Official Federal Data
New Hanover County, North Carolina
FIPS 37129 · Wilmington, NC · Population 235,229
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$75,166 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.5% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$21B ▲
GDP
45.4% ▲
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
$75,166 ▲
Per Capita
$48,592 ▲
Mean Household
$107,828 ▲
Poverty Rate
12.3% ▼
Median Income Comparison
New Hanover County$75,166
North Carolina$72,388
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 17.9%
18-34 · 25.4%
35-54 · 24.8%
55-64 · 12.9%
65+ · 19%
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+
94%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.4 pts
45.4%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +9.7 pts
16%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +1.9 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
235,229
Population
130,005
Labor Force
Employed
123,647
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.5% ▲ +0.1 pts YoY
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
19.4%
Key Takeaways
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 9.7 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 23,631 workers (23.4% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $72,213.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $21B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $121,676 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $26,331, a 4.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.
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
Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
7,851
Cluster Employment
1.67x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
3.39x 1,188
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets
2.54x 47
Rental and Leasing Services
1.79x 865
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
1.77x 1,340
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
1.73x 1,734
Support Activities for Transportation
1.73x 1,196
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
1.68x 43
Hospitals
1.67x 7,851
Construction of Buildings
1.62x 2,538
Furniture, Home Furnishings, and Other Retailers
1.60x 1,044
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.06x
Warehousing and Storage
100 employed
0.12x
Food Manufacturing
174 employed
0.14x
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
116 employed
0.17x
Crop Production
78 employed
0.21x
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
100 employed
0.24x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
530 employed
0.31x
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
160 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing concentrates at 3.39x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- 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
$387,800 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,417 ▲
Rent/Mo
61.4% ▲
Owner-Occ
12.7% ▼
Vacancy
5.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,144/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,513/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,659/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,178/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,319/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,879/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 5.2x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Elevated vacancy: 12.7% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,879/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
148,297 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
19.4%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
84.1%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
45.4% ▲
HS Diploma+
94% ▲
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
20.4%
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
46%
Service
17.4%
Sales & Office
21%
Construction / Maint.
7.6%
Production / Transport
8%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 123,647 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 20.6-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
New Hanover County shows meaningful potential for nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing attraction, with a 3.39x concentration and 1,188 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets, and rental and leasing services 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
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
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 New Hanover County, North Carolina, from federal data sources.
What is the population of New Hanover County, North Carolina?
235,229 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in New Hanover County, North Carolina?
$75,166 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in New Hanover County, North Carolina?
3.5% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of New Hanover County, North Carolina?
$21B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
New Hanover County, NC: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →