Johnston County, North Carolina

Johnston County
Johnston County
County
	Johnston County Courthouse in Smithfield
	Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
	North Carolina's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 35°30′48″N 78°22′02″W / 35.513419°N 78.367348°W
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Established	June 28, 1746; (278 years ago)
Named for	Gabriel Johnston
Seat	Smithfield
Largest community	Clayton
Area
• Total	795.65 sq mi (2,060.7 km2)
• Land	792.02 sq mi (2,051.3 km2)
• Water	3.63 sq mi (9.4 km2) 0.46%
Population (2020)
• Total	215,999
• Density	272.72/sq mi (105.30/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	27501, 27504, 27520, 27524, 27527, 27529, 27542, 27555, 27557, 27568, 27569, 27576, 27577, 27591, 27592, 27597, 27603, 28334, 28366
Area code	919, 984
Congressional district	13th
Website	johnstonnc.com

Johnston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2020, 215,999 people lived there.^[1] Its county seat is Smithfield.

History

The county was made in 1746 from Craven County. It was named for Gabriel Johnston, who used to be the governor of North Carolina.

In 1752 parts of Johnston County, Bladen County, and Granville County were combined to form Orange County. In 1758 the eastern part of Johnston County became Dobbs County. In 1770 parts of Johnston County, Cumberland County, and Orange County were combined to form Wake County. And in 1855 parts of Johnston County, Edgecombe County, Nash County, and Wayne County were combined to form Wilson County.