556	2,121	8.0%
Weddington	42	9,906	9,207	699	7.6%
New Bern	43	30,171	28,073	2,098	7.5%
Boone	44	17,802	16,566	1,236	7.5%
Sanford	45	28,798	26,897	1,901	7.1%
Mount Holly	46	13,815	12,914	901	7.0%
Carrboro	47	20,337	19,074	1,263	6.6%
Elon	48	9,516	8,933	583	6.5%
Burlington	49	51,740	48,736	3,004	6.2%
Morehead City	50	9,030	8,523	507	5.9%
High Point	51	106,797	100,903	5,894	5.8%
Chapel Hill	52	58,379	55,180	3,199	5.8%
Unionville	53	6,180	5,853	327	5.6%
Southern Pines	54	12,782	12,116	666	5.5%
Kernersville	55	23,522	22,337	1,185	5.3%
Kannapolis	56	43,865	41,663	2,202	5.3%
Clemmons	57	19,101	18,145	956	5.3%
Belmont	58	10,346	9,829	517	5.3%
Wilmington	59	110,100	104,730	5,370	5.1%
Nashville	60	5,469	5,210	259	5.0%
Dunn	61	9,570	9,123	447	4.9%
Greensboro	62	276,225	263,358	12,867	4.9%
Hillsborough	63	6,256	5,972	284	4.8%
Asheville	64	85,783	81,970	3,813	4.7%
Asheboro	65	25,573	24,478	1,095	4.5%
Winston-Salem	66	234,469	224,769	9,700	4.3%
Woodfin	67	6,167	5,913	254	4.3%
Mills River	68	6,917	6,633	284	4.3%
Lewisville	69	13,037	12,518	519	4.1%
Monroe	70	33,588	32,297	1,291	4.0%
Whiteville	71	5,465	5,255	210	4.0%
Siler City	72	8,109	7,801	308	3.9%
Carolina Beach	73	5,888	5,665	223	3.9%
Smithfield	74	11,357	10,972	385	3.5%
Hendersonville	75	13,350	12,900	450	3.5%
Conover	76	8,200	7,928	272	3.4%
Oak Island	77	7,051	6,818	233	3.4%
Butner	78	7,661	7,414	247	3.3%
Graham	79	14,384	13,921	463	3.3%
Archdale	80	11,322	10,964	358	3.3%
Ayden	81	5,018	4,862	156	3.2%
Gastonia	82	72,664	70,709	1,955	2.8%
Thomasville	83	27,042	26,319	723	2.7%
Kill Devil Hills	84	6,810	6,630	180	2.7%
Mocksville	85	5,086	4,952	134	2.7%
Wilson	86	49,389	48,219	1,170	2.4%
Hamlet	87	6,566	6,420	146	2.3%
Cherryville	88	5,826	5,697	129	2.3%
Brevard	89	7,651	7,489	162	2.2%
Black Mountain	90	7,977	7,809	168	2.2%
Statesville	91	25,132	24,619	513	2.1%
Fayetteville	92	202,421	198,875	3,546	1.8%
Clinton	93	8,729	8,584	145	1.7%
Selma	94	6,172	6,072	100	1.6%
Lincolnton	95	10,601	10,440	161	1.5%
Salisbury	96	33,524	33,018	506	1.5%
Bessemer City	97	5,410	5,333	77	1.4%
Lumberton	98	21,707	21,448	259	1.2%
Oxford	99	8,585	8,490	95	1.1%
Havelock	100	20,850	20,624	226	1.1%
King	101	6,732	6,660	72	1.1%
Kings Mountain	102	10,743	10,631	112	1.1%
Washington	103	9,768	9,708	60	0.6%
Jacksonville	104	69,300	68,989	311	0.5%
Hickory	105	40,108	39,932	176	0.4%
Trinity	106	6,648	6,628	20	0.3%
Newton	107	12,998	12,967	31	0.2%
Albemarle	108	15,924	15,912	12	0.1%
Eden	109	15,543	15,602	-59	-0.4%
Sawmills	110	5,164	5,193	-29	-0.6%
Shelby	111	20,283	20,417	-134	-0.7%
Lexington	112	19,029	19,155	-126	-0.7%
Rockingham	113	9,444	9,524	-80	-0.8%
Tarboro	114	11,323	11,424	-101	-0.9%
Lenoir	115	18,061	18,225	-164	-0.9%
Morganton	116	16,816	16,972	-156	-0.9%
Mount Airy	117	10,411	10,520	-109	-1.0%
Rocky Mount	118	57,071	57,776	-705	-1.2%
Forest City	119	7,387	7,487	-100	-1.3%
Roanoke Rapids	120	15,653	15,865	-212	-1.3%
Henderson	121	15,325	15,540	-215	-1.4%
Marion	122	7,948	8,062	-114	-1.4%
Elizabeth City	123	18,343	18,647	-304	-1.6%
Waynesville	124	9,770	9,934	-164	-1.7%
Laurinburg	125	15,799	16,067	-268	-1.7%
Ahoskie	126	5,017	5,109	-92	-1.8%
Reidsville	127	14,249	14,511	-262	-1.8%
Kinston	128	21,589	21,998	-409	-1.9%
Roxboro	129	8,330	8,490	-160	-1.9%
Williamston	130	5,410	5,514	-104	-1.9%
Goldsboro	131	35,908	36,816	-908	-2.5%
Wadesboro	132	5,711	5,882	-171	-2.9%