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Johnston County adds residents rapidly; county finance officials warn Medicaid ‘hold harmless’ payments can shrink
Summary
Data presented to the Johnston County Board of Commissioners shows the county’s population and tax base have grown rapidly since 2020, boosting revenues but also complicating budgeting because of changing Medicaid-related state distributions and volatile sales-tax receipts.
Denise Canada, a policy analyst with the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, told the Johnston County Board of Commissioners that new Census estimates put the county’s population at about 250,000 and that about 13% of that total moved to the county since July 2020. "You have 250,000 residents in Johnston County. Thirteen percent of those people have moved here just since July 2020," Canada said during the board's strategic planning session.
That growth has pushed the county into a faster-growing peer group: Canada said recent data put Johnston County among the top 10 fastest-growing U.S. counties in its size tier and in the top 100 nationally on percentage growth. She told the board the county added roughly 7,100 residents in 2023 and about 7,400 in 2024 — roughly a 3.1% annual growth rate. "So that's roughly 20 people a day," a commissioner noted aloud.
Why it matters: Fast population growth can expand…
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