BY GAVIN OFF
goff@charlotteobserver.com

Mecklenburg County added 19,600 people in the year ending June 30, 2017. Only Wake added more, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data.

The data – population estimates from July 2016 to July 2017 – show Mecklenburg gained about 54 people a day. The county is now home to 1,076,800, about 4,600 more than Wake.

But four surrounding counties outpaced Mecklenburg.

York County, S.C., the fastest-growing county in the area, grew by 3.5 percent. It now has about 266,400 residents.

Mecklenburg, by comparison, grew by 1.85 percent.

Other highlights from the data:

▪ The three fastest-growing counties in the Carolinas border the coast: Pender, Brunswick and Horry County, S.C.

▪ Three counties grew by 10,000 people or more: Wake, Mecklenburg and Horry County, S.C.

▪ 52 of the 146 counties in the Carolinas lost people. Cumberland County, N.C. lost the most – nearly 1,000 people.

North Carolina and South Carolina counties around Mecklenburg continue to see robust growth, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data