Gaston County ranks 11th in North Carolina as Mount Holly grows to 20,226
Certified July 1, 2025 estimates from the state demographer's office; a county news release posted Nov. 9 reported the same county ranking
MOUNT HOLLY - Gaston County is now the 11th-largest county in North Carolina, ahead of New Hanover County, according to certified July 1, 2025, population estimates from the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, the office of the State Demographer.
A Gaston County news release posted Nov. 9 cited the State Demographer's 2025 estimates in reporting the same ranking.
The same vintage of OSBM municipal estimates puts Mount Holly at 20,226 residents as of July 1, 2025, up 343 people, or 1.7%, from July 1, 2024. That is 2,536 more residents, or 14.3%, than the city's April 1, 2020, census base of 17,690. The county release does not list a separate figure for Mount Holly.
Source: North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, certified county population estimates and municipal population change, Vintage 2025; Gaston County, New Census Estimates Show Steady Continued Growth for Gaston County, posted Nov. 9, 2026.