county

Wayne County, NC

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

AI Overview

Wayne County, NC has a population of 120,338 and a labor force participation rate of 60.7%, with median worker earnings of $45,007 and only 21.3% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $162,700 and median gross rent of $932/month, while the unemployment rate sits at 5.4% and the poverty rate at 16.9%. The county has seen a population decline of 5.2% over five years, and per capita GDP of $42,167 exceeds the per capita income of $31,216, suggesting output concentrated outside resident earnings. --- *Self-correction: I used $45,007 for median worker earnings but the data says $36,007. Let me rewrite.* --- Wayne County, NC has a population of 120,338 and a labor force participation rate

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

Population

120,338

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$59,733

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

37.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-5.2% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone60,942 (51.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone35,324 (29.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race12,620 (10.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races4,902 (4.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone3,212 (2.7%)
  • Asian Alone1,430 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish12,579
  2. 2.Other Indo-European728
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)437
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic326
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island294

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

7.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

9,996

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$42,167

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,216

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance11,742
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)6,981
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)6,579
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services4,508
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services4,376

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations16,335
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations10,025
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations9,479
  4. 4.Service Occupations9,055
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations6,226

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.60×)1,274
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.43×)7,118
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.26×)2,980
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.25×)6,782
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.24×)1,421

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$162,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$932/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9993,982 (13.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9993,412 (11.7%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9993,114 (10.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9992,608 (8.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9992,065 (7.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9992,061 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

86.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,007

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone43,405 (81.3%)
  • Carpooled6,028 (11.3%)
  • Worked At Home2,869 (5.4%)
  • Other391 (0.7%)
  • Walked378 (0.7%)
  • Public Transit161 (0.3%)

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.