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North Carolina
State
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  The Tarheel State, The Old North State
Motto(s):  Esse quam videri “To be, rather than to seem”
Anthem: “The Old North State”
Map of the United States with North Carolina highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Province of North Carolina
Admitted to the Union	November 21, 1789 (12th)
Capital	Raleigh
Largest city	Charlotte
Largest county or equivalent	Wake
Largest metro and urban areas	Charlotte
Government
• Governor	Roy Cooper (D)
• Lieutenant governor	Mark Robinson (R)
Legislature	General Assembly
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Judiciary	North Carolina Supreme Court
U.S. senators	Thom Tillis (R) Ted Budd (R)
U.S. House delegation	7 Republicans 7 Democrats (list)
Area
• Total	53,819.16 sq mi (139,391.0 km)
• Land	48,617.91 sq mi (125,919.8 km)
• Water	5,201.25 sq mi (13,471.2 km)  9.66%
• Rank	28th
Dimensions
• Length	500 mi (804 km)
• Width	184 mi (296 km)
Elevation	700 ft (210 m)
Highest elevation (Mount Mitchell)	6,684 ft (2,037 m)
Lowest elevation (Atlantic Ocean)	0 ft (0 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,439,388
• Rank	9th
• Density	214.72/sq mi (82.90/km)
• Rank	14th
• Median household income	$52,752
• Income rank	39th
Demonym(s)	North Carolinian (official); Tarheel (colloquial)
Language
• Official language	English
• Spoken language	As of 2010 English 90.70% Spanish 6.93% Other 2.73%
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation	NC
ISO 3166 code	US-NC
Traditional abbreviation	N.C.
Latitude	33° 50′ N to 36° 35′ N
Longitude	75° 28′ W to 84° 19′ W
Website	nc.gov

State symbols of North Carolina

List of state symbols
Flag of North Carolina
Seal of North Carolina
Motto	Esse quam videri (“To be, rather than to seem”)
Slogan	First in Flight, First in Freedom (unofficial)
Song	“The Old North State”
Living insignia
Amphibian	Pine Barrens tree frog
Bird	Cardinal
Butterfly	Eastern tiger swallowtail
Dog breed	Plott Hound
Fish	Red drum
Flower	Flowering dogwood
Insect	Western honey bee
Mammal	Eastern gray squirrel
Marsupial	Virginia opossum
Reptile	Eastern box turtle
Tree	Pine
Inanimate insignia
Beverage	Milk
Color(s)	Red and blue
Dance	Carolina shag
Food	Scuppernong grape and sweet potato
Fossil	Megalodon teeth
Gemstone	Emerald
Mineral	Gold
Rock	Granite
Shell	Scotch bonnet
Other	Marbled salamander (salamander)
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 2001
Lists of United States state symbols

North Carolina ( KARR-ə-LY-nə) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia to the southwest, and Tennessee to the west. The state is the 28th-largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. Along with South Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast. At the 2020 census, the state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh is the state’s capital and Charlotte is its most populous city. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with an estimated population of 2,805,115 in 2023, is the most populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 22nd-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Research Triangle, with an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023, is the second-most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, 31st-most populous in the United States, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.

The earliest evidence of human occupation in North Carolina dates back 10,000 years, found at the Hardaway Site. North Carolina was inhabited by Carolina Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan speaking tribes of Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans. King Charles II granted eight lord proprietors a colony they named Carolina after the king and which was established in 1670 with the first permanent settlement at Charles Town (Charleston). Because of the difficulty of governing the entire colony from Charles Town, the colony was eventually divided and North Carolina was established as a royal colony in 1729 and was one of the Thirteen Colonies. The Halifax Resolves resolution adopted by North Carolina on April 12, 1776, was the first formal call for independence from Great Britain among the American Colonies during the American Revolution.

On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution. In the run-up to the American Civil War, North Carolina reluctantly declared its secession from the Union on May 20, 1861, becoming the tenth of eleven states to join the Confederate States of America. Following the Civil War, the state was restored to the Union on July 4, 1868. On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully piloted the world’s first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. North Carolina often uses the slogan “First in Flight” on state license plates to commemorate this achievement, alongside a newer alternative design bearing the slogan “First in Freedom” in reference to the Mecklenburg Declaration and Halifax Resolves.

North Carolina is defined by a wide range of elevations and landscapes. From west to east, North Carolina’s elevation descends from the Appalachian Mountains to the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain. North Carolina’s Mount Mitchell at 6,684 ft (2,037 m) is the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone; however, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate.