North Carolina is growing...

Each hour adds 21 new North Carolinians to our state’s population.

Since 2000, North Carolina’s population has grown about 12.6% to top 9 million people.

By 2030, our state’s population will have increased by 50%, the equivalent of adding the entire population of South Carolina.

In the last 15 years, North Carolina's Hispanic population has grown by almost 600%. White and African American population have grown by about 20%.

...our counties are changing...

Since 2000, Wake County has added more residents – 200,000 – than any other county.

In the last 15 years, the Research Triangle regions population grew at the fastest rate in the state: 59%.  The northeast region grew the slowest: 13%.

Union county, adjacent to Mecklenburg, has grown the fastest since 2000 at a rate of 49.2%. 

In 2006, the Charlotte, Research Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions accounted for nearly 62% of the state's population.

Despite the state's overall growth, seventeen counties (nearly one in five) have fewer residents now than they did in the year 2000 due to in-state migration.

...and our infrastructure is struggling to keep pace.

North Carolina’s demand for water is expected to increase 36% over the next two decades; $17 billion in additional water and sewer infrastructure will be required to meet this demand- almost all by local governments.

Many North Carolina counties expect significant increases in their student populations. For example, Camden County’s student population is projected to increase the most at 82% from 2007-2017, followed by Union County (64%), Wake County (52%), Hoke County (46%), Charlotte-Mecklenberg (40%), and Brunswick County (34%).

Over the next 20 years, around 8,300 bridges in North Carolina will need major repairs or need to be replaced. The American Society of Engineers gives the state of North Carolina’s roads a D in its report card, its bridges a C-, its rail system a B-, and airports a D+.