county

Wilkes County, NC

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

AI Overview

Wilkes County is a rural North Carolina county of 66,186 residents with a relatively older workforce (median age 45.7) and limited educational attainment — only 16.7% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Labor force participation is low at 55.9%, median worker earnings stand at $33,686, and the poverty rate is 16.4%, against a median household income of $51,721. Housing costs are modest, with a median home value of $161,400 and median gross rent of $715/month, though the county has shed 3.6% of its population over the past five years.

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

Population

66,186

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$51,721

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

45.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone57,339 (87.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,403 (3.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race2,391 (3.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,671 (2.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,607 (2.4%)
  • Asian Alone396 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish3,275
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic512
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)163
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)105
  5. 5.Korean94

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,211

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,564

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$27,866

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance6,245
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)4,768
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)4,246
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,360
  5. 5.Construction (Group)2,284

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations8,451
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations6,775
  3. 3.Service Occupations5,467
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations5,043
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,924

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.69×)4,840
  2. 2.Other Services (LQ 1.42×)1,921
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.36×)621
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.30×)4,074
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.19×)2,003

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$161,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$715/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

73.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9992,504 (12.6%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9992,293 (11.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,738 (8.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,643 (8.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,622 (8.1%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9991,499 (7.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

81.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,686

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone22,415 (79.2%)
  • Carpooled2,880 (10.2%)
  • Worked At Home2,566 (9.1%)
  • Walked291 (1.0%)
  • Other81 (0.3%)
  • Public Transit50 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

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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.