Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 21,677 as of the 2010 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of eastern North Carolina.

In 2009, Kinston won the All-America City Award. This marks the second mature in 21 years the city has won the title.

At the epoch of English settlement, the area was inhabited by the Neusiok people. Preceding the historic tribe, indigenous peoples of a variety of cultures had lived in the Place for thousands of years. Before the English colonists normal the city, they called the area “Atkins Bank”, referring to a bluff in the expose of owned by Robert Atkins just above the Neuse River. Atkins Bank was the site of farms, a tobacco warehouse, and a Church of England mission.

Kinston was created by an encounter of the North Carolina General Assembly in December 1762 as “Kingston”, in rave review of King George III, who had just recently ascended to the throne. The relation to incorporate it was introduced by Richard Caswell, who made his home there and vanguard served as the first supervisor of the acknowledge of North Carolina from 1776 to 1780. After victory in the American Revolution, the citizens renamed the city “Kinston” in 1784 to exploit the population’s forswearing of royalty. In 1833, Kinston briefly became “Caswell”, in honor of Governor Caswell, but the make known Kinston was restored the next year.