North Carolina is one of the nation’s most attractive migration destinations, currently ranking third behind Florida and Texas. Averaging 374 newcomers daily, net migration—more people moving in than leaving — was responsible for 95% (573,272) of the state’s absolute population growth (604,525) between 2020 and 2024.
Thirty percent of North Carolina’s newcomers moved from abroad (182,263). And, notably, these international migrants assumed residence and drove population growth in some of the state’s major hubs of higher education, employment, research and development, sports, entertainment, and recreation.
Between 2020 and 2024, transplants from abroad were responsible for more than 75% of net population growth in Cumberland, Durham, and Orange counties; 50-75% of net growth in Mecklenburg, Guilford, Duplin, and Robeson counties; and between 30% and 49% of growth in Wake, Forsyth, and Buncombe counties. In absolute numbers, close to half of the international migrants settled in the state’s two most rapidly growing counties: Mecklenburg (52,154) and Wake (33,145).
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