County Maps US

Columbus County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 52 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37047

Within North Carolina
Columbus County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Whiteville, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
50,487
0 (0%) since 2020
Land area
938.2
square miles. A further 1.8% of the total area is water
Population density
53.8
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Whiteville
Seat of county government.
Established
1808
217 years ago
Largest city
Whiteville city
Population 4,765.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Columbus County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Columbus County, North Carolina from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 599 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Columbus County ranks

Position among the 100 counties of North Carolina, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn North CarolinaNationally
Population50,48752nd of 1001,007th of 3,144
Land area938.2 sq mi3rd of 100759th of 3,144
Population density53.8 per sq mi79th of 1001,401st of 3,144
Median household income$49,44287th of 1002,800th of 3,143

Full data for Columbus County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population50,487Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202050,487Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?50,630Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area938.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area16.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area955.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?53.8 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$49,442American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$146,000American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age42.6American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households20,048American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units23,563American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-211
597 births, 808 deaths
Net migration
+396
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering Columbus County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Brunswick CountyNorth Carolina67 mi174,702
Bladen CountyNorth Carolina39 mi30,007
Horry CountySouth Carolina34 mi427,551
Robeson CountyNorth Carolina34 mi119,941
Pender CountyNorth Carolina8.7 mi72,111
Dillon CountySouth Carolinaa single point27,458

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 100 counties of North Carolina

Open the interactive North Carolina county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.