County Maps US

Lee County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 41 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37105

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

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Population
70,258
+6,870 (+10.8%) since 2020
Land area
255.1
square miles. A further 1.6% of the total area is water
Population density
275
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Sanford
Seat of county government.
Established
1907
118 years ago
Largest city
Sanford city
Population 34,138.

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 Lee 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 Lee 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 793 by 800 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 Lee 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
Population70,25841st of 100793rd of 3,144
Land area255.1 sq mi89th of 1002,896th of 3,144
Population density275 per sq mi23rd of 100470th of 3,144
Median household income$65,38738th of 1001,606th of 3,143

Full data for Lee County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population70,258Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202063,388Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?63,283Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area255.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area4.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area259.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?275 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$65,387American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$240,200American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age39.5American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households25,145American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units27,166American 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
+95
798 births, 703 deaths
Net migration
+1,351
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 3 areas bordering Lee 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
Chatham CountyNorth Carolina37 mi85,111
Moore CountyNorth Carolina23 mi110,619
Harnett CountyNorth Carolina19 mi150,137

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.