Stokes County is a county in North Carolina, United States, about 20 miles north of Winston-Salem. It had a population of 44,520 at the 2020 census, an estimated 46,126 by 2025, and covers 456 square miles (1,181 km2) centred near 36°23′N 80°16′W.
Danbury is the county seat; its postal code is 27016. The county holds 1 city, 3 towns and 1 village — five incorporated places, two of them shared with neighboring counties — plus 2 census-designated places and 33 named unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 37169.
Towns & Villages in Stokes County
Stokes County has 40 named places on record: 5 incorporated cities, towns and a village, 2 census-designated places (CDPs), and 33 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danbury | Town · seat | Danbury | 142 | 27016 |
| King | City | — | 7,197 | 27021 |
| Walnut Cove | Town | — | 1,586 | 27052 |
| Stokesdale | Town | — | 5,924 | 27357 |
| Tobaccoville | Village | — | 2,578 | 27050 |
| Germanton | CDP | — | 790 | 27019 |
| Pinnacle | CDP | — | 786 | 27043 |
| Aarons Corner | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Asbury | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Boyles Chapel | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Brook Cove | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Brown Mountain | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Campbell | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Capella | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Ceramic | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Chestnut Grove | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Collinstown | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Dalton | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Dillard | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Dodgetown | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Flat Rock | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Flat Shoals | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Francisco | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Gap | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hartman | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Lawsonville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Meadows | Unincorp. | Meadows | — | — |
| Moores Springs | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Mount Olive | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Mountain View | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Neatman | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Oak Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Pine Hall | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Poplar Springs | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Prestonville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Quaker Gap | Unincorp. | Quaker Gap | — | — |
| Rosebud | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Sandy Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Volunteer | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Westfield | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
Three places on this list straddle county lines, and their population figures above are townwide, not the Stokes County share alone. Stokesdale sits mainly in Guilford County, at the point where Guilford, Rockingham, Forsyth and Stokes meet; only a small corner of its 5,924 residents live on the Stokes side. Tobaccoville, likewise, lies mostly in Forsyth County, with village limits extending a short way north into Stokes. King is the exception that runs the other way: most of its 7,197 residents live in Stokes County, with a smaller piece of the city in Forsyth. Quaker Gap also names both a township and the unincorporated crossroads community inside it — the same place, listed once here.
ZIP Codes
- 27016 — Danbury (the county seat)
- 27021 — King, the county’s largest place
- 27052 — Walnut Cove
- 27357 — Stokesdale (also covers addresses in Guilford, Rockingham and Forsyth counties)
- 27050 — Tobaccoville (also covers addresses in Forsyth County)
- 27019 — Germanton (also covers addresses in Forsyth County)
- 27043 — Pinnacle
None of the county’s 33 unincorporated communities carries a ZIP code of its own; mail there is delivered under Danbury’s, King’s, Walnut Cove’s or a neighboring Surry County post office’s code, depending on which is closest by road.
Geography
Stokes County lies in North Carolina’s northern Piedmont, where the land rises toward the Sauratown Mountains, an isolated range unconnected to the main Blue Ridge chain. Of its 456 square miles, 449.35 are land and 6.79 are water, about 1.5 percent — most of that surface water sits in the Dan River, which crosses the county’s northeast corner on its way toward Virginia. Hanging Rock State Park, roughly 2 miles from Danbury, covers 9,011 acres of the Sauratown range and includes a 12-acre lake, more than 48 miles of hiking trails and several exposed rock peaks and waterfalls.
Patrick County and Henry County, Virginia, border Stokes to the north; Rockingham County lies to the east; Forsyth County and Guilford County lie to the south; and Surry County lies to the west. Patrick County, Henry County, Rockingham County, Forsyth County, Guilford County and Surry County all border Stokes directly.
Demographics
Stokes County had a population of 44,520 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county near 46,126 residents by 2025. King and Walnut Cove are the two largest communities fully inside the county, together holding well under a fifth of the total population — most Stokes County residents live outside any incorporated place, in the unincorporated communities and rural crossroads that make up most of the county’s land. Population density works out to roughly 99 people per square mile of land, low for the Piedmont Triad region and typical of a county with no large city of its own. North Carolina’s statewide median household income was $70,804 in the 2023 American Community Survey.
Economy & Local Life
Stokes County functions mainly as a bedroom community for the Winston-Salem and Greensboro job markets, and county government and the public school system are together the largest direct employers based in the county itself. The North Carolina Department of Commerce rated Stokes a Tier 2 county under its 2023 economic distress ranking, the middle of the state’s three-tier scale. Hanging Rock State Park draws the county’s steadiest visitor traffic, and Walnut Cove hosts the annual Walnut Cove Springfest, a community festival held each spring. King, the largest town, sits along US 52 close to Pilot Mountain State Park in neighboring Surry County, and its position in the Piedmont Triad corridor has drawn residential subdivision growth on former farmland.
History
The North Carolina General Assembly formed Stokes County in 1789 from part of Surry County, naming it for John Stokes, a Revolutionary War captain. During the Civil War, the Moratock Iron Furnace near Danbury operated as a foundry supplying the Confederate war effort; its ruins are preserved today in Moratock Park. In 1849 the legislature split off the county’s southeastern townships to form Forsyth County, taking the original county seat with it, and in 1851 Danbury was founded as Stokes County’s new, more centrally located seat of government.
Getting There
No interstate highway crosses Stokes County. NC Highways 8, 65, 66, 89, 268, 704, 770 and 772 provide the main routes across the county, along with US 311, US 158 and Salem Parkway connecting Walnut Cove to Winston-Salem.
- Winston-Salem — about 16 miles southeast
- Mount Airy — about 21 miles northwest
- Danbury (county seat) — about 12 miles northeast of King
Piedmont Triad International Airport, west of Greensboro, is the nearest major commercial airport, roughly 30 miles south of King and serving the wider Piedmont Triad region. Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem handles general aviation and charter traffic closer to the county. Amtrak’s Piedmont and Carolinian trains do not stop in Stokes County; the nearest station is in the Piedmont Triad to the south.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Stokes County located?
It sits in North Carolina’s northern Piedmont, about 20 miles north of Winston-Salem, bordered by Patrick and Henry counties in Virginia and by Rockingham, Forsyth, Guilford and Surry counties in North Carolina.
What is the population of Stokes County?
44,520 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 46,126.
How big is Stokes County?
456 square miles (1,181 km2), of which 449.35 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Stokes County?
Danbury is the county seat, founded in 1851 after Forsyth County split away with the original seat.
How many towns and villages are in Stokes County?
Five incorporated places — the city of King, the towns of Danbury, Walnut Cove and Stokesdale, and the village of Tobaccoville — plus the census-designated places of Germanton and Pinnacle, and 33 unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes does Stokes County use?
27016 for Danbury, 27021 for King, 27052 for Walnut Cove, 27357 for Stokesdale, 27050 for Tobaccoville, 27019 for Germanton and 27043 for Pinnacle.
What is Stokes County known for?
Hanging Rock State Park in the Sauratown Mountains, and the Moratock Iron Furnace, a Civil War-era foundry site preserved near Danbury.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in North Carolina.