Stanly County grew more than 3 percent from 2010 to 2020, gained roughly 1,900 people

Published 5:38 pm Thursday, August 12, 2021

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The newly-released U.S. Census data reveals that over the past 10 years, Stanly County grew 3.2 percent.

Stanly’s 2020 population was 62,504, up from 60,585 in 2010. The 10-year increase for Stanly ranked 41st among North Carolina’s 100 counties. Stanly’s population actually grew at a faster clip from 2000-2010, when it increased 4.3 percent.

The fastest growing counties, according to the data, were either in the two metro areas (Charlotte and Raleigh) or along North Carolina’s 300-mile coast. Cabarrus County grew 26.8 percent, which was the highest in the region and third-highest in the state, behind only Johnston and Brunswick. Mecklenburg grew 21.3 percent while Rowan grew 6.1 percent.

Other counties near Stanly lost population, including Anson (-18.2 percent), Montgomery (-7.4 percent) and Richmond (-7.9 percent).

When it comes to data regarding racial and ethnic diversity, Stanly remains a majority white county but a little less so. About 77.8 percent of county residents are non-Hispanic whites (now 49,000), down from 82.3 percent in 2010.

While the white share of the population in Stanly declined over the past years, the opposite occurred for Hispanic, Black and other minority groups. The Hispanic population grew 1.3 percentage points and is now almost 3,100; Blacks increased 0.3 percentage points and are around 7,000; and Asians stayed the same at 1.8 percentage points or around 1,145. The largest increase at 2.7 percentage points was among people who identify has having two or more non-Hispanic races, which account for almost 3,000 people.

About 78.8 percent of Stanly’s population is 18 and older (roughly 49,000 people), putting it slightly above the state average of 78.1 percent. That’s a five percent increase from the 46,800 who are in the same category 10 years ago.

North Carolina’s population grew 9.5 percent in the 10 years ending in 2020, adding 903,905 residents. Similar to Stanly, the state as a whole saw a decrease among its white population. About 60.5 percent of state residents are non-Hispanic whites, down from 65.3 percent in 2010.

 

 

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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