county

McDowell County, NC

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

AI Overview

McDowell County is a small western North Carolina county of 44,679 residents with a manufacturing-oriented economy, reflected in a GDP per capita of $45,611 against median worker earnings of $37,823 and a per capita income of $29,555. The labor force is relatively modest in size, with a 53.2% participation rate, and lightly credentialed—only 17.6% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—though 86.1% have a high school diploma. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $168,300 and median gross rent of $741 per month, and the county posted a slight population decline of 1.0% over five years, with a median age of 44.3.

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

Population

44,679

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$57,168

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone39,241 (87.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,730 (3.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,349 (3.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,033 (2.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races762 (1.7%)
  • Asian Alone506 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish2,443
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic178
  3. 3.Vietnamese161
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)156
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island136

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,760

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$45,611

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$29,555

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,986
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)4,463
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,036
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,439
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,191

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations6,120
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations4,900
  3. 3.Service Occupations3,123
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations2,927
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,315

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.42×)4,492
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.50×)447
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.15×)1,261
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.12×)2,268
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.05×)1,351

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$168,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$741/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,832 (13.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,593 (11.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,317 (9.3%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,248 (8.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999935 (6.6%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999834 (5.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

17.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

86.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,823

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone15,896 (83.4%)
  • Carpooled1,633 (8.6%)
  • Worked At Home1,144 (6.0%)
  • Walked199 (1.0%)
  • Other168 (0.9%)
  • Bicycle11 (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.