UNION COUNTY, N.C. — The 2020 United States Census data shows the state of North Carolina grew by nearly 10%, or nearly one million people.
As state and local governments decide how to redraw district lines and adjust to the changing population, we’re taking a closer look at the families and individuals driving North Carolina’s growth.
In Union County, the growth outpaced the state, growing by 18%, or nearly 37,000 people.
What You Need To Know
Union County grew at roughly double the state's rate
North Carolina added more than 900,000 people in 10 years
North Carolina will pick up an additional congressional seat
Anthony George is a Union County success story. The New York - New Jersey native first came to the area for college.
He studied sports management and played basketball. During and after college, his family fell in love with the area and slowly moved to the state one by one.
“Came down and visited me in college, came to watch my basketball games and they just fell in love with Charlotte, just the entire like, the vibe of the city,” George said.
George, who made the first move, decided to stay in North Carolina full time after graduating college in 2011. He got a job with the college’s basketball team and started working at Carolina Courts in Indian Trail.
“I started as an employee in 2012, and over the last three years I’ve kind of worked my way up and am the owner, operator here,” George explained.
While continuing to coach basketball, George got married, and together, the couple had two kids, further cementing their life here in Union County.
He said now, he could never leave his students on the court.
“I started with some of these girls when they were in 5th grade. Just fell in love with their attention to detail, wanting to get better and wanting to improve,” George said while running a basketball practice at Carolina Courts.
He and several other family members are just some of the roughly 900,000 people whom have made North Carolina home in the last 10 years.
Just across the Union County line, Mary Theisen moved to the area from Colorado last year.
“One of the things for me was the weather in Colorado, that it was just a little bit too cold. So, I really like the weather out here, it’s a lot warmer and nicer,” Theisen said.
Like George’s siblings, she and her husband were also following family.
“Family was the biggest reason why we came out here,” Theisen added.
Theisen is a music teacher at a local Christian school and a community fine arts center.
She and her family used to live in the area, before moving out west. Now, she felt inspired to return as family moved back to the area and her and her husband were searching for new opportunities.
“Trying to find a place of our own, where we can move into and settle down there. And that’s been hard with the unemployment,” Theisen said about her and her husband’s home search.
“The market’s just been really hot,” her husband, Daniel, added.
Daniel Theisen is searching for work and the two are trying to connect with their new city, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult. As they, and thousands of others, search for a more permanent spot to have a family dinner, other North Carolina transplants like Anthony George will be ready to welcome them and show them why it was worth a shot moving here.
The 2020 U.S. Census data affects more than just housing and population numbers, it also impacts representation in the United States Congress. North Carolina will receive an additional seat after the 2020 data was made public, bringing the state’s representation to 14 House seats.
North Carolina was one of only six states to add seats to its delegation.