Durham County, NC

County

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2023 Population

329,405

1.32% 1-year growth

US Senator

Thom Tillis

Republican Party

US Senator

Ted Budd

Republican Party

2023 Median Age

35.8

0% 1-year change

2023 Poverty Rate

12%

2.13% 1-year decrease

2023 Median Household Income

$79,501

6.1% 1-year growth

2023 Median Property Value

$351,700

13% 1-year growth

2023 Employed Population

173,822

1.26% 1-year growth

About

In 2023, Durham County, NC had a population of 329k people with a median age of 35.8 and a median household income of $79,501. Between 2022 and 2023 the population of Durham County, NC grew from 325,101 to 329,405, a 1.32% increase and its median household income grew from $74,927 to $79,501, a 6.1% increase.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Durham County, NC are White (Non-Hispanic) (41.9%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (32.8%), Other (Hispanic) (6.75%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (5.15%), and Two+ (Hispanic) (4.39%).

None of the households in Durham County, 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.

90.5% of the residents in Durham County, NC are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Durham County, 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 2023, the median property value in Durham County, NC was $351,700, and the homeownership rate was 55%.

Most people in Durham County, NC drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 22.9 minutes. The average car ownership in Durham County, NC was 2 cars per household.

Durham County, NC borders Chatham County, NC, Granville County, NC, Orange County, NC, Person County, NC, and Wake County, NC.

About the photo: Durham, NC

Photo by Geoff Alexander

United States North Carolina Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

Population & Diversity

Durham County, NC is home to a population of 329k people, from which 90.5% are citizens. As of 2023, 15.1% of Durham County, NC residents were born outside of the country (49.8k people).

In 2023, there were 1.28 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (138k people) in Durham County, NC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 108k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 22.2k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

90.5%

2023 Citizenship

91%

2022 Citizenship

As of 2023, 90.5% of Durham County, NC residents were US citizens, which is lower than the national average of 93.4%. In 2022, the percentage of US citizens in Durham County, NC was 91%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Durham County, NC

White (Non-Hispanic)
138k ± 601
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
108k ± 1.21k
Other (Hispanic)
22.2k ± 1.92k

15.3%

Hispanic Population

50.3k people

15.3% of the people in Durham County, NC are hispanic (50.3k people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in Durham County, NC as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for North Carolina.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
214,508 ± 11,254 people
India
79,868 ± 6,912 people
Honduras
39,759 ± 4,886 people

In 2022, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of North Carolina was Mexico, the natal country of 214,508 North Carolina residents, followed by India with 79,868 and Honduras with 39,759.

Foreign-Born Population

15.1%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

49.8k people

14.4%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

46.8k people

As of 2023, 15.1% of Durham County, NC residents (49.8k people) were born outside of the United States, which is higher than the national average of 13.8%. In 2022, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Durham County, NC was 14.4%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
3,793 ± 634
Vietnam
3,655 ± 474
Gulf War (1990s)
2,533 ± 470

Durham County, NC has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.04 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Durham County, NC employs 174k people. The largest industries in Durham County, NC are Health Care & Social Assistance (30,305 people), Educational Services (28,190 people), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (21,945 people), and the highest paying industries are Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($94,258), Finance & Insurance ($89,203), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($88,456).

Males in North Carolina have an average income that is 1.31 times higher than the average income of females, which is $57,464. The income inequality in North Carolina (measured using the Gini index) is 0.47, which is lower than than the national average.

Employment

Occupations

174k

2023 Value

± 4,024

1.26%

1 Year growth

± 3.21%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Durham County, NC grew at a rate of 1.26%, from 172k employees to 174k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Durham County, NC, are Management Occupations (23,144 people), Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (15,249 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (15,213 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Durham County, NC.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

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

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

174k

2023 Value

± 4,024

1.26%

1 Year growth

± 3.21%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Durham County, NC grew at a rate of 1.26%, from 172k employees to 174k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Durham County, NC, are Health Care & Social Assistance (30,305 people), Educational Services (28,190 people), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (21,945 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Durham County, NC, though some of these residents may live in Durham County, NC and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$55,274

Median earning men ± $2,046

$49,165

Median earning women ± $1,743

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($88,464), Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($80,518), and Public Administration ($79,002).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($69,409), Public Administration ($65,163), and Information ($65,074).

