Rural retreat.

• Position: Brief article - Statistical data

Forty-one percent of North Carolina's 553 towns experienced population decline from 2010-16, according to a report from the UNC Carolina Population Center. Three-fourths of towns declined or grew slower than the overall state growth rate of 6.4%. The northeast has been hit hardest: The 10 towns losing residents at the fastest rates are in Bertie, Northampton and Washington counties, which have large numbers of elderly residents.

TOWNS WITH FASTEST DECLINE: 1 LEWISTON WOODVILLE -10% (BERTIE) 2 CONWAY -9.6% (NORTHAMPTON) 3 GARYSBURG -9.6% (NORTHAMPTON) 4 WOODLAND -9.6% (NORTHAMPTON) 5 GASTON -9.4% (NORTHAMPTON) 6 AULANDER -9.2% (BERTIE! 7 SEABOARD -8.9%...