State of the United States

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state of the United States. It covers about 128,000 km² (49,300 mi²), the 30th largest of the 51 states and districts in Natural Earth’s file for the United States, and about the same size as Nicaragua. About 10.4 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).

In area0.99×the size ofNicaragua129,000 km² In people1.00×as many people asJordan10.4 million

200 km

Nicaragua
North Carolina

Facts

Area, measured	128,000 km²49,300 mi²
Official area	139,000 km²Wikidata · 8.4% above our measure
Share of the United States	1.3%of the area of the 51 states and districts
Rank by area	30th of 51states and districts of the United States
Population	10.4 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit
Density	82 people per km²
Capital	Raleigh
Latitude range	34°N to 37°N
Type	StateUS-NC

What the numbers say about North Carolina

North Carolina covers 1.3% of the area of the United States and ranks 9th of 51 by population, against 30th by area.
It would take 74.1 states and districts the size of North Carolina to cover the United States.
North Carolina holds 3.1% of the 331.4 million people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 51 states and districts together: about 1 in 32.
The largest, Alaska, is 11.8× the size of North Carolina; the smallest, Washington, D.C., is 0.1% of it.
Closest in size within the United States: Mississippi (124,000 km², 1.03×) and Alabama (134,000 km², 1.05×).
Counted as a country, North Carolina would be larger than 141 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 99th by area, between Nicaragua (129,000 km²) and Eritrea (123,000 km²).
With 10.4 million people it would rank 89th of 238 by population.
North Carolina has 82 people per km², about the density of Kenya, which has 83 per km².
That makes North Carolina the 16th most densely populated of the 51 states and districts, 2.33× the average for the United States (35 per km²).
On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 36°N is drawn about 1.5× too large in area, so North Carolina looks bigger there than it is.
Laid out flat, North Carolina stretches about 307 km north to south and 805 km east to west.
Our measured 128,000 km² is 8.4% below Wikidata's official figure of 139,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.

About the same size as

About as many people as

Beside the regions of other countries

The closest region by area and by people in each of the other countries that have regional pages here, within a factor of 2. All 395 regions side by side.

Where North Carolina ranks

North Carolina is the 30th largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States.

Ranked within the United States

All 51 states and districts of the United States, matched to countries

Compare North Carolina

Sources and method

Outline: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded. The region’s whole area is counted, every island included.
Official figures: Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-12
Population: Wikidata, 2020. United States’s units share the 2020 figures where Wikidata has them; the year is shown wherever the figure is.
Matching: Countries come from Natural Earth’s country file. Places whose status is contested and dependencies are never used as automatic matches. A region under 2,500 km² is matched against the small countries and island nations.
Data built: 2026-11-12

Full method