Lenoir County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Retrieved August 16, 2023. is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,122. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Kinston, located on the

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in N ...

, across which the county has its territory. Lenoir County comprises the Kinston, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county was formed in 1791 from the southern part of Dobbs County. It was named for William Lenoir (1751–1839), an officer in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

who took part in the

Battle of Kings Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took pl ...

. He was a prominent political leader; when the county was established, he was serving as Speaker of the North Carolina Senate.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.57%) is water.

State and local protected sites

* CSS Neuse * Neuseway Nature Center and Planetarium

Major water bodies

Contentnea Creek Contentnea Creek is a major tributary of the Neuse River in North Carolina, USA. It is part of the Neuse River Basin, and flows for 91 miles between the Buckhorn Reservoir (confluence of Moccasin and Turkey Creeks), where it begins, and Grifton ...

* Southwest Creek * Wheat Swamp

Adjacent counties

* Greene County – north *

Pitt County Pitt County is a county located in the Inner Banks region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,243, making it the 14th-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Greenville. Pitt ...

– northeast *

Craven County Craven County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,720. Its county seat is New Bern, North Carolina, New Bern. The county was ...

– east * Jones County – southeast * Duplin County – southwest * Wayne County – west

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...

(Kinston) *

Kinston Regional Jetport Kinston Regional Jetport , also known as Stallings Field, is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northwest of the central business district of Kinston, a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina. The airport has a single runway that ...

Global TransPark The North Carolina Global TransPark (GTP) is a 2,500 acre, Multimodal transport, multi-modal industrial/airport site in Eastern North Carolina. As an agency of the State of North Carolina, the GTP is considered a key engine for driving the economy ...

* Greyhound Bus Terminal, with a location in Kinston

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 55,122 people, 23,148 households, and 14,863 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 59,495 residents with 24,327 households and 15,993 families residing within the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 27,184 housing units at an average density of . The county's racial makeup was 56.47%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 40.43%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.88% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 3.17% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 23,862 households, out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 17.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.20% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.30% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,191, and the median income for a family was $38,815. Males had a median income of $28,879 versus $21,536 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,744. About 12.60% of families and 16.60% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 22.00% of those under age 18 and 18.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Throughout the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, Lenoir County was a typical overwhelmingly Democratic "

Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

" county. It was always carried by the Democratic presidential nominee between at least 1876 and 1964, following upon which "American Independent" candidate

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

obtained a majority of the county's vote in 1968 amidst large-scale opposition to racial desegregation and civil rights for African-Americans. In every election since, Lenoir County has voted for the Republican presidential nominee, although on several occasions the GOP margin has been extremely close and on only five occasions out of twelve has the margin been more than ten percentage points. Lenoir County is a member of the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments. Lenoir County is represented in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

by Don Davis, who is the representative for

North Carolina's 1st congressional district North Carolina's 1st congressional district is located in the northeastern part of the state. It consists of many Black Belt in the American South, Black Belt counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the In ...

. The county is also in

North Carolina's 3rd Senate district North Carolina's 3rd Senate district is one of 50 districts in the North Carolina Senate. It has been represented by Republican Bob Brinson since 2025. Geography Since 2023, the district has included all of Warren, Northampton, Halifax, Martin ...

, represented by

Bob Brinson Robert "Bob" Brinson Jr. is an American politician who has served as a member of the North Carolina Senate since July 30, 2024. Career A Republican, he was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to fill the vacancy in the 2nd district due to the res ...

, and North Carolina's 12th House district, represented by Chris Humphrey. The current Lenoir County Commissioners (as of 2024) are: Roland Best (D), June Cummings (D), J. Mac Daughety (R), Preston Harris (D), Keith King (R), Linda Rouse Sutton (D; chairman), and Eric Rouse (R; vice-chair). The current members of the Lenoir County Board of Education (as of 2024) are: W. D. Anderson (vice chair), Michelle Cash, Bruce Hill (chair), Merwyn K. Smith, Dr. Kimberly Outlaw-Starkey, Elijah Woods, and John Wiggins.

