county

Wilson County, NC

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

AI Overview

Wilson County, NC has a population of 79,958 and has contracted 3.3% over five years, with a 6.0% unemployment rate and a labor force participation rate of 57.2% signaling slack in the local labor market. The workforce skews toward lower-cost labor, with median worker earnings of $37,824 and only 20.3% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though 84.4% have a high school diploma. Housing remains affordable at a $171,800 median home value and $915/month median rent, and a 21.0% poverty rate alongside a $56,423 median household income reflects a notable income gap within the county.

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

Population

79,958

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$56,423

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.3% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone36,124 (45.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone30,773 (38.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone6,769 (8.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race2,894 (3.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,601 (2.0%)
  • Asian Alone910 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish7,504
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island343
  3. 3.Arabic221
  4. 4.Vietnamese157
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic61

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

6.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,690

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$48,728

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,057

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

21.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance7,610
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)5,777
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)3,973
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,030
  5. 5.Construction (Group)2,703

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations12,058
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations6,846
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations6,675
  4. 4.Service Occupations5,412
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,324

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.77×)5,892
  2. 2.Other Services (LQ 1.16×)1,836
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.16×)2,683
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.10×)852
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.06×)564

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$171,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$915/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

60.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9992,681 (13.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9992,143 (10.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,918 (9.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,819 (9.2%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,378 (6.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9991,355 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

84.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

57.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,824

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone27,107 (79.5%)
  • Carpooled3,370 (9.9%)
  • Worked At Home2,619 (7.7%)
  • Walked568 (1.7%)
  • Other254 (0.7%)
  • Taxi72 (0.2%)

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.