Becky Wilkes
GIS Specialist
Becky is the GIS Specialist at Carolina Demography. She is a cartographer and data visualizer with over two decades of experience creating static and interactive maps. Her work spans from coffee-table atlases to multimedia StoryMaps.
Before joining Carolina Demography, she worked at UNC on several global public health projects, where she supported the use of spatial data to advance health research and decision-making. She has taught GIS workshops, developed eLearning tools for international audiences, facilitated technical groups in Washington, DC, and supported data users in resource-limited settings. Her collaborations with researchers worldwide have contributed to hundreds of publications across more than 50 countries.
Becky has a BS in Geography and Geology and an MS in Geography from Florida State University, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science from UNC–Chapel Hill. Outside of work, she enjoys camping, drumming, and sailing with her husband, three grown children, and one small but determined chihuahua–terrier mix.
This blog post expands on a previous blog post that examined housing cost burden across NC by focusing on the disparities between housing cost burden for homeowners and renters. In North Carolina, 66.8% of occupied housing units are owner-occupied, while…
In recent years, housing has become a hot-button issue both nationwide and in our state, as many people struggle to find secure, affordable housing options. David Rouse, Ben Hitchings, and Anita Brown-Graham of the UNC School of Government’s ncIMPACT Initiative…
In recognition of Veterans Day, Tuesday, November 11th, we are providing some statistics about North Carolina’s veteran population. The most current version was published on November 12th, 2025, with information from 2024. This updated profile provides the following key information…
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