Are Parts of the Triangle Shrinking?

BIGGER PICTURE | Even as the region grows, huge swaths are actually seeing population decline because of inflexible rules.

Triangle population change by tract, 2010s. Source: University of Tennessee

The Triangle's population continues to grow fast: the three-county region added 300,000 residents in the 2010s, which is like adding the entire population of Durham or Pittsburgh. New houses abound all around the region’s suburban fringe, or immediately around the downtowns.

However, that growth is very unevenly distributed, with large parts of the region seeing not only no growth but even population decline. North Raleigh (besides some spots along Capital and around North Hills where many apartments were built) is the biggest stretch of the Triangle which saw pretty negligible population growth over the 2010s. Seven tracts in north Raleigh saw population decline over the 2010s!