county

Madison County, NC

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

AI Overview

Madison County is a small rural county of 21,640 residents with a low unemployment rate of 2.6% and modest median household income of $58,531, suggesting a tight but limited local labor pool—labor force participation stands at just 55.2%. The workforce skews older, with a median age of 44.5, and 31.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher; median worker earnings of $38,883 reflect a relatively low-cost labor market. Housing remains affordable by regional standards, with a median home value of $263,500 and median gross rent of just $764/month, and the county posted modest population growth of 1.1% over five years.

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

Population

21,640

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$58,531

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.1% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone20,036 (91.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races854 (3.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race388 (1.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone239 (1.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone214 (1.0%)
  • Asian Alone107 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish272
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic35
  3. 3.Other Indo-European21
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)19
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island10

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,245

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$20,706

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,738

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,375
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,715
  3. 3.Construction (Group)1,003
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services851
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services713

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,496
  2. 2.Service Occupations2,136
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,578
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,479
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,388

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Construction (LQ 1.74×)1,197
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.54×)726
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.35×)1,458
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.30×)206
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.09×)635

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$263,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$764/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,131 (17.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999663 (10.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999624 (9.7%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999622 (9.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999596 (9.2%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999395 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

31.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,883

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

32.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,366 (76.3%)
  • Worked At Home1,035 (10.7%)
  • Carpooled957 (9.9%)
  • Walked222 (2.3%)
  • Other56 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit14 (0.1%)

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.