county

Martin County, NC

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

AI Overview

Martin County is a small rural county with a population of 21,773 that has contracted by 5.6% over five years, reflecting broader demographic pressures common to eastern North Carolina. The labor force participation rate is low at 55.8%, unemployment sits at 7.0%, and only 15.1% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, pointing to a workforce that skews toward lower-credentialed, manual, or service occupations. Housing costs are notably low—median home value of $109,900 and median gross rent of $729/month—while a poverty rate of 19.6% and median household income of $48,578 indicate constrained household economics across the county.

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

Population

21,773

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$48,578

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

46.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-5.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone11,137 (51.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone8,723 (40.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race713 (3.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races559 (2.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone313 (1.4%)
  • Asian Alone120 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish675
  2. 2.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)68
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)14
  4. 4.Other Indo-European14
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)7

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

25.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,023

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$28,655

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$27,007

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,743
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,657
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,016
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)729
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)677

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,102
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,932
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,813
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,777
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations826

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.60×)384
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.55×)1,427
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.44×)631
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.33×)2,874
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.28×)1,038

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$109,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$729/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

66.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999930 (14.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999481 (7.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999480 (7.6%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999407 (6.4%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999387 (6.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999380 (6.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

83.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$32,624

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,024 (75.9%)
  • Carpooled1,306 (14.1%)
  • Worked At Home508 (5.5%)
  • Walked285 (3.1%)
  • Other131 (1.4%)
  • Public Transit1 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Martin County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.