About the NC County Map and North Carolina's 100 counties
The NC County Map on this site is the complete, interactive North Carolina county map — every one of the state's 100 counties on a single, color-coded, accessible map. The number 100 has been unchanged since 1911 when Avery and Hoke counties were carved from their neighbors. The state's oldest counties — Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank, and Perquimans — were chartered in 1668 along the Albemarle Sound, more than a century before American independence. The full two-and-a-half century arc of county creation tracks westward expansion from the coast across the Piedmont and into the Appalachian highlands.
Counties are the foundational unit of local government in North Carolina. Each is administered from a designated county seat and governed by an elected Board of Commissioners. Counties operate public schools, sheriff's offices, registers of deeds, public health departments, social services, and (in most counties) emergency medical services, all within boundaries that have been remarkably stable for over a century.
Population and growth
The latest U.S. Census Bureau data recorded North Carolina's population at 10,440,889, ranking it 9th among U.S. states. Population is highly concentrated: the ten largest counties hold roughly 46% of all residents, while the 25 smallest counties — most in the Mountains or eastern Coastal Plain — account for under 7%. Wake County (Raleigh) and Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) each surpassed one million residents (latest available), the first NC counties to do so.
The three regions
North Carolina's counties are grouped into three classical regions: Mountains (23 counties), Piedmont (37 counties), and Coastal Plain (40 counties). The Piedmont contains every major metropolitan area except Asheville and Wilmington, and has absorbed the majority of the state's recent growth.
How to use this site
- NC interactive county map — click any county for a full reference page.
- North Carolina counties directory (all 100) — searchable, sortable table.
- NC county population rankings — every county ranked, with percent-of-state.
- North Carolina county map by region — Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain breakdowns.
- Quick reference answers — common questions, sourced.
Data sources
All population figures come from the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, Table P1. Boundaries and land area come from Census cartographic boundary files and NC OneMap. County formation dates come from the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. Read our full methodology for sourcing details and update cadence.
Who this NC county map is for
Most people who land here are trying to answer a quick, practical question — which county a town sits in, which counties border the one they're moving to, or what the seat of a given county is. Teachers building lesson plans, journalists checking a dateline, real-estate agents pulling a service-area sheet, genealogists tracing a family line, and travelers planning a route across the state all need the same thing: a clear, reliable map of NC counties they can read at a glance and trust without a second source. That's what this page is built to deliver.
If you arrived searching for a map of NC counties, a North Carolina counties map, or simply NC counties by name, the interactive map above is the same dataset — one shape per county, drawn from the Census Bureau's cartographic files, labeled with the seat and the region. Whether you call it the Tar Heel State county map, the NC state county map, or just "the county map of North Carolina," the answer doesn't change: 100 counties, three regions, one place to look them up.
What this map answers at a glance
Common questions visitors arrive with — and where to find the answer on this page:
- "What county is [city] in?" Hover or tap any county on the map, or scan the county directory for the seat and largest cities.
- "How many counties are in NC?" One hundred, fixed since 1911 when Avery and Hoke were created.
- "Which counties border mine?" Every county page lists its neighboring counties with a short note on why that border matters for travel, services, and commerce.
- "Which is the biggest or smallest?" Wake leads by population; Tyrrell trails. By land area, Robeson is largest and Chowan is smallest.
- "What region is it in?" Counties are grouped into Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain — the same three-region framework used by the state.
How this NC county map stays accurate
County boundaries in North Carolina change rarely, but the numbers attached to them — population, density, growth rate — shift every year. We refresh population and demographic figures against the latest U.S. Census Bureau releases, re-render the underlying GeoJSON when TIGER/Line shapefiles are updated, and keep county-seat and formation-date references aligned with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. Every page cites its source so you can verify anything you plan to publish or cite yourself.