Bolivia, N.C.- The title of the fastest growing county in North Carolina now officially goes to Brunswick County.
For more than five years Brunswick County has been in an unofficial competition with Wake County. Strengthened by the massive growth of the Raleigh metropolitan area, Wake has seen the largest increase of residents for much of the last decade… but it’s no longer in the top spot.
According to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Brunswick County has grown in population by 12% in this decade alone.
That influx not only makes Brunswick County the fastest growing county in the state, it is now one of the fastest growing counties in the entire nation. It now ranks seventh in the country for population percentage growth.
In April 2020, Brunswick County had an estimated population of 136,694. In July 2022 the population jumped to 153,064. That’s an increase of more than 8,000 new residents each year.
Brunswick County is the only North Carolina county to rank in the list. Five Texas counties also made the cut, with counties in Washington, Florida and Georgia ranking in the top 10.
While neighboring Cape Fear counties New Hanover and Pender have seen steady population growth since 2020, Brunswick far outpaces the two. New Hanover County saw just a 2.2% increase in population from 2021 to 2022. Pender County’s population rose over 4% to 65,737 people from 2021 to 2022.