Carolina Demographics
Keep up with our latest demographic insights
North Carolina’s population grew to an estimated 10.5 million people as of July 1, 2019, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. From July 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019, the state’s population increased by nearly 106,500 individuals. This marks the fourth year in a row that North Carolina has grown by more than 100,000 new residents. Among the states, North Carolina had the 4th largest numeric increase since 2018. Only Texas (367K),…
Over the past year, we've worked with leaders across North Carolina, presented to dozens of organizations, and answered 150+ questions from journalists and residents with one focus: providing accurate and specific information for people to make sense of population-level changes. Below, you'll see just a small part of the work we've done this year: highlights from what we researched, learned, and shared. Thank you for your ongoing support. We wish you a Happy New Year…
2020 Update: The George Washington Institute for Public Policy has expanded its analysis of the fiscal impact of the census. According to their most recent estimate, there are $1.5 trillion dollars associated with 316 census-guided federal programs. In FY17, North Carolina received nearly $44 billion. In late June, I spoke on a panel focused on population trends in the Charlotte metropolitan region, the 2020 Census, and how businesses and local governments are gearing up for…
Nationally, there are 383 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA), which are defined as an economically integrated set of counties with a core central city with a population of 50,000 or more. They range in size from Carson City, Nevada (55,414) to the New York-Newark-Jersey City MSA (19,979,477) which crosses New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Within North Carolina, there are 17 unique metro regions, ranging from Goldsboro (123,248) to Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia (2,569,213 across NC and SC). With…
Father’s Day will be celebrated on Sunday, June 16, 2019. We’ve compiled some key stats about parenting and fatherhood in North Carolina. A record number of households in North Carolina are headed by single dads. There were 98,434 single father households in NC in 2017, an increase of more than 7,000 since 2016 and the highest number observed since 1960, when just 7,769 households with children were headed by single fathers. Single father households represented…
Key takeaways: A college degree is associated with several positive life outcomes, ranging from greater financial security to better health. However, over the past decade, returns on postsecondary degrees have diminished both nationwide and in North Carolina. We reported recently that the level of educational attainment among North Carolina’s degree-earners continues to rise. This is related, in part, to a shifting job market favoring higher-skilled workers. However, as more individuals seek out greater levels of…
A complete and accurate census count is incredibly important. The census shapes how billions of dollars in federal funding are distributed, how congressional seats are apportioned, and how communities plan for their future residents. But certain populations have historically been undercounted in the census, due to a variety of factors. Undercounting these communities skews the census data that’s used to ensure fair political representation and support community planning. To help North Carolina achieve a complete…
Nationally, 46% of women aged 25-64 reported having an associate degree or higher in 2017 compared to 39% of men, a gap of seven percentage points. In North Carolina, this gap was even larger: 48% of women had an associate degree or higher compared to 38% of men, a gap of 10 percentage points.Compared to men, North Carolina women are more likely to report the completion of an associate degree (11.9% vs. 8.3%), bachelor’s (23.3% vs. 20.1%), or master’s (9.8% vs. 6.8%) degree. Men are slightly more likely than women to hold a professional degree (1.8% vs. 1.7%) or a doctorate (1.3% vs. 1.1%).
Forty-three percent of North Carolina’s adults aged 25-64 held some type of postsecondary degree in 2017—just over 2.3 million residents in the state. This share has risen five percentage points since 2010, and ten since 2000. In total, North Carolina gained 932K working-age adults with an Associate degree or higher from 2000 to 2017, and among these adults, the level of degree attainment continues to rise. In 2000, the majority of NC adults aged 25-64…
2,135,568 North Carolina households headed by a married couple or a householder with an unmarried partner. This represents 54% of all NC households. 5.8% Share of North Carolina households headed by a householder with an unmarried partner. This is lower than the national rate of 6.1%. Among the state’s counties with populations of 65,000 or more, Wayne County had the highest share of unmarried-partner households (8.3%), followed by Lincoln (8.1%), Wilkes (7.5%), and Randolph (7.4%)…
Your support is critical to our mission of measuring, understanding, and predicting population change and its impact. Donate to Carolina Demography today.