Lenoir County, North Carolina Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Lenoir County, North Carolina, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Lenoir County, North Carolina. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Lenoir County, North Carolina. The estimated population of Lenoir County, North Carolina is 55,344 people, with a median age of 42.9.

We can look at the total population in Lenoir County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
55,344
 -1.79% -4.47%
2020
56,350
 -0.72% -
2019
56,756
 -0.82% -
2018
57,227
 -1.22% -
2017
57,934
 - -

Population of Lenoir County, North Carolina by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
48.5%
49.7%
 -2.41%
Black/African American
39.3%
38.7%
 +1.55%
Native
0.1%
0.4%
 -75.00%
Hispanic
8%
7.5%
 +6.67%
Asian
0.8%
0.6%
 +33.33%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
3.2%
3.1%
 +3.23%
Other
0%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Lenoir County, North Carolina by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 42.9 +1.42% 40.2 +1.52% 44.8 -0.44%
2020 42.3 -0.94% 39.6 -1.49% 45 -0.22%
2019 42.7 +1.18% 40.2 +1.01% 45.1 +0.67%
2018 42.2 +0.72% 39.8 +0.25% 44.8 +0.9%
2017 41.9 - 39.7 - 44.4 -

The median age of Lenoir County, North Carolina gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 3,774 -7.51% 3,573 -15.04% 3,495 3,057
10 to 19 3,547 +6.33% 3,443 +0.47% 3,770 3,454
20 to 29 3,415 -8.08% 3,346 -5.31% 3,140 3,171
30 to 39 3,257 -10.73% 3,417 -4.52% 2,913 3,249
40 to 49 3,259 -13.39% 3,391 -6.32% 2,836 3,174
50 to 59 3,996 +3.53% 4,808 -20.39% 4,137 3,891
60 to 69 3,733 -3.25% 3,887 +11.86% 3,610 4,358
70+ 2,720 +4.26% 4,368 -2.4% 2,830 4,259

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Lenoir County, North Carolina is $41,092.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Lenoir County.

  • Under 25
    $27,283.00
  • 25 to 44
    $41,062.00
  • 45 to 64
    $53,402.00
  • 65 and over
    $34,566.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Lenoir County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Lenoir County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Lenoir County, North Carolina is currently $57,931.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

2.23% of households in Lenoir County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Lenoir County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    30.73%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    27.65%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    16.84%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    10.11%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    9.46%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2.98%
  • $200,000 or more
    2.23%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Lenoir County is $25,473.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Lenoir County by the total population of Lenoir County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Lenoir County, North Carolina, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Lenoir County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    6.71%
  • Bachelor's degree
    20.02%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12.87%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    56.07%
  • Less than high school diploma
    4.33%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Lenoir County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Lenoir County over the age of 16 is 44,299.

Of those people, a total of 56.50% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Lenoir County is 51.00%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 2,731 43.60% 20.30%
20 to 24 years 3,107 79.00% 25.00%
25 to 29 years 3,204 76.20% 15.30%
30 to 34 years 3,060 85.30% 13.90%
35 to 44 years 5,878 80.70% 6.80%
45 to 54 years 7,055 76.30% 4.20%
55 to 59 years 4,207 66.30% 4.10%
60 to 64 years 4,115 43.90% 4.50%
65 to 74 years 6,448 22.50% 0.20%
75 years and over 4,494 3.10% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Lenoir County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 23,949 55.70% 4.90%
Black or African American 17,944 56.90% 15.40%
American Indian and Alaska Native 73 34.20% 0.00%
Asian 279 75.60% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 17 0.00% 0.00%
Other 1,163 60.00% 6.30%
Two or more races 874 59.30% 11.80%
Hispanic or Latino 2,800 65.20% 6.30%
Not Hispanic or Latino 22,649 54.80% 4.80%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Lenoir County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Lenoir County is 22,605, with median earnings of $30,557.00.

