The population of most small communities in the Border Belt is holding steady, while the region’s largest cities are losing ground, new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show.
The estimates, released in May, show that more than two-thirds of the 35 municipalities in Bladen, Columbus, Robeson, and Scotland counties saw population gains or remained flat between 2020 and 2025. But larger cities, including Laurinburg and Lumberton, saw population losses.
North Carolina doubled its population between 1975 and 2025, with most of the growth in urban centers and surrounding areas.
Although North Carolina is still one of the fastest-growing states, population growth has recently slowed due to a sharp decrease in net international migration, according to Lisa Carlson, a research analyst at Carolina Demography at UNC-Chapel Hill. The slower growth rate statewide is also reflected in population changes among cities and towns.
Notably, the population counts—which took place between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2025—don’t include surrounding unincorporated areas, where many Border Belt residents live.
Lumberton, the Robeson County seat and largest city in the Border Belt, lost 355 residents between 2020 and 2025. The city’s decline is modest (less than 2%), but indicates a continued slide following Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. More than 5,000 people were displaced by the storms, and some in the community are still waiting for their homes to be rebuilt or replaced. Lumberton saw a 13.1% population loss between 2010 and 2020.
But many small towns in Robeson County gained residents between 2020 and 2025. Red Springs added 123 residents, a 4.2% gain and the largest population increase in the region. Pembroke, Maxton, Fairmont, and St. Pauls each added between 40 and 55 residents. Rennert, a community of fewer than 300 people, grew by 5%.
Laurinburg, the Scotland County seat, lost 388 people between 2020 and 2025—a 3.4% drop and the largest population decline in the region.
The population of Elizabethtown and Whiteville, the county seats of Bladen and Columbus counties, respectively, stayed steady over the past five years.
So did Columbus County’s population overall. Tabor City added 92 residents, and Fair Bluff gained 35. But Lake Waccamaw, Brunswick, and Chadbourn all saw slight declines.
Bladen County also saw little change in population, with no town growing or declining by more than 12 residents.
Cities and towns in nearby Brunswick County saw some of the highest growth in the state, including Bolivia (7.1%) and Navassa (6.2%). That growth could spill over to neighboring Columbus County in the coming years.