county

Rowan County, NC

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

AI Overview

Rowan County, NC, is a mid-sized county of roughly 153,000 residents that grew 6.4% over five years, with a manufacturing-oriented workforce where median worker earnings sit at $39,452 against a median household income of $65,725. The labor force participation rate of 60.3% and a 5.9% unemployment rate reflect a moderately tight pool, while just 21.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, pointing to a workforce concentrated in trade and production occupations. Housing costs remain low relative to broader state norms, with a median home value of $216,100 and median gross rent of $990 per month, and a 72.3% homeownership rate underscores the area's relative affordability.

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

Population

153,384

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$65,725

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+6.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone104,854 (70.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone23,658 (15.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race7,391 (4.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone7,006 (4.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races4,878 (3.3%)
  • Asian Alone1,200 (0.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish12,582
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic446
  3. 3.Other Indo-European441
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic326
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)319

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

6.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

8,425

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$38,861

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,675

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance14,849
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)10,068
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)8,593
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services6,987
  5. 5.Construction (Group)6,109

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations23,179
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations13,383
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations13,071
  4. 4.Service Occupations10,497
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations7,971

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.54×)10,338
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.45×)2,251
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.34×)6,237
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.12×)3,552
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.05×)7,689

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$216,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$990/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9996,948 (16.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9996,462 (15.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9994,883 (11.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9993,755 (8.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9993,711 (8.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9993,048 (7.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,452

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone52,076 (78.0%)
  • Carpooled6,813 (10.2%)
  • Worked At Home5,589 (8.4%)
  • Other833 (1.2%)
  • Walked630 (0.9%)
  • Public Transit402 (0.6%)

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 Rowan 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.