Official Federal Data
Orange County, North Carolina
FIPS 37135 · Durham-Chapel Hill, NC · Population 149,678
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$90,089 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.3% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$13.1B ▲
GDP
61.8% ▲
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
$90,089 ▲
Per Capita
$52,900 ▲
Mean Household
$136,307 ▲
Poverty Rate
12.5% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Orange County$90,089
North Carolina$72,388
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 18.9%
18-34 · 29.8%
35-54 · 23.6%
55-64 · 11.7%
65+ · 16.1%
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+
93.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +3.8 pts
61.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +26.1 pts
34.6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +20.5 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
149,678
Population
77,546
Labor Force
Employed
74,684
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.3% ▲ +0.1 pts YoY
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
26.8%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 26.1 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 7,041 workers (20.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $70,444.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $13.1B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $201,740 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $27,444, a 7.4x 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
1,829
Cluster Employment
2.42x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Private Households
3.18x 333
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
2.42x 1,829
Web Search Portals, Libraries, and Archives
1.68x 151
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.16x
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
80 employed
0.19x
Truck Transportation
141 employed
0.21x
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
238 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Private Households concentrates at 3.18x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 3 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
$459,500 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,496 ▲
Rent/Mo
63.8% ▲
Owner-Occ
8.8% ▲
Vacancy
5.1x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,417/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,507/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,711/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,117/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,527/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,252/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 5.1x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,252/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
97,346 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
26.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
83.7%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
61.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
93.4% ▲
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
18%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
60.7%
Service
14.2%
Sales & Office
13.4%
Construction / Maint.
6%
Production / Transport
5.7%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 74,684 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
Orange County shows meaningful potential for private households attraction, with a 3.18x concentration and 333 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across private households, sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and misc. retailers, and web search portals, libraries, and archives 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 Orange County, North Carolina, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Orange County, North Carolina?
149,678 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Orange County, North Carolina?
$90,089 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Orange County, North Carolina?
3.3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Orange County, North Carolina?
$13.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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