county

Lee County, NC

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

AI Overview

Lee County, NC has a population of 68,537 that grew 7.4% over five years, with a labor force participation rate of 60.6% and an unemployment rate of 4.0%. The workforce skews toward lower formal education credentials—21.6% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—with median worker earnings of $37,533 and a per capita income of $31,394, keeping labor costs relatively contained. Housing costs are modest, with a median home value of $213,800 and median gross rent of $962 per month, and a poverty rate of 15.5% signals ongoing economic pressure within the county.

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

Population

68,537

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$65,387

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+7.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone41,846 (63.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone11,685 (17.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race4,430 (6.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone4,382 (6.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,731 (4.1%)
  • Asian Alone579 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish10,641
  2. 2.Vietnamese188
  3. 3.Arabic171
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic147
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)145

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

9.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,590

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$43,208

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,394

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)5,620
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance5,326
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)3,225
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,026
  5. 5.Construction (Group)2,967

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations9,929
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations6,256
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations5,642
  4. 4.Service Occupations5,017
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,371

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.99×)5,811
  2. 2.Other Services (LQ 1.39×)1,919
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.34×)2,732
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.04×)2,688
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 0.96×)3,057

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$213,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$962/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

67.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9992,905 (17.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9992,617 (15.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9992,149 (12.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,316 (7.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,209 (7.1%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,089 (6.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

85.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,533

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone24,088 (80.2%)
  • Carpooled2,883 (9.6%)
  • Worked At Home1,998 (6.7%)
  • Walked618 (2.1%)
  • Other238 (0.8%)
  • Taxi115 (0.4%)

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.