North Carolina — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in North Carolina during 2025.
North Carolina indexed 24,802 projects with decisions in 2025 across 88 counties, with 30,484 approved and 278 denied actions (99.1% approval rate). Union County led with 1,451 projects (6% of the state), followed by Wake County (1,134) and Forsyth County (1,103). Together those three counties accounted for 15% of indexed activity.
Read the Complete North Carolina Planning Commission Guide for context on how planning decisions work in North Carolina.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
By county
| County | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamance | 427 | 496 | 5 | 99.0% |
| Alexander | 143 | 152 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Alleghany | 125 | 134 | 3 | 97.8% |
| Anson | 75 | 78 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Ashe | 63 | 86 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Avery | 336 | 357 | 3 | 99.2% |
| Beaufort | 89 | 97 | 1 | 99.0% |
| Bertie | 11 | 12 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Bladen | 65 | 66 | 2 | 97.1% |
| Brunswick | 725 | 836 | 13 | 98.5% |
| Buncombe | 1,017 | 1,217 | 16 | 98.7% |
| Burke | 438 | 518 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Cabarrus | 548 | 643 | 5 | 99.2% |
| Caldwell | 505 | 562 | 3 | 99.5% |
| Camden | 170 | 184 | 2 | 98.9% |
| Carteret | 245 | 275 | 3 | 98.9% |
| Caswell | 18 | 23 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Catawba | 102 | 109 | 2 | 98.2% |
| Chatham | 56 | 77 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Cherokee | 138 | 141 | 2 | 98.6% |
| Chowan | 226 | 262 | 1 | 99.6% |
| Clay | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Cleveland | 92 | 96 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Columbus | 148 | 181 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Craven | 793 | 970 | 5 | 99.5% |
| Cumberland | 733 | 922 | 23 | 97.6% |
| Dare | 150 | 170 | 3 | 98.3% |
| Davidson | 634 | 828 | 2 | 99.8% |
| Davie | 29 | 31 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Duplin | 104 | 110 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Durham | 613 | 705 | 1 | 99.9% |
| Edgecombe | 446 | 519 | 6 | 98.9% |
| Forsyth | 1,103 | 1,397 | 16 | 98.9% |
| Franklin | 248 | 293 | 1 | 99.7% |
| Gaston | 801 | 1,076 | 8 | 99.3% |
| Graham | 15 | 23 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Granville | 107 | 153 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Greene | 291 | 380 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Guilford | 314 | 401 | 4 | 99.0% |
| Halifax | 112 | 129 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Harnett | 229 | 299 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Haywood | 137 | 152 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Henderson | 127 | 138 | 1 | 99.3% |
| Hertford | 21 | 22 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Hoke | 43 | 42 | 4 | 91.3% |
| Hyde | 172 | 222 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Iredell | 299 | 447 | 3 | 99.3% |
| Jackson | 141 | 154 | 2 | 98.7% |
| Johnston | 618 | 728 | 12 | 98.4% |
| Jones | 109 | 126 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Lee | 198 | 249 | 3 | 98.8% |
| Lenoir | 708 | 883 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Macon | 122 | 127 | 1 | 99.2% |
| Martin | 185 | 207 | 0 | 100.0% |
| McDowell | 117 | 125 | 2 | 98.4% |
| Mecklenburg | 878 | 1,258 | 11 | 99.1% |
| Montgomery | 15 | 28 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Moore | 128 | 145 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Nash | 5 | 6 | 0 | 100.0% |
| New Hanover | 718 | 902 | 14 | 98.5% |
| Northampton | 19 | 29 | 2 | 93.5% |
| Onslow | 403 | 472 | 6 | 98.7% |
| Orange | 53 | 67 | 1 | 98.5% |
| Pamlico | 364 | 402 | 3 | 99.3% |
| Pender | 86 | 93 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Perquimans | 261 | 286 | 2 | 99.3% |
| Person | 8 | 9 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Pitt | 332 | 411 | 1 | 99.8% |
| Polk | 317 | 391 | 3 | 99.2% |
| Randolph | 546 | 612 | 3 | 99.5% |
| Richmond | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Robeson | 338 | 430 | 3 | 99.3% |
| Rockingham | 119 | 132 | 1 | 99.2% |
| Rowan | 459 | 539 | 5 | 99.1% |
| Rutherford | 109 | 125 | 1 | 99.2% |
| Sampson | 52 | 58 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Stanly | 263 | 280 | 1 | 99.6% |
| Stokes | 105 | 135 | 1 | 99.3% |
| Surry | 33 | 34 | 1 | 97.1% |
| Tyrrell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Union | 1,451 | 2,071 | 37 | 98.2% |
| Wake | 1,134 | 1,560 | 15 | 99.0% |
| Warren | 284 | 294 | 4 | 98.7% |
| Washington | 22 | 24 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Watauga | 393 | 496 | 3 | 99.4% |
| Wayne | 288 | 414 | 1 | 99.8% |
| Wilson | 134 | 139 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Yadkin | 8 | 9 | 0 | 100.0% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities and counties are included.