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Welcome to Johnston County ...

Time Zone: Johnston County lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Smithfield is the Seat for Johnston County.

Johnston County was founded in 1746 and was created by taking area from Craven County.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Johnston had a population of 209,339 people. This is an increase of 23.37% since the last Census (which gave a population of 169,678 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Johnston represented 1.78% of the total population of North Carolina.

Below are some of the communities located in Johnston County:

  • Archer Lodge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Archer Lodge is located in Johnston County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer Lodge
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,322 people
    • Archer Lodge has also been known as:
    • Archer
  • Benson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Benson is located in Johnston County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,024 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benson <2>
  • Clayton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Clayton is located in Johnston County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,458 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <2>
  • Four Oaks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Kenly
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Kenly is located in Johnston County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenly
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenly <2>
  • Micro
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Micro is located in Johnston County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
  • Pine Level
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Princeton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Selma
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Selma is located in Johnston County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,323 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selma <2>
  • Smithfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilson's Mills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Wilson's Mills is located in Johnston County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson's Mills
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,847 people

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.