Elroy, NC

Elroy is a census-designated place in Wayne County, just west of Goldsboro in the eastern North Carolina coastal plain. The 2020 census counted 3,755 residents. It is part of the Goldsboro metropolitan area, but the local map is still shaped by the rural roads and neighborhoods that run through Wayne County. Education comes through Wayne County Public Schools, with students attending schools in nearby communities; Elroy does not have a separate campus. The surrounding roads lead to schools, stores, and services in Goldsboro.

Wayne Community College in Goldsboro adds a nearby higher-education landmark and connects Elroy to the county's wider training and work network. The place is a good example of an unincorporated community whose name stays useful even without a municipal center: residents identify with the CDP, the county, the Goldsboro area, and the roads that join them. Elroy is close to a regional city, but its character comes from the low-key, spread-out pattern of the surrounding coastal plain.