2010 Census Population: | 9,535,483 (10th) |
Land Area: | 48,617.9 square miles (29th) |
Density: | 196.1 persons per square mile (15th) |
Capital: | Raleigh |
Became a State: | November 21, 1789 (12th) |
Bordering States: | Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia |
Abbreviation: | NC |
ANSI Code: | 37 |
The area of North Carolina was part of the original territory of the United States. Both North Carolina and South Carolina were included in the charter that established Carolina in 1663. The two areas separated in 1712—a separation that was finalized when the Carolina Colony was dissolved in 1729—with generally the same shared boundary as the present states. However, they did not settle on a final boundary until 1813. North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution on November 21, 1789; it was the 12th of the original 13 states to join the Union. North Carolina ceded its territory westward to the Mississippi River, comprising present-day Tennessee, to the United States in 1790, to assume generally the same boundary as the present state.
Census data for North Carolina are available beginning with the 1790 census. For an explanation of the revision to the 1810 population of North Carolina, see Richard L. Forstall, Population ofStates and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996, page 118.
AMERICAN INDIAN AREAS
North Carolina has one federally recognized American Indian reservation and seven state designated tribal statistical areas (SDTSAs).
METROPOLITAN AND MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND RELATED STATISTICAL AREAS
North Carolina has 15 metropolitan statistical areas, 26 micropolitan statistical areas, and 5 combined statistical areas.
COUNTIES
There are 100 counties in North Carolina. Each county is governed by a board of county commissioners.
COUNTY SUBDIVISIONS
There are 1,041 county subdivisions in North Carolina which are known as minor civil divisions (MCDs). There are 1,035 townships which are nonfunctioning nongovernmental entities. Asheville city is independent of any MCD and serves as a county subdivision. Cleveland County dissolved all townships and is now a single nonfunctioning nongovernmental county subdivision named Cleveland. There are also four unorganized territories in North Carolina.
PLACES
North Carolina has 739 places; 553 incorporated places and 186 census designated places (CDPs). The incorporated places consist of 76 cities, 456 towns, and 21 villages. Dellview town is an inactive town. Incorporated places are dependent within county subdivision except for Asheville city in Buncombe County. Charlotte, Wilmington, and Winston-Salem cities are coextensive with a single township. Greensboro city is coextensive with two townships. Boone city contains one township plus parts of three additional townships, Concord city contains one township plus parts of seven additional townships, and Fayetteville city contains one township plus parts of six additional townships.
CENSUS TRACTS/BLOCK GROUPS/BLOCKS
North Carolina has 2,195 census tracts, 6,155 block groups, and 288,987 census blocks.
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS
For the 111th Congress (January 2009-January 2011), North Carolina had 13 congressional districts. For the 113th Congress (January 2013-January 2015), North Carolina continues to have 13 congressional districts as a result of reapportionment based on the 2010 Census.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
North Carolina has 118 unified school districts. The Department of Defense runs two of the unified school districts and the Bureau of Indian Affairs runs one of the unified school districts in North Carolina.
STATE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS
There are 50 state senate districts and 120 state house districts in North Carolina.
URBAN AREAS
North Carolina has 115 urban areas; 19 urbanized areas and 96 urban clusters.
ZIP CODE TABULATION AREAS
There are 808 ZIP Code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in North Carolina.
Year | North Latitude | West Longitude |
---|---|---|
20106 | 35° 32′ 35″ | 79° 39′ 30″ |
20006 | 35° 33′ 12″ | 79° 40′ 04″ |
19905 | 35° 33′ 31″ | 79° 39′ 17″ |
19804 | 35° 34′ 03″ | 79° 40′ 33″ |
19703 | 35° 34′ 28″ | 79° 40′ 12″ |
19603 | 35° 34′ 58″ | 79° 35′ 25″ |
19503 | 35° 36′ 33″ | 79° 36′ 56″ |
19402 | 35° 36′ 28″ | 79° 38′ 40″ |
19302 | 35° 36′ 46″ | 79° 36′ 30″ |
19201 | 35° 36′ 48″ | 79° 31′ 27″ |
19101 | 35° 37′ 23″ | 79° 29′ 49″ |
19001 | 35° 38′ 13″ | 79° 28′ 37″ |
18901 | 35° 38′ 22″ | 79° 25′ 11″ |
18801 | 35° 38′ 35″ | 79° 18′ 37″ |
1 Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1923
2 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, recomputation for historical county level data which relied upon aggregate county level population data with an estimated county centroid resulting in a possible error of up to one mile.
3 Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Centers of Population for States and Counties, 1974
4 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group/enumeration area data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet.
5 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet.
6 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, computation from national block-level data
Population | Land Area (square miles) |
Population Density (Persons per square mile) |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Population | Name | Area | Name | Density | |
County | Mecklenburg County | 919,628 | Robeson County | 949.22 | Mecklenburg County | 1,755.5 |
Place | ||||||
- Inc Place | Charlotte city | 731,424 | Charlotte city | 297.68 | Lake Park village | 4,371.2 |
- CDP | Murraysville CDP | 14,215 | Lake Norman of Catawba CDP | 23.84 | Silver Lake CDP | 2,281.7 |
See the Gazetteer Files for a list of geographic entities. See the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas page for a list of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas and related statistical areas.