County Maps US

Harnett County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 22 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37085

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

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Population
150,137
+16,421 (+12.3%) since 2020
Land area
595.1
square miles. A further 1.1% of the total area is water
Population density
252
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Lillington
Seat of county government.
Established
1855
170 years ago
Largest city
Dunn city
Population 8,814.

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 Harnett 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 Harnett 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 581 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 Harnett 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
Population150,13722nd of 100464th of 3,144
Land area595.1 sq mi25th of 1001,643rd of 3,144
Population density252 per sq mi24th of 100497th of 3,144
Median household income$71,28722nd of 1001,106th of 3,143

Full data for Harnett County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population150,137Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 2020133,716Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?133,563Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area595.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area6.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area601.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?252 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$71,287American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$246,200American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age35.6American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households49,845American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units54,902American 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
+650
1,942 births, 1,292 deaths
Net migration
+3,041
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 7 areas bordering Harnett 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
Cumberland CountyNorth Carolina33 mi338,473
Johnston CountyNorth Carolina21 mi256,448
Lee CountyNorth Carolina19 mi70,258
Moore CountyNorth Carolina13 mi110,619
Wake CountyNorth Carolina12 mi1,257,235
Sampson CountyNorth Carolina8.4 mi61,504
Chatham CountyNorth Carolina5.3 mi85,111

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.