county

Gates County, NC

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

AI Overview

Gates County is a small, rural North Carolina county of 10,437 residents with a high homeownership rate of 82.3% and low housing costs — median home values of $163,900 and gross rent of $940/month. The workforce is limited in size, with labor force participation at just 56.2%, a 9.0% unemployment rate, and only 10.8% of adults holding a bachelor's degree, though 89.6% have a high school diploma and median worker earnings stand at $42,640. The county has shed 9.7% of its population over five years, carries a GDP per capita of $17,094, and a mean commute of 41.7 minutes suggests most workers travel well outside the county for employment.

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

Population

10,437

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$66,333

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-9.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone6,569 (63.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone3,220 (31.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race253 (2.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races219 (2.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone59 (0.6%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone56 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish284
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic61
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)25
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)24

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

900

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$17,094

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,342

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

9.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance870
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)650
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)553
  4. 4.Construction (Group)474
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services418

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Sales & Office Occupations1,090
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,076
  3. 3.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations908
  4. 4.Service Occupations788
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations611

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.14×)150
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.81×)376
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.43×)435
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.37×)596
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.25×)126

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$163,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$940/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999451 (13.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999423 (12.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999348 (10.3%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999340 (10.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999335 (9.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999230 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

10.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$42,640

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

41.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,717 (83.6%)
  • Carpooled460 (10.3%)
  • Worked At Home198 (4.5%)
  • Other57 (1.3%)
  • Walked16 (0.4%)
  • 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.