The Eastern Carolina Council is one of sixteen multi-county planning and development regions in the State. Regional Councils are governed by local public and private sector appointments. These Councils are forums where local officials determine priorities for the larger area in which their communities are an integral part. It has a land mass of 5,710 square miles and a population of over 645,000 in the region’s nine counties (Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pamlico, and Wayne).