BRUNSWICK COUNTY — One county in the region ranked in the top 10 in percentage growth on the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest round of estimates.
Ranking seventh is Brunswick County — the only North Carolina area to make an appearance among the highest rankers.
READ MORE: Study ranks Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover at top of economic investment
All 10 were in the South or West. Whitman County in Washington state secured number one, with half the top 10 containing Texas counties.
The U.S. Census released the data last week as part of its 2022 Vintage Report. It accounts for deaths, births and migrations each year after the decennial count, last conducted in 2020.
Brunswick is North Carolina’s 22nd largest county by population and fourth by total area, covering almost 1,000 square miles.
Between July 2021 and 2022, the vintage report shows its population ballooned by 5.7% — going from 144,814 to 153,064. That’s an 11.9% increase from April 2020 when 136,694 people were tracked living in the area.
Compared to the 2010 Census (107,431), it’s more than a 40% increase in 13 years.
Other recent percentage growth estimates show Pender topped out at 9.2%, while New Hanover’s uptick is 3.8% since 2020. In the last year, from 2021 to 2022, Pender had a 4.2% gain and New Hanover, 2.17%.
North Carolina’s population as a whole increased 2.5% since the Covid-19 pandemic began, from 10.4 million in 2020 to almost 10.7 million in 2022. The Tar Heel state secures the ninth spot nationwide in percentage growth.
Brunswick County population growth
- 2020: 136,694
- 2021: 144,814
- 2022: 153,064
Pender County population growth
- 2020: 60,642
- 2021: 63,072
- 2022: 65,737
New Hanover County population growth
- 2020: 226,307
- 2021: 229,930
- 2022: 234,921
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