county

Union County, NC

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

AI Overview

Union County is a largely residential county of 263,386 people situated within the Charlotte metro area, with a high homeownership rate of 81.8% and a median household income of $102,900 pointing to an affluent suburban base rather than a concentrated industrial identity. The labor force participation rate stands at 67.6%, with 39.0% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, a 4.2% unemployment rate, and median worker earnings of $47,094. The county grew 8.1% over five years, maintains a relatively low poverty rate of 7.7%, and a median home value of $374,400 alongside median gross rent of $1,390/month reflects above-average housing costs relative to surrounding rural counties in the region.

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

Population

263,386

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$102,900

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+8.1% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone173,717 (69.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone28,009 (11.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone15,550 (6.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race11,928 (4.8%)
  • Asian Alone11,323 (4.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races9,038 (3.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish23,669
  2. 2.Other Indo-European5,463
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic2,883
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island2,583
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)1,021

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

26.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

13.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

12.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

11,834

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,061

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$45,355

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance24,018
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services15,472
  3. 3.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing14,765
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)14,542
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)14,018

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations59,712
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations25,061
  3. 3.Service Occupations16,217
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations14,181
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations11,870

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.67×)13,693
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.28×)10,910
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.25×)3,559
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.15×)14,120
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.07×)14,409

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$374,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,390/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

81.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,99914,393 (20.9%)
  • $300,000 to $399,99913,357 (19.4%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99911,384 (16.6%)
  • $750,000 to $999,9995,807 (8.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9995,222 (7.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9995,064 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

39.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

67.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$47,094

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

2.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone86,998 (69.6%)
  • Worked At Home24,341 (19.5%)
  • Carpooled11,123 (8.9%)
  • Other1,044 (0.8%)
  • Walked925 (0.7%)
  • Public Transit197 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

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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.