Welcome to Selma ...
The town of Selma is located in Johnston County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Selma, you might consider that their post office opened in 1867.
When the people of Selma refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Selmian<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Selma has a population of 7,119 people<3> (see below for details).
Selma is 140 feet [43 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Selma lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Selma: (919) and (984)<5>
Websites for Selma ...
Official Website: www.selma-nc.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Selma had an population of 7,119 people. This is an increase of 17.22% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 20.38% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Selma had a population of 6,073 people. This makes Selma the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Selma represents 0.06% of the total population of North Carolina (which has 9,535,483 people), making it the state's 117th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 6,073 people, the population of Selma increased 2.69% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 5,914 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Selma.
Communities Also Named Selma ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 30 communities that are also named Selma - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Montana, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas (2), Utah and Virginia (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Selma.
Communities near Selma ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Selma.
- Clayton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clayton have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Clayton is located in Johnston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,458 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <7>
- Wendell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
- Wendell is located in Wake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,387 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wendell <7>
- Archer Lodge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer Lodge
- Archer Lodge is located in Johnston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,322 people
- Archer Lodge has also been known as:
- Archer
- Benson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Benson is located in Johnston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,024 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benson <7>
- Four Oaks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Oaks
- Four Oaks is located in Johnston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,387 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Four Oaks <7>
- Kenly
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenly have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenly
- Kenly is located in Johnston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenly <7>
- Princeton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Princeton is located in Johnston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,425 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeton <7>
- Fremont
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
- Fremont is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,264 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <7>
- Lucama
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucama have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucama
- Lucama is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lucama <7>
- Middlesex
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Selma. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Selma.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Selma. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Selma.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Selma. Our list includes 4 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Selma.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Selma ...
Looking for more information about Selma? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Selma, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Selma.
Adding Selma to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Selma in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Selma was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Selma post office opened in 1867.
We also found Selma in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Selma.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Selma: www.selma-nc.com/
The official website for Johnston County: www.co.johnston.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of North Carolina's counties, including Johnston, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Selma refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a town's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Selma may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Selma. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Selma - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (984) is an overlay for area code (919). |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |