Kernersville’s rapid growth was the topic of this week’s Lunch with Leaders event at Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden.
Love at the Kernersville Honeybee Festival
A new romantic comedy by playwright Scott Icenhower, running now through Feb. 22 at Stained Glass Playhouse in Winston-Salem.
Presented by the Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by FedEx, the program featured Town of Kernersville Community Development Manager Brad Rentz, who provided an update on the town’s Comprehensive Plan. While the plan, scheduled for adoption in July, addresses themes from land use and infrastructure to community character and transportation, Rentz focused his remarks on economic development and what statistics reveal about Kernersville’s trajectory.
The message is one that won’t surprise many residents: Kernersville is growing fast.
Over the past 50 years, the population has grown from roughly 5,000 residents to nearly 30,000. Between 2000 and 2023 alone, the town expanded by 65% — higher than its peer communities.
Housing demand reflects that growth. Households increased 69% during the same period, outpacing population growth and signaling smaller household sizes.
With a vacancy rate of just 4.5%, demand for both new and existing housing remains strong. Median rent sits at $1,052, slightly below peer communities.
Kernersville also functions as a regional employment hub, Rentz added. More than 18,000 people commute into town for work each day, compared to about 10,500 residents who leave town for employment. Only about 1,400 residents both live and work in Kernersville, which presents the town with opportunities to align job creation and housing development.
Retail spending currently totals $780 million annually and is projected to grow to nearly $1 billion, driven by groceries, dining, entertainment, and home-related purchases.
Zooming out to the regional level, Mark Owens, president and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem Inc., outlined how Kernersville fits into broader economic development strategies. He detailed the competitive process by which companies, often international firms, are recruited with grants and incentives to locate in the region.
Access to interstates, rail, transportation infrastructure, and competitive commute times remain major advantages.
“A lot of that growth is happening in the Kernersville area,” Owens added.
He also highlighted Global Location Strategies’ ranking of the region as the No. 4 best place in the country for food manufacturing, reiterating his organization’s goal of positioning the greater Winston-Salem area a s top midsized city for economic growth by 2030.
The dual presentations provided an updated picture of a community experiencing sustained growth and increasing economic momentum. As Kernersville prepares to adopt its Comprehensive Plan, the decisions made now will help shape how that growth unfolds for decades to come. Click here to find out more about the plan.
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