County Maps US

Wilkes County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 43 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37193

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

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Population
66,233
+362 (+0.5%) since 2020
Land area
753.7
square miles. A further 0.3% of the total area is water
Population density
87.9
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Wilkesboro
Seat of county government.
Established
1777
248 years ago
Largest city
North Wilkesboro town
Population 4,369.

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 Wilkes 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 Wilkes 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 669 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 Wilkes 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
Population66,23343rd of 100832nd of 3,144
Land area753.7 sq mi13th of 1001,168th of 3,144
Population density87.9 per sq mi63rd of 1001,011th of 3,144
Median household income$51,72179th of 1002,678th of 3,143

Full data for Wilkes County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population66,233Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202065,871Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?65,979Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area753.7 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area2.6 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area756.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?87.9 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$51,721American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$168,800American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age45.7American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households27,107American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units31,836American 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
-289
680 births, 969 deaths
Net migration
+265
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 8 areas bordering Wilkes 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
Alleghany CountyNorth Carolina25 mi11,479
Ashe CountyNorth Carolina24 mi27,514
Alexander CountyNorth Carolina21 mi36,958
Caldwell CountyNorth Carolina20 mi81,105
Surry CountyNorth Carolina15 mi72,287
Yadkin CountyNorth Carolina12 mi38,325
Watauga CountyNorth Carolina11 mi54,786
Iredell CountyNorth Carolina8.4 mi211,798

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.