county

Bladen County, NC

Demographic and economic profile of Bladen County, NC, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Bladen County is a rural North Carolina county of 29,591 residents with an economy centered on agriculture and manufacturing, reflected in a median worker earnings figure of $36,361 and a GDP per capita of $48,730 against a median household income of $42,422. The labor force is relatively small, with a 49.1% participation rate, 20.6% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and a 4.3% unemployment rate. Housing costs are low—median home value of $125,800 and median gross rent of $752/month—though the county faces a 21.2% poverty rate and a 12.4% population decline over the past five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

29,591

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$42,422

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-12.4% since 2018

Bladen County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone16,119 (54.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone9,569 (32.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,753 (5.9%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone957 (3.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races675 (2.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race425 (1.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,931
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic14
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)11
  4. 4.Korean2

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,902

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$48,730

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,970

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

21.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,549
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,342
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)1,330
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining879
  5. 5.Construction (Group)871

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,240
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,231
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations2,226
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,826
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,732

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.50×)814
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.53×)820
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.24×)972
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.14×)757
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 1.11×)1,256

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$125,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$752/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

69.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,044 (12.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,022 (12.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999788 (9.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999612 (7.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999584 (7.1%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999508 (6.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

49.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,361

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

28.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone8,847 (79.4%)
  • Carpooled1,238 (11.1%)
  • Worked At Home897 (8.1%)
  • Walked136 (1.2%)
  • Other24 (0.2%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.