NC’s Demographic Landslide

A Different Take On The Torrent Of Growth that Is Sweeping Through Our State

Raleigh, NC - “It is like fifteen people trying to get out of a phone booth.” This is how my dad has frequently described trying to navigate the heavily congested and disorganized flow of traffic on North Main Street in Fuquay-Varina. “Fuquay” as it is usually abbreviated by residents, has consistently been ranked as one of the best places to live in the country and as such has suffered from a stream of growth and development.

The sheer number of people moving to Fuquay has led to significant strain on the town’s infrastructure and has come at the detriment of longtime residents. Town leaders, like the moderate Republican mayor, Blake Massengill, benefit from the growth and so do little to alleviate the growing pains affecting residents and overlook the erosion of the town’s historic and cultural fabric.

While unfortunate, the plight of Fuquay is part of a larger trend across our great state. Many towns and cities are bursting at the seams as a flood of people threatens to wash away hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians and clear the way for big businesses and developers in what essentially amounts to a demographic landslide.

Our state has consistently been ranked as one of the fastest-growing states in the country and is now the ninth-largest state by population. In 2023, NC added more people than any other state except Florida and Texas, with 140,000 people moving here last year.

The effects of this growth are most pronounced in the urban parts of the state where every bit of undeveloped green space is being cleared to make way for business parks, shopping centers, housing developments, and apartments. 

This is very much the case for Wake County, particularly southern Wake County which I call home. Having lived in this state almost my entire life, it is incredibly frustrating and disheartening to see the area that I grew up in be swept away in a flurry of wet concrete and asphalt over the last 6-8 years. 

Having several entrepreneurs in my family and an education in business, I generally have a more favorable view of growth and economic development. I am also, however, very aware of the disparate impact that such growth on a rapid and large scale, like has occurred in Fuquay, has had on those who have long called North Carolina home.

The constant flow of people into the state has appreciably inflated the cost of living, driven up home prices, and spurred a hike in property taxes as property evaluations keep pace with the market. The consequence is that many people are being squeezed between utility bills and property taxes, and the children of longtime residents are seeing the prospect of living where they have grown up slowly slip from their fingertips.

Another problem with the growth NC is experiencing is that it is highly concentrated, with people moving to the few places they can point to on a map of our state. Of the many people that have moved here over the last few years, the bulk have moved to urban areas on the coast and the Triangle. The result has meant that poorer parts of the state are left behind and urban areas receive the most attention and investment.

As many small towns are boarding up businesses, cutting staff, and axing services, other towns that have not adequately planned for growth have to struggle to come up with the money to pay for the expensive price tag of new roads, schools, and power and water lines. 

Finally, the most consequential impact of all this growth has been the major political realignment that is occurring because of the people who are moving here. Unlike Texas and Florida, where many people are moving for primarily political reasons, the vast majority of people who are moving to North Carolina are doing so for purely economic ones.

Many of these people are moving with their companies, which skew socially liberal and have been courted by state lawmakers and municipal governments on the taxpayer’s dime. These people are usually in themselves very progressive.

Others who are moving here have a social mobility and economic standing that insulates them from the immediate consequences of liberal policies. It is easy to support criminal justice reform when you live in a leafy and quiet semi-private community removed from the city.

While North Carolina is currently a red state, with Republicans controlling the legislature, the courts, and key state offices, it will not stay this way. NC is in the crosshairs of the liberal ruling elites and every election cycle millions of dollars pour into our state in an attempt by Democrats, liberal policy groups, and leftwing billionaires to shift state politics farther left.

In the end, North Carolina is a perfectly positioned state to be a model for Christian, North Carolina first, conservative governance but it is being put up for auction by our legislators and town leaders, many of whom are Republicans. 

North Carolina has so much going for it but is in the process of being swept away in a flood of growth and demographic change. I know I am not the only one who feels this way and I think it is time North Carolinians start demanding better. An increased tax base and new jobs are not the only measure of success. 

We need to start having serious conversations about what is happening in our state and push back against self-serving Republicans toeing the line of big business and developers. North Carolina is a truly unique state with a rich history and culture. Let's keep it that way.