county

Mitchell County, NC

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

AI Overview

Mitchell County is a small rural county of 14,973 residents with a notably older median age of 48.0 years and a relatively modest labor force participation rate of 56.2%, reflecting its demographic profile. The workforce of roughly 8,400 active participants skews toward lower formal credentialing, with 23.1% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, while median worker earnings stand at $38,020 against a GDP per capita of $41,223. Housing costs remain low—median home value of $202,100 and median gross rent of $744/month—though a 6.5% unemployment rate and slight population decline of 0.4% over five years signal ongoing labor market softness.

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

Population

14,973

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$57,602

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

48.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone13,678 (91.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race408 (2.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone371 (2.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races283 (1.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone139 (0.9%)
  • Asian Alone71 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish410
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic68
  3. 3.Other Indo-European50
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)30
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)26

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

17.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

25.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

946

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$41,223

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,713

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,983
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)906
  3. 3.Public Administration (Group)528
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services524
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)519

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,530
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,188
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,093
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations965
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations912

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.31×)456
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.53×)479
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.34×)884
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.33×)2,059
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.21×)377

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$202,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$744/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999807 (16.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999782 (15.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999555 (11.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999477 (9.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999416 (8.3%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999343 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,020

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,107 (79.0%)
  • Carpooled696 (10.8%)
  • Worked At Home466 (7.2%)
  • Walked107 (1.7%)
  • Other71 (1.1%)
  • Public Transit18 (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.