| Official Name: | King, North Carolina |
| Named For: | Oscar King[1] |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Nickname: | Gateway To The Foothills |
| Mapsize: | 250x200px |
| Coordinates: | 36.2769°N -80.3567°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | Counties |
| Subdivision Name1: | North Carolina |
| Subdivision Name2: | Stokes, Forsyth |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | 1983 |
| Government Type: | Mayor-Council |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Jack Warren |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 15.80 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 6.10 |
| Area Land Km2: | 15.66 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 6.04 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.14 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.06 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1063 |
| Population Total: | 7197 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | 459.66 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 27021 |
| Area Code: | 336 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 37-35760[3] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2404830 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1190.57 |
King is a city in Stokes and Forsyth counties, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,096 at the 2020 census.[4] King is part of the Piedmont Triad metropolitan area, located northwest of Winston-Salem.
The town was originally called "King's Cabin". Charles and Francis King lived in a cabin owned by Francis's father for a short time in the 1830s. Being Quakers and against slavery, the King family moved to the free North. According to television journalist and historian Chad Tucker's book Images of America, King (2006), after the King family left their home it was used by locals as a landmark or reference point in giving directions. Several decades later when a post office was established in 1888 it was named for that reference point, King's Cabin. The railroad laid tracks a few years later and shortened the name to "King" in its business transactions, and to eliminate confusion the post office followed on September 26, 1894. Charles and Francis King never returned to Stokes County and never knew their former home became the namesake of a town.
According to Tucker, the community grew into an unincorporated town of schools and businesses. With the first automobile arriving by train in October 1911, new highways followed. With new roads, the town's proximity to Winston-Salem, and a new four-lane Highway 52 built in the 1960s, King opened its doors to growth, turning farmland into subdivisions. Community groups acted as an unofficial town council, providing services such as a fire department, water and sewer. On September 13, 1983, King became an incorporated city, 95 years after the King's Cabin post office opened.[5]
The King Historic District and Rock House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
King is located in southern Stokes County, with parts of the city limits extending south into Forsyth County. U.S. Route 52, a four-lane freeway, passes through the city south and west of the center, with access from Exit 123. Downtown Winston-Salem is southeast via US 52, and Mount Airy is to the northwest. Pilot Mountain State Park is and Hanging Rock State Park is to the north. It's a 40-minute drive to the Blue Ridge Mountains via the Blue Ridge Parkway.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3sqkm, of which 15.1sqkm is land and 0.1sqkm, or 0.93%, is water.[6]
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 6,397 | 88.88% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 166 | 2.31% | |
| Native American | 19 | 0.26% | |
| Asian | 80 | 1.11% | |
| Other/Mixed | 244 | 3.39% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 291 | 4.04% |
As of the census of 2010, there were 6,904 people, and 2,503 households, residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 97.73% White, 2.59% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.05% of the population.