120,338 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.2% since 2020)
554 square miles of land · 217 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
11 active community water systems list Wayne County in the area they serve, reporting 125,562 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WAYNE WATER DISTRICTS groundwater · local government · NC0496065 | 39,403 served |
| GOLDSBORO, CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0496010 | 34,959 served |
| WAYNE WATER DISTRICTS PURCHASE buys surface water · local government · NC6096001 | 16,302 served |
| FORK TOWNSHIP SANITARY DISTRICT groundwater · local government · NC0496060 | 9,572 served |
| SOUTHERN WAYNE SANITARY DIST groundwater · local government · NC0496045 | 7,793 served |
| SEYMOUR JOHNSON AFB buys surface water · federal · NC0496055 | 6,875 served |
| MOUNT OLIVE, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · NC0496015 | 4,261 served |
| FORK TOWNSHIP PURCHASE buys surface water · local government · NC6096002 | 3,286 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 335 people were held in Wayne County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 450 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 370.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Wayne County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $210.5 million — $197.8 million to run schools, about $11,267 per student, plus $8.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $28.2 million local (mostly property tax), $141.2 million state, $47.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $42.8 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wayne County about $66.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
209 bridges in Wayne County: 94 in good condition, 106 fair, and 9 poor (4.3%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SR2075 over US13 US117 ALT · built 1958 | 5,000 vehicles a day |
| E. HARRIS STREET over LONG CREEK · built 1960 | 5,000 vehicles a day |
| SR1008 over NEUSE RIVER · built 1985 | 3,400 vehicles a day |
| SR1324 over BUCK SWAMP · built 1960 | 1,700 vehicles a day |
| SR1575 over THE SLOUGH · built 1971 | 1,100 vehicles a day |
| SR1505 over AYCOCK SWAMP · built 1975 | 400 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $36.2 million of work in Wayne County in fiscal 2025, about $308 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-09. Early voting: 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-31. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-20. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: NC State Board of Elections: upcoming election · NC State Board of Elections: vote in person · NC State Board of Elections: voter ID
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Wayne County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Wayne County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Greene County (20 mi) · Lenoir County (22 mi) · Johnston County (23 mi) · Wilson County (24 mi) · Duplin County (29 mi) · Sampson County (32 mi).