Getting to know Smithfield Johnston County is a big place. After all, it’s the 10th largest county in the state in terms of geography, nestled between Duplin and Onslow counties on that list. It’s also the 12th largest county in terms of population. While that geography ranking isn’t likely going to change much, the county’s population is on the rise — and has been for a while. In 1990, a little more than 81,000 people called Johnston County home. Twenty years later in 2010, that number jumped to just shy of 170,000. Since then, the county’s estimated population has surged to around 209,000. That’s 40,000 new people calling Johnston County home in just the past 10 years. And the population boom is showing no signs of slowing down. While most of that growth is more obvious in the Clayton, Garner and McGee’s Crossroads areas, in the past few years, it has begun making its way east to Smithfield.
Johnston County Courthouse
Smithfield is a full service community. Our services are second to none for people that live here. From utilities to water and sewer to trash pickup to police — our police department is accredited — our fire department is A-number-one. We can provide any service anyone would want. Then, on top of that, we are a growing community in every aspect. - Town Manager Michael Scott
That rate of growth has been near or above two percent for each of the past three years, and with new homes currently being developed, the secret is getting out. Smithfield is on the rise. “The growth of Smithfield and Selma kind of got bottlenecked in the mid 90s,” Johnston County Economic Development Director Chris Johnson said. “When I-40 opened in 1999, construction of the new section of U.S. 70/Future I-42 was supposed to begin right after, but it was delayed more than 15 years. The corner of Market and 3rd Streets 4 | Town of Smithfield
