Durham, NC

Census Place

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2024 Population
291,467
US Senator
Thom Tillis
Republican Party
US Senator
Ted Budd
Republican Party
2024 Median Age
35.1
0.862% 1-year increase
2024 Poverty Rate
11.7%
4.27% 1-year decrease
2024 Median Household Income
$81,619
3.01% 1-year growth
2024 Median Property Value
$392,800
10.6% 1-year growth
2024 Employed Population
159,046
1.81% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Durham, NC reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

90.4% of the residents in Durham, NC are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Durham, NC are Duke University (8,043 degrees awarded in 2023), North Carolina Central University (1,641 degrees), and Durham Technical Community College (1,331 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Durham, NC was $392,800, and the homeownership rate was 52.3%.

Most people in Durham, NC drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 22.3 minutes. The average car ownership in Durham, NC was 2 cars per household.

About the photo: Durham, NC
Photo by Geoff Alexander
United StatesNorth CarolinaDurham County, NCWake County, NCDurham-Chapel Hill, NCRaleigh, NC

Population & Diversity

Durham, NC is home to a population of 291k people, from which 90.4% are citizens. As of 2024, 15.4% of Durham, NC residents were born outside of the country (44.8k people).

In 2024, there were 1.21 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (117k people) in Durham, NC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 96.8k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 22.6k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

90.4%
2024 Citizenship
90.4%
2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 90.4% of Durham, NC residents were US citizens, which is lower than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Durham, NC was 90.4%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Durham, NC compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Durham, NC
  1. White (Non-Hispanic)
    117k ± 1.8k
  2. Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
    96.8k ± 2.03k
  3. Other (Hispanic)
    22.6k ± 1.67k
15.2%
Hispanic Population
44.3k people

In 2024, there were 1.21 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (117k people) in Durham, NC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 96.8k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 22.6k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

15.2% of the people in Durham, NC are hispanic (44.3k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Durham, NC as a share of the total population.

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Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for North Carolina.
Most Common Origin
  1. Mexico
    224,963 ± 11,520 people
  2. India
    83,219 ± 7,055 people
  3. Honduras
    48,247 ± 5,380 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of North Carolina was Mexico, the natal country of 224,963 North Carolina residents, followed by India with 83,219 and Honduras with 48,247.

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Foreign-Born Population

15.4%
2024 Foreign-Born Population
44.8k people
15.3%
2023 Foreign-Born Population
44k people

As of 2024, 15.4% of Durham, NC residents (44.8k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Durham, NC was 15.3%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Durham, NC compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period
  1. Gulf War (2001-)
    3,057 ± 494
  2. Vietnam
    2,699 ± 376
  3. Gulf War (1990s)
    2,341 ± 519

Durham, NC has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.13 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Durham, NC.

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Economy

The economy of Durham, NC employs 159k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Durham, NC were Health Care & Social Assistance (28,652 people), Educational Services (25,913 people), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (21,364 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($97,007), Finance & Insurance ($91,918), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($90,755).

Employment

Occupations

159k
2024 Value
± 3,888
1.81%
1 Year growth
± 3.4%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Durham, NC grew at a rate of 1.81%, from 156k employees to 159k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Durham, NC, are Management Occupations (20,721 people), Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (13,910 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (13,474 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Durham, NC.

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Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for North Carolina.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in North Carolina (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

159k
2024 Value
± 3,888
1.81%
1 Year growth
± 3.4%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Durham, NC grew at a rate of 1.81%, from 156k employees to 159k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Durham, NC, are Health Care & Social Assistance (28,652 people), Educational Services (25,913 people), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (21,364 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Durham, NC, though some of these residents may live in Durham, NC and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

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Median Earnings by Industry

$58,972
Median earning men ± $2,636
$51,748
Median earning women ± $2,030

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($92,340), Information ($92,031), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($83,420).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($75,278), Wholesale Trade ($75,265), and Information ($70,224).

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Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for North Carolina.
Y-Axis
3.04%
Year-over-year growth
Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 4.86M people employed in North Carolina. This represents a 3.04% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 10.9%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in North Carolina.

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Education

In 2023, universities in Durham, NC awarded 11,160 degrees. The student population of Durham, NC in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 11,775 male students and 17,907 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Durham, NC are White (3,626 and 42.5%), Black or African American (2,059 and 24.2%), Asian (1,124 and 13.2%), and Hispanic or Latino (961 and 11.3%).

