Cumberland County, North Carolina

Cumberland County is a county in North Carolina, United States, about 60 miles south of Raleigh
and centred on the city of Fayetteville. It had a population of 334,728 at the 2020 census, an
estimated 338,473 by 2025, and covers 658.48 square miles (1,705 km2) centred near
35°03′N 78°50′W.

Fayetteville is the county seat and the county’s only city; its postal code is 28301. The
county holds 1 city, 8 incorporated towns and 1 census-designated place across the county, plus a
handful of named unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 37051.

Towns & Villages in Cumberland County

Cumberland County has 15 named places on record: 1 city, 8 towns, 1 census-designated place,
and 5 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census
designated place; Unincorp. covers named crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.

Falcon straddles a county line: most of the town sits in Cumberland, but a small portion of its
1.41 square miles crosses into neighboring Sampson County, so its 324 residents are counted under
Cumberland’s 2020 figure even though a slice of the town limits lies outside the county.
Vander is a census-designated place rather than an incorporated town — it has no mayor or
town government of its own and is administered directly by the county.

Older lists of Cumberland County places circulating online name well over a hundred additional
subdivisions — Bataan, Corregidor, Bastogne Gables, Nijmegen and Anzio Acres among them.
These are residential neighborhoods built for Fort Bragg families and named after World War II
battles, not separately incorporated or census-recognized places, so they are not listed as
distinct entries here.

ZIP Codes

• 28301–28306, 28309, 28311 and 28314 — Fayetteville’s civilian ZIP codes
• 28307 and 28310 — Fort Bragg
• 28308 — Pope Army Airfield
• 28348 — Hope Mills
• 28390 — Spring Lake
• 28312 — Eastover (also serves part of southeast Fayetteville)
• 28301 — Vander (shares Fayetteville’s code, having no ZIP of its own)
• 28391 — Stedman
• 28395 — Wade
• 28356 — Linden
• 28344 — Godwin
• 28342 — Falcon

Cumberland, Chestnut Hills, Dogwood Acres, Judson and Montclair have no ZIP code of their own;
mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Cumberland County sits in North Carolina’s Sandhills-to-coastal-plain transition zone, a
belt of sandy, gently rolling terrain southeast of the Piedmont. Of its 658.48 square miles, 652.56
are land and 5.92 are water, under 1 percent of the total — the Cape Fear River is the
county’s dominant waterway, running through Fayetteville on its way to Wilmington, with Little
River and Rockfish Creek as its main tributaries. The county is historically divided into 11
townships — Beaver Dam, Black River, Carvers Creek, Cedar Creek, Cross Creek, Eastover, Gray’s
Creek, Manchester, Pearces Mill, Rockfish and Seventy-First — census-statistical divisions
that carry no government function today.

Harnett County lies to the north, Sampson County to the east, Bladen County to the south, Robeson
County to the southwest, Hoke County to the west, and a short stretch of Moore County touches the
northwest corner. Harnett County, Sampson County, Bladen County, Robeson County and Hoke County all border Cumberland directly;
Moore County has no live page on this site.

Demographics

Cumberland County had a population of 334,728 at the 2020 census, North Carolina’s
fifth-most populous county, and the latest estimate puts it near 338,473 residents by 2025.
Fayetteville and Hope Mills are by far the two largest communities, together holding well over
two-thirds of the county’s population. Median household income runs $58,780 (2023 ACS),
below North Carolina’s statewide figure of $70,804 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to
roughly 513 people per square mile of land, a reflection of Fayetteville’s size against a
mostly rural remainder.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 20,376 people,
followed by retail trade at 16,018 and educational services at 12,594. The largest single employer
by far is the U.S. Department of Defense’s civilian workforce at Fort Bragg, about 14,036
people, with the base and neighboring Pope Army Airfield pumping an estimated $4.5 billion a year
into the regional economy. Cape Fear Valley Health System, based in Fayetteville, employs roughly
7,000, and Cumberland County Public Schools employs about 6,042. Hope Mills centers on its
namesake lake on Little Rockfish Creek, built around a 19th-century cotton-mill dam. The
county’s biggest annual event is the All American Week celebration at Fort Bragg each May,
which draws current and former soldiers from across the country.

History

North Carolina’s colonial assembly formed Cumberland County in 1754, carving it out of
Bladen County and naming it for Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. The county was
briefly renamed Fayette County in 1784 before the legislature restored the original name.
Fayetteville itself was chartered in 1783 and became the first city in the United States named
for the Marquis de Lafayette, who visited in 1825; the city hosted North Carolina’s
constitutional ratification convention in 1789.

The county’s modern character is tied to its military installations. Fort Bragg, established
during World War I as Camp Bragg and later expanded into one of the largest US Army bases,
brought sustained growth to Fayetteville, Spring Lake and the surrounding towns through both
world wars and the decades since; Spring Lake itself was incorporated in 1951 largely to serve
the base’s wartime population growth.

Getting There

Interstate 95 crosses the county’s eastern half, with Interstate 295 forming a bypass loop
around Fayetteville. US 13, US 301 and US 401 also run through the county.

• Raleigh — about 60 miles north
• Lumberton — about 30 miles southwest
• Sanford — about 35 miles northwest
• Wilmington — about 90 miles southeast

Fayetteville Regional Airport, on the city’s south side, is the nearest commercial airport,
with connecting flights to several East Coast hubs. Amtrak’s Fayetteville station, served by
the Palmetto and Silver Meteor lines, connects to Raleigh, Richmond, Washington and points south
to Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Cumberland County located?
It sits in North Carolina’s Sandhills region, about 60 miles south of Raleigh, bordered by
Harnett, Sampson, Bladen, Robeson, Hoke and Moore counties.

What is the population of Cumberland County?
334,728 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 338,473 by 2025.

How big is Cumberland County?
658.48 square miles (1,705 km2), of which 652.56 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Cumberland County?
Fayetteville, chartered in 1783, is the county seat and only city.

How many towns and cities are in Cumberland County?
Nine incorporated places — Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Spring Lake, Eastover, Stedman, Wade,
Linden, Godwin and Falcon — plus the census-designated place Vander and five named
unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Cumberland County use?
28301 through 28314 for Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Vander; 28348 for Hope Mills; 28390 for
Spring Lake; and separate codes for Eastover, Stedman, Wade, Linden, Godwin and Falcon.

What is Cumberland County known for?
Fort Bragg, one of the largest US Army installations, and Fayetteville, the first American city
named for the Marquis de Lafayette.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in North Carolina.