Welcome to Wilson ...
The city of Wilson is located in Wilson County<1> and is the County Seat for Wilson County.
The pronunciation of Wilson: WILL-sun<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Wilson, you might consider that their post office opened in 1849.
The city was incorporated January 29, 1849.
The origin (or the toponymy) of Wilson: Named for Louis Dicken Wilson (1789-1847), a North Carolina politican and a general in the United States Army.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Wilson has a population of 49,416 people<3> (see below for details).
Wilson is 130 feet [40 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Wilson lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Wilson: (252)
The ZIP codes for Wilson: 27822, 27880, 27893-27896<5>
Websites for Wilson ...
Official Website: www.wilsonnc.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Wilson had an population of 49,416 people. This is an increase of 0.51% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 11.28% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Wilson had a population of 49,167 people (which is 60.53% of the total population of Wilson County). This makes Wilson the county's most populous community.
The population of Wilson represents 0.52% of the population of North Carolina (which has 9,535,483 people), making it the state's 18th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 49,167 people, the population of Wilson increased 10.72% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 44,405 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Wilson.
Communities Also Named Wilson ...
While we believe that this Wilson is located in Wilson County, we know of another 2 North Carolina communities named Wilson. Those communities are located in the following counties: Buncombe and Cleveland County.
Beyond North Carolina, there are 85 communities that are also named Wilson - they are located in Alabama (3), Arkansas (3), California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana (6), Iowa (2), Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland (3), Massachusetts, Michigan (3), Minnesota (2), Mississippi, Missouri (2), Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio (4), Oklahoma (3), Ontario (4), Oregon, Pennsylvania (5), Quebec, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas (5), Utah (3), Virginia (3), Washington, West Virginia (4), Wisconsin (3) and Wyoming (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wilson.
Communities near Wilson ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Wilson.
- Rocky Mount
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Mount
- Rocky Mount is located in Edgecombe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53,689 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rocky Mount <6>
- Nashville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
- Nashville is located in Nash County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,572 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashville <6>
- Sharpsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
- Sharpsburg is located in Edgecombe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,018 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sharpsburg <6>
- Kenly
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenly have been provided by the GNIS.<7> 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 <6>
- Spring Hope
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hope
- Spring Hope is located in Nash County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,319 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Hope <6>
- Elm City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm City
- Elm City is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elm City <6>
- Fremont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- 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 <6>
- Pinetops
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinetops
- Pinetops is located in Edgecombe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,221 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinetops <6>
- Lucama
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucama have been provided by the GNIS.<7> 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 <6>
- Dortches
(19 miles [30.6 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 Wilson. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Wilson.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Wilson. 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 Wilson.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilson. Our list includes 31 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Wilson.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Wilson ...
Looking for more information about Wilson? 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 Wilson, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Wilson.
Adding Wilson to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Wilson 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 Wilson was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Wilson post office opened in 1849.
We also found Wilson in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Wilson.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Wilson: www.wilsonnc.org/
The official website for Wilson County: www.wilson-co.com/
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 Wilson, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Wilson. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Wilson. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Wilson - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Wilson). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Wilson or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Wilson includes: 27822, 27880, 27893, 27894, 27895 & 27896. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |