Elizabeth City, NC

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

2024 Population

40,834

US Senator

Thom Tillis

Republican Party

US Senator

Ted Budd

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

39.6

1.54% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

11%

10% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$66,589

4.19% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$234,600

Population & Diversity

Elizabeth City, NC is home to a population of 40.8k people, from which 98.8% are citizens.

As of 2024, 2.6% of Elizabeth City, NC residents were born outside of the country (1.06k people).

In 2024, there were 1.57 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (22k people) in Elizabeth City, NC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 14k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 1.12k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.8%

2024 Citizenship

99%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.8% of Elizabeth City, NC residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Elizabeth City, NC was 99%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Elizabeth City, NC

White (Non-Hispanic)
22k ± 235
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
14k ± 390
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
1.12k ± 350

6.05%

Hispanic Population

2.47k people

6.05% of the people in Elizabeth City, NC are hispanic (2.47k people).

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

Global Diversity

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

Most Common Origin

Mexico
228,441 ± 11,609 people
India
90,815 ± 7,367 people
Honduras
52,061 ± 5,588 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of North Carolina was Mexico, the natal country of 228,441 North Carolina residents, followed by India with 90,815 and Honduras with 52,061.

Foreign-Born Population

2.6%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

1.06k people

2.56%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

1.05k people

As of 2024, 2.6% of Elizabeth City, NC residents (1.06k 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 Elizabeth City, NC was 2.56%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
1,044 ± 269
Gulf War (1990s)
819 ± 227
Vietnam
778 ± 164

Elizabeth City, NC has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.27 times greater than any other conflict.

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

Economy

The economy of Elizabeth City, NC employs 17.8k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Elizabeth City, NC were Health Care & Social Assistance (2,429 people), Educational Services (1,937 people), and Retail Trade (1,804 people), and the highest paying industries were Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($94,313), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting ($70,761), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($70,486).

Employment

Occupations

17.8k

2024 Value

± 1,211

1.55%

1 Year growth

± 9.54%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Elizabeth City, NC grew at a rate of 1.55%, from 17.6k employees to 17.8k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Elizabeth City, NC, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (2,494 people), Management Occupations (1,716 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (1,662 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Elizabeth City, NC.

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.

Industries

Employment by Industries

17.8k

2024 Value

± 1,211

1.55%

1 Year growth

± 9.54%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Elizabeth City, NC grew at a rate of 1.55%, from 17.6k employees to 17.8k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Elizabeth City, NC, are Health Care & Social Assistance (2,429 people), Educational Services (1,937 people), and Retail Trade (1,804 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Elizabeth City, NC, though some of these residents may live in Elizabeth City, NC and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$49,228

Median earning men ± $3,865

$35,486

Median earning women ± $3,509

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($93,563), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($71,227), and Wholesale Trade ($68,819).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($62,143), Information ($56,641), and Public Administration ($53,446).

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

75
Retail Trade
71
Other Services (except Public Administration)
56
Health Care and Social Assistance

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

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$144k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$89.4k
Finance and Insurance
$78.8k
Retail Trade

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

Education

The student population of Elizabeth City, NC in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 2,267 male students and 3,036 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Elizabeth City, NC are White (554 and 51.1%), Black or African American (365 and 33.6%), Unknown (60 and 5.53%), and Hispanic or Latino (45 and 4.15%).

The largest universities in Elizabeth City, NC by number of degrees awarded are College of the Albemarle (700 and 62.6%), Elizabeth City State University (385 and 34.4%), and Mid-Atlantic Christian University (33 and 2.95%).

The most popular majors in Elizabeth City, NC are Liberal Arts & Sciences (201 and 18%), General Business Administration & Management (114 and 10.2%), and Welding Technology (94 and 8.41%).

The median tuition costs are $16,200 for private four year colleges, and $1,000 and $5,000 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Elizabeth City, NC, the percentage of applicants admitted was 64.1%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 12.3%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 5,303 (42.7% men and 57.3% 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 2024 there were 5,303 students enrolled in Elizabeth City, NC, 42.7% men and 57.3% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 2,243 records, of which 58.4% were women and 41.6% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Interdisciplinary Studies
58 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
41 degrees awarded
Criminal Justice - Safety Studies
41 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Elizabeth City, NC was General Interdisciplinary Studies with 58 degrees awarded.

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

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

College of the Albemarle
700 degrees awarded
Elizabeth City State University
385 degrees awarded
Mid-Atlantic Christian University
33 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was College of the Albemarle with 700 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 480 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Elizabeth City, NC, which is 0.752 times less than the 638 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 554 degrees mean that there were 1.52 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 365 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 ($16,200) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($5,536) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,240) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

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

Housing & Living

The median property value in Elizabeth City, NC was $234,600 in 2024, which is 0.705 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $223,300 to $234,600, a 5.06% increase. The homeownership rate in Elizabeth City, NC is 67.5%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Elizabeth City, NC have an average commute time of 28 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Elizabeth City, NC is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$234,600

Median Property Value 2024

±$12,440

$10,653

Median Property Taxes

±$799

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 Elizabeth City, NC the largest share of households pay taxes in the $800 - $1,499 range.

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

Rent vs Own

67.5%

Homeownership

2024

65.3%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 67.5% of the housing units in Elizabeth City, NC were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 65.1%.

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

Equity

Household Income

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

$66,589

Median Household Income

± $7,087

15.8k

Number of Households

± 1,053

In 2024, the median household income of the 15.8k households in Elizabeth City, NC grew to $66,589 from the previous year's value of $63,912.

The following chart displays the households in Elizabeth City, 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 Elizabeth City, NC is from North Carolina.

0.466

2024 Wage GINI in North Carolina

0.467

2023 Wage GINI in North Carolina

In 2024, the income inequality in North Carolina was 0.466 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.16% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for North Carolina was lower than than the national average of 0.474. 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 2024

Drove Alone (72.8%)
Carpooled (12.5%)
Worked At Home (9.88%)

In 2024, 72.8% of workers in Elizabeth City, NC drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (12.5%) and those who worked at home (9.88%).

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

28 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Elizabeth City, NC have a longer commute time (28 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 4.1% of the workforce in Elizabeth City, NC have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

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

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

11% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Elizabeth City, NC (4.22k out of 38.3k 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 Males 35 - 44, followed by Females 25 - 34 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Elizabeth City, NC is Black, followed by White and Two Or More.

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.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

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

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

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