county

New Hanover County, NC

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

AI Overview

New Hanover County has a population of 243,333 that grew 3.1% over five years, with an economy generating $65,910 in GDP per capita against median worker earnings of $41,630. The workforce is relatively well-educated, with 44.8% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and a labor force participation rate of 65.0%, though unemployment sits at 4.7%. Housing costs are moderately elevated at a $353,700 median home value and $1,343 monthly median rent, while a median household income of $75,166 and a 12.4% poverty rate reflect a split between higher-earning residents and a meaningful lower-income segment.

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

Population

243,333

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$75,166

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.1% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone180,170 (76.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone25,672 (10.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone9,364 (4.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races8,960 (3.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race7,366 (3.1%)
  • Asian Alone3,250 (1.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish12,040
  2. 2.Other Indo-European1,903
  3. 3.Korean906
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)696
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)612

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

63.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

13,192

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$65,910

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$46,083

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance27,858
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services19,343
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services14,226
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)13,936
  5. 5.Construction (Group)9,753

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations56,911
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations25,927
  3. 3.Service Occupations21,571
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations9,831
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations9,407

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Information (LQ 1.58×)3,536
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.32×)13,847
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.22×)17,975
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.20×)6,722
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.10×)9,081

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$353,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,343/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99914,357 (22.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99911,076 (17.2%)
  • $500,000 to $749,99911,010 (17.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9996,854 (10.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9995,180 (8.0%)
  • $750,000 to $999,9994,155 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

44.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

65.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,630

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone85,900 (70.8%)
  • Worked At Home23,546 (19.4%)
  • Carpooled7,443 (6.1%)
  • Walked1,710 (1.4%)
  • Other1,339 (1.1%)
  • Bicycle746 (0.6%)

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.