county

Johnston County, NC

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

AI Overview

Johnston County has a population of 249,794 that grew 18.5% over five years, reflecting its role as a fast-expanding county likely tied to proximity to the Raleigh metro, with a labor force participation rate of 65.9% and an unemployment rate of 3.9%. The workforce skews toward moderate education attainment—27.6% hold a bachelor's degree or higher and 89.5% have a high school diploma—with median worker earnings of $46,100 and a per capita income of $36,673. Housing costs remain relatively accessible, with a median home value of $267,600, median gross rent of $1,007 per month, and a homeownership rate of 77.1%, though a mean commute of 32.5 minutes signals that many residents work outside the county.

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

Population

249,794

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$83,384

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

38.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+18.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone150,425 (64.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone39,604 (16.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone20,118 (8.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race11,373 (4.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races8,340 (3.6%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone2,293 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish28,266
  2. 2.Arabic760
  3. 3.Other Indo-European746
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic547
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)488

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

61.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

13.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

8.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

13,032

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,517

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,673

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance22,165
  2. 2.Construction (Group)14,356
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services13,570
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)12,799
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)12,238

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations46,645
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations22,954
  3. 3.Service Occupations17,612
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations14,835
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations14,151

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Construction (LQ 1.77×)13,643
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.25×)6,572
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.14×)12,640
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.11×)2,837
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.07×)12,921

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$267,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,007/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99917,467 (26.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9998,226 (12.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9998,074 (12.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9997,396 (11.4%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9996,226 (9.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9993,455 (5.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

27.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

65.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$46,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

32.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone86,895 (75.8%)
  • Worked At Home16,874 (14.7%)
  • Carpooled9,101 (7.9%)
  • Walked828 (0.7%)
  • Other503 (0.4%)
  • Motorcycle133 (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 Johnston 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.