Durham bumps Winston-Salem as fourth-largest N.C. city (Charlotte, Raleigh: houses, high school)

[davidals]

Originally Posted by Charlotte2Advance

No disrespect but why would Greenville surpass 100,000 (in the middle of no where) before Concord since Corcord is a suburb of the NC's largest city. Greenville is not commutable to any large metro area...just saying.

Outside of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill and Greater Charlotte metros, Greenville is the fastest growing metro in the state. Since the 1980s, it has doubled in size - from under 40,000 to over 80,000. In the same time period, Rocky Mount and Wilson grew by less than 10,000, and both Goldsboro and Kinston actually lost population - Kinston having lost population for now nearly 30 continuous years.

Much of Greenville's growth - roughly 30% of it has been within the last 15 years, which would indicate that not only is it growing very rapidly, especially in comparison with other cities in E NC, but that its' growth is starting to gain momentum that will really push it ahead of other E NC cities (apart from Wilmington), and more towards the top tier of NC cities.

Concord is growing at about the same speed. The difference is that Concord is (now) mainly growth driven by suburban overflow from Charlotte (a la the relationship between Cary and Raleigh), while Greenville's growth is being propelled by more independent factors - initially and mostly by the growth of ECU, but increasingly by start-up private enterprises spun out of the university by recent grads, and / or an influx of entrepreneurs from other parts of E NC who view the remainder of that region as dead or dying, VS Greenville, which is something of an oasis, both academically and business-wise. It's also notable that Greenville has grown to the degree that it has without being on an interstate.

Just my observations - I grew up in Charlotte, my mother lives in Concord, and I have had friends who went to school @ ECU and spent some time down in Greenville visiting, so I've seen them all close up. Greenville ain't Raleigh, Charlotte or Greensboro by a long shot, but its' distinctness (economically) from it's neighbors (Rocky Mount, Wilson, Kinston and Goldsboro) is stark, and getting to be moreso with every passing year. It's growth NOW resembles - if you look up the old census numbers and percentages - the growth seen in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Winston-Salem about exactly 100 years ago.

Which is impressive - Charlotte was all of 20 or 30,000 people then, and once upon a time (circa 1900) Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington, Asheville (in the 1920s, the 3rd largest, and fastest growing city in the state), Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Gastonia, and Rocky Mount were all within around 5,000-7,500 of being the same size. And look at how they have diverged in the century since.

[ZeusAV]

Greenville could most certainly top 100K by the 2020 Census. It's pretty much the only source of life here in Eastern NC. ECU has prevented it from becoming Goldsboro or Kinston.

[box_of_zip_disks]

Originally Posted by ZeusAV

Greenville could most certainly top 100K by the 2020 Census. It's pretty much the only source of life here in Eastern NC. ECU has prevented it from becoming Goldsboro or Kinston.

Don't forget the hospital, which employs more people than ECU.

[HillsboroughHome]

My guess would be that "urban" is a euphemism for African-American in the article, because both Winston and Durham have strong black communities. I think the richness of the African-American experience in Durham is one of the things that makes that city so great. You can't help but look at the NC Mutual Life building and its history (it is a National Landmark) and wonder in awe at the people who started that business and built such a strong foundation for the wider community to prosper.

When you look at the fight for civil rights, the rise of self-help and the fight for freedom in America - the communities of faith and the resilience of African-American culture in the South - a lot of that creativity, determination and mettle came from cities like Winston, Durham, and, of course Greensboro. Black history in North Carolina doesn't quite get the same level of attention that Montgomery, Atlanta, DC, Chicago and beyond receive, but African-Americans here fought the good fight, with pride and dignity, just like in the bigger cities. The Greensboro sit-in at Woolworth's being the most prominent event that people know about - definitely check out the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro today. Powerful place - powerful history.....

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by HillsboroughHome

My guess would be that "urban" is a euphemism for African-American in the article, because both Winston and Durham have strong black communities.

No, urban is being used in its denotative sense, "of or pertaining to a city," since growth is the subject of the article without any references to race whatsoever. But what you say is true in the context of African American history in those cities though.

[joethoma]

I don't think there is any doubt Greenville will pass 100K by the 2020 census. Greenville is the most economically important city east of Raleigh (not considering Wilmington b/c it is basically on the coast), and the city has grown to become more than just ECU.

I was amazed (being from the western part of the state) the first time I went out there by how big it was. I do believe Greenville has some similarities to Asheville as far as how important it is to its region.

Much of that part of NC is economically depressed, so it is even more impressive I think by how well Greenville has done and is doing. Personally, I think the state would see a better return on investment to devote more resources in Greenville than in the Global Transpark in Kinston.

[MrBojangles]

Originally Posted by joethoma

I don't think there is any doubt Greenville will pass 100K by the 2020 census. Greenville is the most economically important city east of Raleigh (not considering Wilmington b/c it is basically on the coast), and the city has grown to become more than just ECU.

I was amazed (being from the western part of the state) the first time I went out there by how big it was. I do believe Greenville has some similarities to Asheville as far as how important it is to its region.

Much of that part of NC is economically depressed, so it is even more impressive I think by how well Greenville has done and is doing. Personally, I think the state would see a better return on investment to devote more resources in Greenville than in the Global Transpark in Kinston.

ENC needs all the resources it can muster. But without derailing this thread, the GTP is an absolute failure. The MAIN reason RTP is RTP is because of the three universities. So you put GTP 45minutes away from ECU? And how much farther from I-95.

They need to seriously move all that money (or whats left) to Greenville. There will be a hell of a more bang for your buck there, than in depressed Kinston.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by MrBojangles

ENC needs all the resources it can muster. But without derailing this thread, the GTP is an absolute failure. The MAIN reason RTP is RTP is because of the three universities. So you put GTP 45minutes away from ECU? And how much farther from I-95.

They need to seriously move all that money (or whats left) to Greenville. There will be a hell of a more bang for your buck there, than in depressed Kinston.

The comparison to RTP isn't apples-to-apples because RTP is a research park; GTP is an industrial/logistics park. I think GTP's main disadvantage isn't really its location, as it's relatively close to ECU and I-95, but the fact that NC doesn't really have competitive ports like neighboring states (Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah). But for what it is, GTP is starting to see modest advances: North Carolina Global TransPark: That's the Spirit

[SunnyKayak]

Does anyone have a list and link to the latest NC cities rankings?

Thanks

[box_of_zip_disks]

Originally Posted by SunnyKayak

Does anyone have a list and link to the latest NC cities rankings?

Thanks

The 2011 US Census estimate I posted upthread is probably the closest thing to an updated list.

Here it is again:
Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places - U.S Census Bureau

From there the top 20:

1. Charlotte 751,087
2. Raleigh 416,468
3. Greensboro 273,425
4. Durham 233,252
5. Winston-Salem 232,385
6. Fayetteville 203,945
7. Cary 139,633
8. Wilmington 108,297
9. High Point 105,753
10. Greenville 86,017
11. Asheville 84,458
12. Concord 80,597
13. Gastonia 72,068
14. Jacksonville 70,801
15. Chapel Hill 58,011
16. Rocky Mount 57,433
17. Burlington 50,925
18. Wilson 49,297
19. Huntersville 48,048
20. Kannapolis 43,242