Official Federal Data
Gaston County, North Carolina
FIPS 37071 · Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC · Population 234,881
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$67,478 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$11.3B ▲
GDP
26.5% ▲
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
$67,478 ▲
Per Capita
$37,058 ▲
Mean Household
$91,074 ▲
Poverty Rate
13.5% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Gaston County$67,478
North Carolina$72,388
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 22.4%
18-34 · 21.6%
35-54 · 26.2%
55-64 · 13.3%
65+ · 16.5%
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+
88.3%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 1.3 pts
26.5%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 9.2 pts
8.4%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 5.7 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
234,881
Population
117,898
Labor Force
Employed
112,089
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 1 min above national avg
27.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
12.4%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 9.2 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 14,303 workers (23.6% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $64,455.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $11.3B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $87,356 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $23,142, a 3.8x 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
Manufacturing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
10,832
Cluster Employment
45.06x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Textile Mills
45.06x 1,916
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
4.55x 4,136
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
2.98x 2,223
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
2.84x 909
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
1.84x 1,964
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
1.82x 318
Machinery Manufacturing
1.72x 981
General Merchandise Retailers
1.70x 2,884
Waste Management and Remediation Services
1.67x 452
Wood Product Manufacturing
1.66x 349
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.19x
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
111 employed
0.21x
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
111 employed
0.24x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
330 employed
0.33x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,832 employed
0.36x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
171 employed
0.37x
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
64 employed
0.40x
Warehousing and Storage
394 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Textile Mills concentrates at 45.06x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 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
$266,000 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,153 ▲
Rent/Mo
66.8% ▲
Owner-Occ
8% ▼
Vacancy
3.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,469/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,538/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,686/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,076/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,637/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,687/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.9x 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 (~$1,687/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
143,418 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min above national avg
27.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
12.4%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
80.7%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
26.5% ▲
HS Diploma+
88.3% ▲
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
21.7%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
36.5%
Service
15.1%
Sales & Office
20.6%
Construction / Maint.
9.8%
Production / Transport
17.9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 112,089 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- 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
Gaston County shows strong potential for textile mills attraction, with a 45.06x concentration and 1,916 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across textile mills, transportation equipment manufacturing, and fabricated metal product manufacturing 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 Gaston County, North Carolina, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Gaston County, North Carolina?
234,881 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Gaston County, North Carolina?
$67,478 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Gaston County, North Carolina?
4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Gaston County, North Carolina?
$11.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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