Education

Higher Education

Lenoir County is home to one higher learning institution, Lenoir Community College – which is located at 231 NC HWY 58 South, Kinston and is part of the

North Carolina Community College System The North Carolina Community College System (System Office) is a statewide network of 58 public community colleges. The system enrolls nearly 600,000 students annually. It also provides the North Carolina Learning Object Repository as a central ...

. The college offers associate degrees, diplomas, or certificates for educational programs in college transfer, business, industry, public services, health sciences, and continuing education. Programs and support services are accessible through traditional and distance learning options.

Primary and Secondary Education

Public education in Lenoir County is administered and supported by the Lenoir County Public School Board, which formed from a merge of the City of Kinston and Lenoir County school systems in 1992. There are four

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high schools in Lenoir County: Lenoir County Early College, North Lenoir, South Lenoir, and Kinston High School. Three public middle schools: E.B. Frink, Rochelle, and Woodington. There are also eight public elementary schools: Banks, La Grange, Moss Hill, Northeast, Northwest, Pink Hill, Southeast and Southwood. Additionally, Contentnea-Savannah is a K–8 school. Lenoir County is also home to two private academies – Arendell Parrott Academy and Bethel Christian Academy – and two charter academies – Kinston Charter Academy and Children's Village Academy.

Libraries

Neuse Regional Library serves the residents of Lenoir, Greene, and Jones counties. With eight different locations, the library system offers services such as 3D printing and an inter-library loan system, as well as an eLibrary.

Health

Lenoir County is home to UNC Lenoir Healthcare, a 199-bed

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

hospital in Kinston.

Communities

Map_of_Lenoir_County_North_Carolina_With_Municipal_and_Township_Labels

City

* Kinston (county seat and largest community)

Towns

* La Grange * Pink Hill

Townships

* Contentnea Neck * Falling Creek * Institute * Kinston * Moseley Hall * Neuse * Pink Hill * Sand Hill * Southwest * Trent * Vance * Woodington

Census-designated places

* Deep Run * Graingers *

Jackson Heights Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the borough of Queens in New York City. Jackson Heights is neighbored by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, and today northern Astoria ( Ditm ...

Unincorporated community

Tick Bite Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, and species, but can become larger when engorged. Ticks ar ...

Notable people

* Larry Beck, professional golfer *

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and dance music, dance singer. She has a Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name. Brown sang ...

, R&B singer *

Reggie Bullock Reginald Ryedell Bullock Jr. ( ; born March 16, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heel ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player *

Dwight Clark Dwight Edward Clark (January 8, 1957 – June 4, 2018) was an American professional football wide receiver who played for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 He was a member of San Francisco's first two Sup ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

wide receiver * Quinton Coples,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

defensive end * David Christopher Hatcher,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher * Malcolm Howard, Eastern District of North Carolina judge appointed by

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

* Vivian Howard, American chef *

Brandon Ingram Brandon Xavier Ingram (born September 2, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2016 N ...

, NBA player *

Frank Lucas Frank Lucas (September 9, 1930 – May 30, 2019) was an American drug lord who operated in Harlem, New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from hi ...

, American mobster * Susan Owens, seventh woman to serve on

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. ...

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of ...

, saxophonist *

Melvin Parker Melvin Parker (June 7, 1944 – December 3, 2021) was an American drummer. He and his brother, saxophonist Maceo Parker, were key members of James Brown (musician), James Brown's band. Life and career Parker was born in Kinston, North Carolina on ...

, drummer * Jamie Pressley, actor *

Frank Snepp Frank Warren Snepp, III (born May 3, 1943) is an American journalist and former chief analyst of North Vietnamese strategy for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Saigon during the Vietnam War. For five out of his eight years as a CIA office ...

, journalist *

Jerry Stackhouse Jerry Darnell Stackhouse (born November 5, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Stackhouse played college basketball f ...

, NBA player * Donna Horton White, professional golfer

References

External links

* *
NCGenWeb Lenoir County
genealogy resources for the county {{Authority control 1791 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1791 Majority-minority counties in North Carolina