The largest universities in Durham, NC by number of degrees awarded are Duke University (8,043 and 72.1%), North Carolina Central University (1,641 and 14.7%), and Durham Technical Community College (1,331 and 11.9%).

The most popular majors in Durham, NC are Other Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods (1,016 and 9.1%), Computer Science (475 and 4.26%), and General Business Administration & Management (452 and 4.05%).

The median tuition costs in Durham, NC are $42,005 for private four year colleges, and $3,728 and $16,764 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University
Measure

In 2023 in Durham, NC, the percentage of applicants admitted was 26.4%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 20.1%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 29,682 (39.7% men and 60.3% women).

The line chart  shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

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Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 29,682 students enrolled in Durham, NC, 39.7% men and 60.3% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in Black or African American with 8,708 records, of which 70.2% were women and 29.8% men.

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Completions

Concentrations

Most Common
  1. Other Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods
    999 degrees awarded
  2. Engineering & Industrial Management
    266 degrees awarded
  3. General Business Administration & Management
    253 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Masters Degree recipients in Durham, NC was Other Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods with 999 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Masters Degree from schools in Durham, NC according to their major.

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Universities

Gender
Race
Largest Universities by degrees awarded
  1. Duke University
    8,043 degrees awarded
  2. North Carolina Central University
    1,641 degrees awarded
  3. Durham Technical Community College
    1,331 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Duke University with 8,043 degrees awarded.

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Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 4,702 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Durham, NC, which is 0.728 times less than the 6,458 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 3,626 degrees mean that there were 1.76 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 2,059 degrees awarded.

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Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

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Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($42,005) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($2,814) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,500) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

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Housing & Living

The median property value in Durham, NC was $392,800 in 2024, which is 1.18 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $355,300 to $392,800, a 10.6% increase. The homeownership rate in Durham, NC is 52.3%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Durham, NC have an average commute time of 22.3 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Durham, NC is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$392,800
Median Property Value 2024
±$6,855
$66,203
Median Property Taxes
±$2,050

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Durham, NC the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Durham, NC compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

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Rent vs Own

52.3%
Homeownership
2024
67.5%
Homeowners with Mortgage
2024

In 2024, 52.3% of the housing units in Durham, NC were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 51.8%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Durham, NC compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

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Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.
$81,619
Median Household Income
± $2,203
127k
Number of Households
± 3,339

In 2024, the median household income of the 127k households in Durham, NC grew to $81,619 from the previous year's value of $79,234.

The following chart displays the households in Durham, NC distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $200k+ range.

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Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Durham, NC is from North Carolina.
0.467
2023 Wage GINI in North Carolina
0.47
2022 Wage GINI in North Carolina

In 2023, the income inequality in North Carolina was 0.467 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.639% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for North Carolina was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in North Carolina in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in North Carolina across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

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Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024
  1. Drove Alone (62.2%)
  2. Worked At Home (23.3%)
  3. Carpooled (8.25%)

In 2024, 62.2% of workers in Durham, NC drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (23.3%) and those who carpooled to work (8.25%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

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Commute Time

22.3 minutes
Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Durham, NC have a shorter commute time (22.3 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.39% of the workforce in Durham, NC have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Durham, NC compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Car Ownership

2 cars
Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Durham, NC distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Durham, NC have 2 cars.

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Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

11.7% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Durham, NC (32.8k out of 281k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 18 - 24 and then Males 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Durham, NC is Black, followed by Hispanic and White.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

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Health

89.3% of the population of Durham, NC has health coverage, with 53.5% on employee plans, 13.3% on Medicaid, 9.87% on Medicare, 11.5% on non-group plans, and 1.05% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in North Carolina see 1,413 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,413 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1634 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 299 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 47% were men and 53% were women.

Coverage

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 21.9% under 18 years, 28.2% between 18 and 34 years, 36.6% between 35 and 64 years, and 13.3% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 47% were men and 53% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

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Uninsured People

10.7%
Uninsured
53.5%
Employer Coverage
13.3%
Medicaid
9.87%
Medicare
11.5%
Non-Group
1.05%
Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Durham, NC declined by 7.54% from 11.6% to 10.7%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Durham, NC changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

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