Rolesville has become NC’s new boomtown

North Carolina has a new boomtown.

Rolesville, which remained a one-stoplight farming community long after other Wake County towns became suburbs, has been the fastest-growing town in the state since 2010, according the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday.

An estimated 5,785 people lived in Rolesville last July 1, nearly 52 percent more than in 2010. The town, which had about 570 residents in 1990, is now larger than Zebulon.

The census estimates show that North Carolina’s largest metropolitan areas and towns along the coast and in the mountains continue to attract new residents. In addition to Rolesville, five other Wake County towns – Fuquay-Varina, Morrisville, Holly Springs, Knightdale and Wake Forest – are among the top 10 fastest-growing towns in the state since 2010, all growing by more than 20 percent.

The Triangle’s two largest cities are still growing at a healthy clip, according to the census estimates. Raleigh’s population grew 8.3 percent since 2010, to 439,896, while Durham grew 9.9 percent to 251,893. Cary, the state’s seventh largest municipality, grew 13.7 percent to 155,227.

Meanwhile, more than 200 North Carolina cities and towns have lost population since 2010, most in rural areas.

This story was originally published May 21, 2015 at 12:15 AM with the headline "Rolesville has become NC’s new boomtown."