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Municipal incorporation is a powerful form of local government boundary change that has the ability to impact urban and political geographies. A new city can alter the provision of public services, change the electoral landscape, impact taxes and alter school district boundaries. North Carolina, a national leader in municipal incorporation activity over the last two decades, has witnessed the creation of 47 new municipalities since 1990. Approximately one-fifth (19.1 percent) of these newly incorporated municipalities (NIMs) are located in Micropolitan Statistical Areas (µSAs). This paper explores the spatial distribution and frequency of micropolitan NIMs in North Carolina in an attempt to better understand their geography and to determine if micropolitan NIMs exhibit a similar pattern of cluster as NIMs in general. Additionally, three case studies of micropolitan counties that experienced NIM clustering during the study period reveal important insight into the motivations behind why these geographic clusters developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]