Women in Lenoir County, North Carolina earning approximately 84.00% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 22,605 $30,557.00
Male 11,626 $33,129.00
Female 10,979 $27,829.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,661 $61,160.00
Business and Financial 652 $53,452.00
Computer and Mathematical 180 $52,188.00
Architecture and Engineering 241 $48,866.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 134 $46,083.00
Community and Social Service 468 $40,909.00
Legal 120 $85,500.00
Educational and Library 958 $34,300.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 290 $9,118.00
Healthcare Practitioners 1,849 $47,014.00
Healthcare Support 1,508 $21,942.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 210 $44,821.00
Law Enforcement 385 $34,154.00
Food Preparation and Serving 693 $14,688.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 1,014 $20,556.00
Personal Care and Service 717 $14,803.00
Sales 1,886 $23,700.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,600 $28,180.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 248 $23,723.00
Construction and Extraction 1,556 $30,948.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 1,134 $32,986.00
Production 2,824 $32,051.00
Transportation and Material Moving 1,164 $31,365.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 1,193 $82,670.00 468 $34,107.00
Business and Financial 296 $63,705.00 356 $43,561.00
Computer and Mathematical 118 $68,629.00 62 $17,500.00
Architecture and Engineering 234 $48,663.00 7 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 64 $52,941.00 70 $42,411.00
Community and Social Service 150 $52,077.00 318 $34,514.00
Legal 37 $0.00 83 $60,268.00
Educational and Library 68 $46,000.00 890 $34,067.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 47 $8,934.00 243 $24,583.00
Healthcare Practitioners 238 $58,623.00 1,611 $46,408.00
Healthcare Support 162 $26,176.00 1,346 $21,642.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 144 $46,146.00 66 $13,203.00
Law Enforcement 332 $34,632.00 53 $29,044.00
Food Preparation and Serving 239 $13,237.00 454 $15,804.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 525 $27,649.00 489 $10,871.00
Personal Care and Service 254 $14,500.00 463 $15,551.00
Sales 1,006 $41,622.00 880 $15,309.00
Office and Administrative Support 314 $40,546.00 1,286 $27,568.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 200 $22,448.00 48 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 1,546 $30,959.00 10 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 1,088 $32,346.00 46 $90,200.00
Production 1,644 $37,024.00 1,180 $28,717.00
Transportation and Material Moving 841 $32,316.00 323 $29,477.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 22,767 households in Lenoir County, with an average household size of 2.38 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 13,687 families in Lenoir County with an average family size of 3.07 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 8,367 919 4,401 9,080
Average Household Size 3.1 3.02 3.34 1.19
Total Families 8,367 919 4,401 0
Average Household Size 3.09 2.55 3.14 0

Poverty

Of the 13,687 families in Lenoir County, 18.80% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Lenoir County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 26,696 housing units in Lenoir County, North Carolina.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 22,767 85.28%
Vacant 3,929 14.72%

32.68% of the total 26,696 housing units in Lenoir County are rental units. This is approximately 8,723 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 13,133 are occupied by the owner - or 49.19% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Lenoir County is $725.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Lenoir County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    911
  • Less than $500
    1,694
  • $500 to $999
    5,306
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    1,573
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    70
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    48
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    32

Property Value

The median value of a property in Lenoir County is $91,600.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Lenoir County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    2,722
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    4,706
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    2,756
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,329
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,028
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    415
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    163
  • $1,000,000 or more
    14

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Lenoir County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Lenoir County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    1,711
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,663
  • 1950 to 1959
    3,269
  • 1960 to 1969
    3,326
  • 1970 to 1979
    4,746
  • 1980 to 1989
    3,597
  • 1990 to 1999
    4,980
  • 2000 to 2009
    2,326
  • 2010 to 2013
    1,078
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Lenoir County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    2,105
  • 1 vehicle available
    8,348
  • 2 vehicles available
    6,942
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    5,372

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Lenoir County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Lenoir County that commute to work in a particular way.

23.4 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Lenoir County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    644
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    2,535
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    4,483
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    3,956
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    3,100
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    926
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,757
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    600
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    446
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    1,367
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    954
  • 90 or more minutes
    728

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Lenoir County, North Carolina in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Lenoir County, North Carolina

We have data for 14 places in Lenoir County, North Carolina. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.