county

Carteret County, NC

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

AI Overview

Carteret County is a coastal North Carolina county of 70,259 residents with a median age of 50.5 years and a labor force participation rate of 55.6%, reflecting a sizable retiree and part-time workforce. Median household income stands at $72,322, with median worker earnings of $38,413, and housing costs are moderate—median home value of $304,200 and median gross rent of $1,062 per month against a 74.7% homeownership rate. The county's population edged down 0.4% over five years, 32.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the unemployment rate is 4.3%.

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

Population

70,259

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$72,322

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

50.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone59,438 (86.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,913 (4.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,740 (4.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,699 (2.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,482 (2.1%)
  • Asian Alone692 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish2,376
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic402
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)305
  4. 4.Vietnamese130
  5. 5.Other Indo-European126

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

17.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

26.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

6,799

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$39,239

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$42,707

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance6,364
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)3,894
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,339
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services3,095
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)2,720

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations12,586
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations6,322
  3. 3.Service Occupations5,397
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,331
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,958

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 1.77×)2,550
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.38×)672
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.27×)3,393
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.20×)3,988
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.18×)1,692

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$304,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,062/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9994,335 (18.1%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9993,292 (13.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9993,080 (12.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9992,574 (10.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,947 (8.2%)
  • $750,000 to $999,9991,540 (6.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

32.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,413

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone23,902 (78.3%)
  • Worked At Home3,852 (12.6%)
  • Carpooled1,950 (6.4%)
  • Other303 (1.0%)
  • Walked302 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit87 (0.3%)

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.