The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis says the total amount of how much Onslow County residents make in a year grew from $5.3 billion to $8.3 billion from 2006 to 2011.

That's up 55 percent, making it the fastest growing county in the country.

Sheila Pierce with Jacksonville-Onslow County Economic Development says that's because of the military, agriculture and tourism in the area.

In her 34 years living in Onslow County, Pierce has seen military salaries increase. With more military families and tourists, that's also more money invested in the county for expansion and jobs.

"When you have new things being built, it goes back to that issue," Pierce said. "It shows that you're progressive, it shows that you're growing, and that actually is what attracts and actually continues to make our economy as stable as it is."

But Onslow County Resident Raymond Randall says that possible federal spending cuts on the military could hurt this area.

"That's really going to affect camp Lejeune in this area right because
we could lose anywhere between anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 troops," Randall said. "That'll hurt this area."