Official Federal Data
Cumberland County, North Carolina
FIPS 37051 · Fayetteville, NC · Population 338,545
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$61,291 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.8% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$24.4B ▲
GDP
27.8% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$61,291 ▲
Per Capita
$32,657 ▲
Mean Household
$80,209 ▲
Poverty Rate
16.7% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Cumberland County$61,291
North Carolina$72,388
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 25.1%
18-34 · 29.3%
35-54 · 22.4%
55-64 · 10.2%
65+ · 13%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +3.3 pts
27.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 7.9 pts
10.1%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 4.0 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
338,545
Population
169,415
Labor Force
Employed
125,304
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.8% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.7%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Elevated poverty: At 16.7%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 7.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
- Young population: Median age of 32 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 16,035 workers (20.4% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $35,851.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $24.4B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $86,277 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $21,249, a 4.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Retail Trade Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
7,006
Cluster Employment
1.72x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Warehousing and Storage
2.21x 3,305
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
1.72x 2,762
General Merchandise Retailers
1.67x 4,244
Repair and Maintenance
1.63x 1,866
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.07x
Machinery Manufacturing
60 employed
0.11x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
229 employed
0.13x
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
147 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Warehousing and Storage concentrates at 2.21x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 4 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$199,200 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,222 ▲
Rent/Mo
55% ▲
Owner-Occ
9.8% ▼
Vacancy
3.3x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,090/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,113/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,251/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,667/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,068/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,532/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.3x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,532/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
209,486 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.7%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
63.8%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
27.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
92.9% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
47,592/yr
10,279/yr
9,997/yr
8,666/yr
6,984/yr
6,278/yr
5,388/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
16.5%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
36.8%
Service
18.9%
Sales & Office
21.7%
Construction / Maint.
7.2%
Production / Transport
15.4%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 125,304 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 21.6-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 28,942 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Cumberland County shows emerging potential for warehousing and storage attraction, with a 2.21x concentration and 3,305 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across warehousing and storage, motor vehicle and parts dealers, and general merchandise retailers creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Cumberland County, North Carolina, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Cumberland County, North Carolina?
338,545 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Cumberland County, North Carolina?
$61,291 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Cumberland County, North Carolina?
4.8% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Cumberland County, North Carolina?
$24.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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