Nash County, North Carolina

Nash County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,970. Its county seat is Nashville.

Nash County is part of the Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Nash County was formed in 1777 from Edgecombe County. It was named for American Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Nash, who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Germantown that year.

In 1855, parts of Nash, Edgecombe, Johnston, and Wayne counties were combined to form Wilson County.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 542.82 sqmi, of which 540.44 sqmi is land and 2.38 sqmi (0.44%) is covered by water.

State and local protected areas

 * Flower Hill Nature Preserve (part)
 * Sandy Creek Game Land (part)
 * Shocco Creek Game Land (part)

Major water bodies

 * Fishing Creek
 * Moccasin Creek
 * Pig Basket Creek
 * Sapony Creek
 * Stony Creek
 * Swift Creek
 * Tar River
 * Tar River Reservoir
 * Toisnot Swamp
 * Turkey Creek

Adjacent counties

 * Franklin County – west
 * Johnston County – southwest
 * Wake County – southwest
 * Wilson County – south
 * Edgecombe County – east
 * Halifax County – northeast
 * Warren County – north

Major highways

 * (Nashville)
 * (Rocky Mount)
 * (Nashville)
 * (Rocky Mount)
 * (Nashville)
 * (Rocky Mount)
 * (Rocky Mount)

Major infrastructure

 * Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 94,970 people, 37,574 households, and 27,002 families residing in the county.

2000 census
At the 2000 census, there were 87,420 people, 33,644 households, and 23,920 families living in the county. The population density was 162 /mi2. The 37,051 housing units averaged 69 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 61.94% White, 33.93% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.06% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. About 3.36% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 33,644 households, 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 14.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were not families. About 25% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was distributed as 25.40% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 30.10% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,147, and for a family was $44,769. Males had a median income of $32,459 versus $24,438 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,863. About 10.30% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.80% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics
From the turn of the 20th century North Carolina established barriers that effectively disfranchised the large black population, which had been supporting Republican candidates. Conservative whites voted overwhelmingly Democratic and the county and state were part of the resulting political "Solid South" county. Although it gave a plurality to Populist candidate James B. Weaver in 1892, unlike Sampson County or Alabama's Chilton County, it did not subsequently turn to the Republican Party.

Nash County would vote Democratic in every election from 1896 to 1964 – in Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman's five elections, the Republicans never received eleven percent of the county's limited electorate's ballots. Many whites supported George Wallace's American Independent candidacy in 1968, after passage of the Voting Rights Act. More voted Republican for the first time in 1972.

While Nash voters supported favorite son and Southern Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976, the county's majority white voters shifted to Republican candidates from 1980 to 2004. But the last four elections have been closely contested. The margin of victory has been less than 1,000 votes in every election since.

Nash County is a member of the regional Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments.

Sheriff
The Sheriff's Office provides police services for the unincorporated areas of the county.

Cities

 * Rocky Mount (largest community; parts located in Edgecombe County)

Towns

 * Bailey
 * Castalia
 * Dortches
 * Middlesex
 * Momeyer
 * Nashville (county seat)
 * Red Oak
 * Spring Hope
 * Sharpsburg (part)
 * Whitakers (part)
 * Zebulon (part)

Townships

 * Bailey
 * Battleboro
 * Castalia
 * Coopers
 * Dry Wells
 * Ferrells
 * Griffins
 * Jackson
 * Mannings
 * Nashville
 * North Whitakers
 * Oak Level
 * Red Oak
 * Rocky Mount
 * Spring Hope
 * South Whitakers
 * Stony Creek

Unincorporated community

 * Corinth