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More than 2,100 new residents moved to Stanly County from 2020 to 2022, according to newly released 2022 county population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Stanly County’s population increased by 2.4% from 2020, when the county had an estimated population of 62,638, until 2022, when it had roughly 64,153, slightly higher than the overall state increase of 2.39%.

Stanly was the 31st fastest growing county in the state.

Stanly’s larger neighboring counties, including Cabarrus, Mecklenburg and Union, each experienced more prominent growth over the two-year period, with Union leading the pack with a 4.2% increase. Other nearby counties, including Anson (0.77%), Davidson (2%) Rowan (1.7%) and Montgomery (0.68%), experienced slower growth.

Richmond was the only county near Stanly that actually lost residents, accounting for a population change of -.32%.

According to the data:

• 2,146 people moved into the county, including eight that came from outside the United States.
• Stanly experienced 2,009 deaths during the two-year period compared with only 1,484 births — a loss, or natural change, of 525 people.
• From July 2021 to July 2022, Stanly’s population grew by about 1.7%, as it gained 1,045 new residents.

“Stanly County has definitely experienced fairly significant residential and commercial growth over the past three years,” County Manager Andy Lucas said.

He noted the county commissioners recently adopted a 2040 Land Use Plan “in an effort to balance growth and the preservation of farmland and open spaces.”

“Stanly County’s lower cost of doing business coupled with lower real estate costs make it a very attractive place in the Charlotte region to do business, raise a family or both,” Lucas noted.

There have been some issues, though, associated with the county’s population growing in recent years, including about the existing sewer treatment infrastructure in the western part, which Lucas said is limited. The county is in the design phase of a project to expand the sewer treatment capacity in western Stanly, he said, from 1.25 million gallons per day of treatment to 2.5 million gallons per day.