county

Henderson County, NC

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

AI Overview

Henderson County is a mid-sized county of roughly 121,000 residents with a median age of 47.5 years and a labor force participation rate of 57.2%, reflecting its older demographic profile. About 35.1% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, unemployment sits at 3.3%, and median worker earnings of $36,252 run below the median household income of $68,187, suggesting a reliance on multi-earner households. The county has grown 3.3% over five years, homeownership stands at 75.0%, and a median home value of $317,800 paired with median gross rent of $1,120/month positions it at a moderate cost level within western North Carolina.

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

Population

120,771

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$68,187

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.3% since 2018

Henderson County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone96,573 (81.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone6,730 (5.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race5,365 (4.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone3,434 (2.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races3,172 (2.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone1,524 (1.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish10,480
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic570
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island439
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic362
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)214

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

26.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

8.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

7,811

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$39,482

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$38,976

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance12,634
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)7,084
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)6,438
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services5,359
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services5,340

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations20,838
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations10,561
  3. 3.Service Occupations10,372
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations7,362
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations5,515

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Construction (LQ 1.31×)4,907
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.30×)6,146
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.24×)7,309
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.17×)6,302
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.16×)2,956

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$317,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,120/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9997,810 (20.4%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9995,926 (15.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9995,885 (15.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9993,998 (10.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9993,788 (9.9%)
  • $750,000 to $999,9992,244 (5.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

35.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

57.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,252

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone40,906 (76.4%)
  • Carpooled6,049 (11.3%)
  • Worked At Home5,557 (10.4%)
  • Other598 (1.1%)
  • Walked351 (0.7%)
  • Bicycle56 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Henderson County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

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