North Carolina — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in North Carolina during 2025.
Read the Complete North Carolina Planning Commission Guide for context on how planning decisions work in North Carolina.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
24,802
Projects with decisions
30,484
Approved actions
278
Denied actions
99.1%
Approval rate (of actions)
By county
| County | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamance | 427 | 496 | 5 | 99.0% |
| Alexander | 143 | 152 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Alleghany | 125 | 134 | 3 | 97.8% |
| Anson | 75 | 78 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Ashe | 63 | 86 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Avery | 336 | 357 | 3 | 99.2% |
| Beaufort | 89 | 97 | 1 | 99.0% |
| Bertie | 11 | 12 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Bladen | 65 | 66 | 2 | 97.1% |
| Brunswick | 725 | 836 | 13 | 98.5% |
| Buncombe | 1,017 | 1,217 | 16 | 98.7% |
| Burke | 438 | 518 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Cabarrus | 548 | 643 | 5 | 99.2% |
| Caldwell | 505 | 562 | 3 | 99.5% |
| Camden | 170 | 184 | 2 | 98.9% |
| Carteret | 245 | 275 | 3 | 98.9% |
| Caswell | 18 | 23 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Catawba | 102 | 109 | 2 | 98.2% |
| Chatham | 56 | 77 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Cherokee | 138 | 141 | 2 | 98.6% |
| Chowan | 226 | 262 | 1 | 99.6% |
| Clay | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Cleveland | 92 | 96 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Columbus | 148 | 181 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Craven | 793 | 970 | 5 | 99.5% |
| Cumberland | 733 | 922 | 23 | 97.6% |
| Dare | 150 | 170 | 3 | 98.3% |
| Davidson | 634 | 828 | 2 | 99.8% |
| Davie | 29 | 31 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Duplin | 104 | 110 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Durham | 613 | 705 | 1 | 99.9% |
| Edgecombe | 446 | 519 | 6 | 98.9% |
| Forsyth | 1,103 | 1,397 | 16 | 98.9% |
| Franklin | 248 | 293 | 1 | 99.7% |
| Gaston | 801 | 1,076 | 8 | 99.3% |
| Graham | 15 | 23 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Granville | 107 | 153 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Greene | 291 | 380 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Guilford | 314 | 401 | 4 | 99.0% |
| Halifax | 112 | 129 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Harnett | 229 | 299 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Haywood | 137 | 152 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Henderson | 127 | 138 | 1 | 99.3% |
| Hertford | 21 | 22 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Hoke | 43 | 42 | 4 | 91.3% |
| Hyde | 172 | 222 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Iredell | 299 | 447 | 3 | 99.3% |
| Jackson | 141 | 154 | 2 | 98.7% |
| Johnston | 618 | 728 | 12 | 98.4% |
| Jones | 109 | 126 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Lee | 198 | 249 | 3 | 98.8% |
| Lenoir | 708 | 883 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Macon | 122 | 127 | 1 | 99.2% |
| Martin | 185 | 207 | 0 | 100.0% |
| McDowell | 117 | 125 | 2 | 98.4% |
| Mecklenburg | 878 | 1,258 | 11 | 99.1% |
| Montgomery | 15 | 28 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Moore | 128 | 145 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Nash | 5 | 6 | 0 | 100.0% |
| New Hanover | 718 | 902 | 14 | 98.5% |
| Northampton | 19 | 29 | 2 | 93.5% |
| Onslow | 403 | 472 | 6 | 98.7% |
| Orange | 53 | 67 | 1 | 98.5% |
| Pamlico | 364 | 402 | 3 | 99.3% |
| Pender | 86 | 93 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Perquimans | 261 | 286 | 2 | 99.3% |
| Person | 8 | 9 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Pitt | 332 | 411 | 1 | 99.8% |
| Polk | 317 | 391 | 3 | 99.2% |
| Randolph | 546 | 612 | 3 | 99.5% |
| Richmond | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Robeson | 338 | 430 | 3 | 99.3% |
| Rockingham | 119 | 132 | 1 | 99.2% |
| Rowan | 459 | 539 | 5 | 99.1% |
| Rutherford | 109 | 125 | 1 | 99.2% |
| Sampson | 52 | 58 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Stanly | 263 | 280 | 1 | 99.6% |
| Stokes | 105 | 135 | 1 | 99.3% |
| Surry | 33 | 34 | 1 | 97.1% |
| Tyrrell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Union | 1,451 | 2,071 | 37 | 98.2% |
| Wake | 1,134 | 1,560 | 15 | 99.0% |
| Warren | 284 | 294 | 4 | 98.7% |
| Washington | 22 | 24 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Watauga | 393 | 496 | 3 | 99.4% |
| Wayne | 288 | 414 | 1 | 99.8% |
| Wilson | 134 | 139 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Yadkin | 8 | 9 | 0 | 100.0% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Civic Star. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities and counties are included.