County Maps US

Macon County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 64 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37113

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

Download SVGFull North Carolina map downloads

Population
39,232
+2,147 (+5.8%) since 2020
Land area
515.5
square miles. A further 0.8% of the total area is water
Population density
76.1
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Franklin
Seat of county government.
Established
1828
197 years ago
Largest city
Franklin town
Population 4,403.

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 Macon 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 Macon 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 554 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 Macon 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
Population39,23264th of 1001,207th of 3,144
Land area515.5 sq mi39th of 1002,024th of 3,144
Population density76.1 per sq mi68th of 1001,121st of 3,144
Median household income$59,06155th of 1002,164th of 3,143

Full data for Macon County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population39,232Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202037,085Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?37,004Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area515.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area4.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area519.6 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?76.1 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$59,061American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$251,900American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age49.7American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households18,406American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units27,216American 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
-193
337 births, 530 deaths
Net migration
+611
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 Macon 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
Jackson CountyNorth Carolina39 mi45,039
Clay CountyNorth Carolina30 mi12,239
Swain CountyNorth Carolina22 mi14,024
Rabun CountyGeorgia21 mi17,764
Cherokee CountyNorth Carolina9.9 mi30,830
Graham CountyNorth Carolina2.6 mi8,190
Oconee CountySouth Carolina440 ft83,775

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.