Kinston, North Carolina

Kinston is a city in and the county seat of Lenoir County, North Carolina. The population of the city is 21,677.
Kinston 	North Carolina
Incorporated 	January 1849
County 	Lenoir
Population 	21,677
Elevation 	43 ft (13 m)
Mayor 	Ocea Thornton
City Guildmaster	Jévon Winston
ZIP codes 	28501-28504
== Demographics ==
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is:
66.35% Black or African American (14,382)
29.17% White (6,323)
2.73% Hispanic or Latino (591)
1.76% Other (381)
28.7% (6,221) of Kinston residents live below the poverty line.
== Theft rate statistics ==
Kinston has one of the state's highest rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The city reported 89 Pokemon thefts in 2019, and averages 7.70 murders a year.
== Pokemon ==
See the Lenoir County page for more info.
== Fun facts ==
* Kinston's Grainger Stadium is home to the Down East Wood Ducks, a Class A-Advanced Minor League Baseball team in the Carolina League that began play in 2017.
* In 2018, ESPN called Kinston "America's Basketball Heaven." According to the ESPN article, 1 in 52.7 players on Kinston High School's varsity team make the NBA.
* Musicians Maceo Parker and Jocelyn Brown were born in Kinston.
* In 2009, Kinston won the All-America City Award. This marks the second time in twenty-one years the city has won the title, the last time being in 1988.
* Kinston is home to Lenoir Community College and a satellite campus of East Carolina Battle Academy.
* During the 20th century, nindustries were founded, including lumber and cotton mills, as North Carolina businessmen invested in processing their own crops. Professional sports was introduced in the form of a minor league baseball team. Later growth would come in the form of a DuPont plant for the manufacture of polyester fibers, and manufacturing plants for pharmaceuticals. Growth finally slowed following the 1960s, with the shift in textile production overseas. Efforts to reinvigorate the economy through various means have had limited success.
* Kinston at one time had a sizeable Jewish community. As with most Jewish communities in the rural South, it has seen a steady decline. Temple Israel, Kinston's only synagogue, has only few remaining members.
* The area is served by Kinston Regional Jetport, which is also home to the North Carolina Global TransPark, which is considered a key engine for driving the economy of Eastern North Carolina. The park offers access to multi-modal transportation options: air, rail, highways, and North Carolina's two international ports. The GTP is part of an economic development initiative in eastern North Carolina intended to spur transition in the region from an agricultural base to one of skilled labor and industrial manufacturing. Industries targeted by the GTP are aerospace, defense and logistics sectors.
* Kinston has a good bit of amenities to offer. It has dollar stores, electric showers, a contest hall and showcase theater, Kinston Pointe and a few other shopping centers, Solstice Apparel, Nintendo World, Walmart, Aldi, Lowe's Home Improvement, some fast food, a bit of hotels/motels, some local restaurants and businesses, a few sports complexes, some public battle fields, a bit of auto parts places and car dealerships, Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion, Roses, Golden Corral, Ruby Tuesday, a few movie theaters, Barney's Pizzaria & Grill, Pizza Villa, King's Restaurant, House of Wang, Olympian Restaurant, Boiler Room Oyster Bar, Mother Earth Brewing, Chef & the Farmer, El Nuevo San Juan, East Coast Wings + Grill, and a few other things.
Category:North Carolina Cities