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.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

826
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
456
Health Care and Social Assistance
450
Other Services (except Public Administration)

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

Depending on the option selected, the visualization shows the number of employees or number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$5.17M
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
$3.48M
Wholesale Trade
$2.29M
Health Care and Social Assistance

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

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

Most students graduating from Universities in Durham County, NC are White (3,626 and 42.5%), followed by 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 County, 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 County, 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 County, 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 County, 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.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 29,682 students enrolled in Durham County, 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.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Other Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods
999 degrees awarded
Engineering & Industrial Management
266 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
253 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Masters Degree recipients in Durham County, 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 County, NC according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Duke University
8,043 degrees awarded
North Carolina Central University
1,641 degrees awarded
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.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 4,702 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Durham County, 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.

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.

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.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

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

Measure

In 2022, 0.944% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while 0.805% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

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

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2022 were High School or Equivalent (2.16M), Some college (1.84M), and Bachelors Degree (1.63M).

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Durham County, NC was $351,700 in 2023, which is 1.16 times larger than the national average of $303,400. Between 2022 and 2023 the median property value increased from $311,300 to $351,700, a 13% increase. The homeownership rate in Durham County, NC is 55%, which is approximately the same as the national average of 65%.

People in Durham County, NC have an average commute time of 22.9 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Durham County, NC is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Median household income in Durham County, NC is $79,501. In 2023, the tract with the highest Median Household Income in Durham County, NC was Census Tract 20.08 with a value of $225,417, followed by Census Tract 20.20 and Census Tract 18.08, with respective values of $187,440 and $127,425.

In 2023, 16% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Durham County, NC. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 1.95%.

Housing

Property

$351,700

Median Property Value 2023

±$5,579

$76,206

Median Property Taxes

±$2,325

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 County, NC the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

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

Rent vs Own

55%

Homeownership

2023

67.6%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2023

In 2023, 55% of the housing units in Durham County, NC were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 55.4%.

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

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

Highest Median Household Income (Total)

Census Tract 20.08
Census Tract 20.20
Census Tract 18.08

In 2023, the tract with the highest Median Household Income (Total) in Durham County, NC was Census Tract 20.08 with a value of $225,417, followed by Census Tract 20.20 and Census Tract 18.08, with respective values of $187,440 and $127,425.

The following map shows all of the tracts in Durham County, NC colored by their Median Household Income (Total).

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$79,501

Median Household Income

± $2,416

139k

Number of Households

± 3,352

In 2023, the median household income of the 139k households in Durham County, NC grew to $79,501 from the previous year's value of $74,927.

The following chart displays the households in Durham County, 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 $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Durham County, NC is from North Carolina.

0.47

2022 Wage GINI in North Carolina

0.47

2021 Wage GINI in North Carolina

In 2022, the income inequality in North Carolina was 0.47 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.0732% decline from 2021 to 2022, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for North Carolina was lower than than the national average of 0.478. 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.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2023

Drove Alone (65.8%)
Worked At Home (20.2%)
Carpooled (8.14%)

In 2023, 65.8% of workers in Durham County, NC drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (20.2%) and those who carpooled to work (8.14%).

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.

Commute Time

22.9 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Durham County, NC have a shorter commute time (22.9 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 1.61% of the workforce in Durham County, NC have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

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

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2023, 16% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Durham County, NC. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 1.95%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

12% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Durham County, NC (38k out of 317k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 18 - 24 and then Males 18 - 24.

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

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.

Children in Poverty

In 2023, 19.3% of the children was living in poverty in Durham County, NC. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 8.3%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Health

88.4% of the population of Durham County, NC has health coverage, with 52.3% on employee plans, 13% on Medicaid, 10.3% on Medicare, 11.5% on non-group plans, and 1.31% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Durham County, NC see 812 patients per year on average, which represents a 2.78% increase from the previous year (790 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1326 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 140 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 46.7% were men and 53.3% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

812 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Durham County, NC

Primary care physicians in Durham County, NC see an average of 812 patients per year. This represents a 2.78% increase from the previous year (790 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Durham County, NC in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2023, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 22% under 18 years, 27% between 18 and 34 years, 37.2% between 35 and 64 years, and 13.9% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 46.7% were men and 53.3% were women.

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

Uninsured People

11.6%

Uninsured

52.3%

Employer Coverage

13%

Medicaid

10.3%

Medicare

11.5%

Non-Group

1.31%

Military or VA

Between 2022 and 2023, the percent of uninsured citizens in Durham County, NC grew by 1.91% from 11.4% to 11.6%.

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

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2023, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 59.3 in Durham County, NC.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Durham County, NC.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2023, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 35.6% in Durham County, NC.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Durham County, NC.