Seven Lakes ended the decade just past with 1,674 more residents than when it began — a 52 percent jump that took the community’s total population from 3,214 to 4,888.
But that hefty growth rate is by no means the county’s highest. Just released early figures from the 2010 US Census show that the Village of Foxfire increased its population from 478 to 901, a 91 percent gain that represents the county’s fastest growth rate.
Though Seven Lakes is not officially a town (the Census Bureau calls it a “Census-Designated Place”), it is Moore County’s fourth largest community, trailing only Pinehurst (13,124), Southern Pines (12,334), and Aberdeen (6,350). Among the big towns, Pinehurst is, in the 2010 Census, now larger than Southern Pines, having added 3,418 to its population in ten years, compared to 1,416 for Southern Pines.
Aberdeen is not only significantly larger than Seven Lakes, it is growing much faster, posting an 87% gain in ten years, versus 52% for Seven Lakes.
Overall, the county’s population grew by 18%, from 74,769 to 88,247.
The number of housing units in Seven Lakes increased from 1,537 in 2000 to 2,352 in 2010. In 2000, 91% of those units were occupied at the time the Census was taken. In 2010, that figure was 89 percent.
In 2000, 32 percent of Foxfire Village’s housing stock was sitting vacant, according to Census figures, which indicated only 222 of the Village’s 302 dwellings were occupied.
But that figure is cut in half in the 2010 results, which reports only 16 percent of dwellings unoccupied — 86 of 523 total units.
The Census figures reveal a subtle shift in the makeup of Seven Lakes. In 2000, 15 percent of the population was aged 18 years or younger; in 2010, that percentage had grown to 18 percent.
Foxfire Village experienced a similar shift, with the percentage of children rising from 11 percent ot 13 percent.
The 2010 data that is currently available doesn’t yet break out finer age categories in the adult population.
