67% of N.C. Voters Favor Immigration Reduction

North Carolina has added 5 million residents since 1980, and two-thirds of voters there support reducing immigration to control the state’s explosive growth.

A new telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and NumbersUSA finds that only 14% of Likely North Carolina voters want their state’s population to continue to grow at the recent rapid rate, while 50% prefer it to grow much more slowly. Twenty percent (20%) want the North Carolina population to stay about the same size and 11% want the state’s population to become smaller. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

North Carolina’s population, which was less than 6 million in 1980, is now nearing 11 million. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of North Carolina voters believe the federal government should reduce new immigration to slow down the state’s population growth. Twenty-one percent (21%) favor keeping new immigration and population growth at the current rate. Just five percent (5%) want to increase annual immigration and population growth.

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The survey of 1,109 North Carolina Likely Voters was conducted on February 5-8, 2024, by Rasmussen Reports and NumbersUSA. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

There is a remarkable level of agreement across party lines on these questions. Fifty percent (50%) of Democrats, 52% of Republicans and 48% of North Carolina voters not affiliated with either major party prefer the state’s population to grow much more slowly. Majorities of every political category – 82% of Republicans, 50% of Democrats and 66% of unaffiliated voters – think the federal government should reduce new immigration to slow down North Carolina’s population growth.

Among other findings of the Rasmussen Reports/NumbersUSA survey of North Carolina voters:

– Nearly half (48%) of the state’s voters say the current level of growth – which is projected to add another 3.2 million residents by 2050 – is more negative for North Carolina, compared to 36% who see it as more positive. Another 16% are not sure.

– Mirroring national trends, an overwhelming majority (75%) of North Carolina voters say that, in trying to limit population growth by controlling illegal immigration, Congress should mandate that all employers use the federal electronic E-Verify system to help ensure that they hire only legal workers for U.S. jobs. Only 12% disagree, and another 12% are undecided.

– Federal data show that development has taken about 2,600 square miles of North Carolina’s farmland and natural habitat since 1982. A majority (54%) believe North Carolina has developed its open lands into cities, housing, and highways too much. Just 11% think the state has develop[ed too little, while 29% say it’s developed about as much as it should.

– Eighty-two percent (82%) are concerned about the ability to protect North Carolina farmland from development. The amount of cropland in North Carolina has declined by nearly 1.7 million acres since 1982, a loss of about 25% of the state’s cropland. Eighty-two percent (82%) consider the ongoing loss of cropland in North Carolina to be a problem, including 40% who see it as a major problem. Ninety-four percent (94%) believe it is important for the United States to have enough farmland to feed its own population into the future, as well as help feed people in other countries. Sixty-five percent (65%) agree that it is unethical to pave over and build on good cropland, compared to 22% who think the need for more housing is a legitimate reason to eliminate cropland.

– Just 24% say that, on balance, recent development in North Carolina has made it a better place to live, while 41% say development has made the state a worse place to live, and 26% say recent development did not have much effect.

– While 32% believe the government has been able to provide the roads and transportation systems to handle the extra population and vehicles in North Carolina fairly well, 62% say traffic has become much worse.

– The government reports that to make room in America for growing cities the last three decades, 19 million acres of surrounding woodlands have been eliminated. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of North Carolina voters consider this loss of natural wildlife habitat a significant problem, including 54% who see it as a Very Significant problem.

– Nearly half (47%) of North Carolina voters believe local and state governments should make it more difficult for people to move to the region from other states and other countries by restricting development.

– President Joe Biden’s approval rating among North Carolina voters is very nearly identical to nationwide numbers. Forty-two percent (42%) of the state’s voters approve of the job Biden is doing as president, including 27% who Strongly Approve. Fifty-five percent (55%) disapprove of Biden’s job performance, including 49% who Strongly Disapprove.

Arizona Republican Kari Lake has a three-point lead over Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in this year’s U.S. Senate race, and Lake’s margin would be slightly wider if incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema decides to seek reelection as an independent. 

A majority of American voters blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s recent death in prison, but don’t think economic sanctions will have much effect on Putin’s regime.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as to Platinum Members.

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