Pender County, NC

County

Add Comparison

2024 Population

65,550

US Senator

Thom Tillis

Republican Party

US Senator

Ted Budd

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

41.6

0.478% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

9.73%

8.97% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$80,396

4.63% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$299,000

11.9% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

29,958

4.14% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Pender 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.

97% of the residents in Pender County, NC are U.S. citizens.

In 2024, the median property value in Pender County, NC was $299,000, and the homeownership rate was 82.7%.

Most people in Pender County, NC drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 30.1 minutes. The average car ownership in Pender County, NC was 2 cars per household.

Pender County, NC borders Bladen County, NC, Brunswick County, NC, Columbus County, NC, Duplin County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Onslow County, NC, and Sampson County, NC.

United States North Carolina Wilmington, NC

Population & Diversity

Pender County, NC is home to a population of 65.6k people, from which 97% are citizens. As of 2024, 4.23% of Pender County, NC residents were born outside of the country (2.77k people).

In 2024, there were 6.11 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (48.5k people) in Pender County, NC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 7.95k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 3.43k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

97%

2024 Citizenship

97.3%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 97% of Pender County, NC residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Pender County, NC was 97.3%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Pender County, NC

White (Non-Hispanic)
48.5k ± 392
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
7.95k ± 380
Other (Hispanic)
3.43k ± 571

8.83%

Hispanic Population

5.79k people

8.83% of the people in Pender County, NC are hispanic (5.79k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Pender 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
224,963 ± 11,520 people
India
83,219 ± 7,055 people
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.

Foreign-Born Population

4.23%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

2.77k people

4.08%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

2.59k people

As of 2024, 4.23% of Pender County, NC residents (2.77k 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 Pender County, NC was 4.08%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
1,525 ± 316
Vietnam
1,461 ± 230
Gulf War (1990s)
832 ± 281

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

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

Economy

The economy of Pender County, NC employs 30k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Pender County, NC were Health Care & Social Assistance (3,669 people), Retail Trade (3,668 people), and Construction (3,512 people), and the highest paying industries were Management of Companies & Enterprises ($110,250), Utilities ($109,766), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($89,808).

Employment

Occupations

30k

2024 Value

± 1,514

4.14%

1 Year growth

± 6.9%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Pender County, NC grew at a rate of 4.14%, from 28.8k employees to 30k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Pender County, NC, are Management Occupations (3,523 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (3,347 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (2,694 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Pender County, 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

30k

2024 Value

± 1,514

4.14%

1 Year growth

± 6.9%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Pender County, NC grew at a rate of 4.14%, from 28.8k employees to 30k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Pender County, NC, are Health Care & Social Assistance (3,669 people), Retail Trade (3,668 people), and Construction (3,512 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Pender County, NC, though some of these residents may live in Pender County, NC and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$53,560

Median earning men ± $4,431

$37,289

Median earning women ± $2,265

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Information ($85,417), Manufacturing ($78,405), and Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($78,201).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($63,949), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($60,297), and Manufacturing ($54,688).

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

197
Construction
107
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
99
Other Services (except Public Administration)

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

$65.1k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$60.3k
Retail Trade
$58.1k
Construction

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

Housing & Living

The median property value in Pender County, NC was $299,000 in 2024, which is 0.899 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $267,100 to $299,000, a 11.9% increase. The homeownership rate in Pender County, NC is 82.7%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Pender County, NC have an average commute time of 30.1 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Pender County, NC is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 13.2% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Pender County, NC. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.36%.

Housing

Property

$299,000

Median Property Value 2024

±$15,528

$20,916

Median Property Taxes

±$1,149

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

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

Rent vs Own

82.7%

Homeownership

2024

65.1%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 82.7% of the housing units in Pender County, NC were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 81.8%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Pender County, 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.

$80,396

Median Household Income

± $3,889

25.3k

Number of Households

± 1,322

In 2024, the median household income of the 25.3k households in Pender County, NC grew to $80,396 from the previous year's value of $76,838.

The following chart displays the households in Pender 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 Pender County, 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.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (74.3%)
Worked At Home (13.2%)
Carpooled (11.3%)

In 2024, 74.3% of workers in Pender County, NC drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (13.2%) and those who carpooled to work (11.3%).

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

30.1 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Pender County, NC have a longer commute time (30.1 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 2.56% of the workforce in Pender County, NC have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Pender 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 Pender County, NC distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Pender County, NC have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 13.2% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Pender County, NC. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.36%.

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

Poverty & Diversity

9.73% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Pender County, NC (6.25k out of 64.2k 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 55 - 64 and then Females 45 - 54.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Pender County, NC is White, followed by Black 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 2025, 14.4% of the children was living in poverty in Pender County, NC. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 12.6%.

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.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 150 in Pender County, NC. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 169 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

91.2% of the population of Pender County, NC has health coverage, with 41.8% on employee plans, 13.4% on Medicaid, 12.2% on Medicare, 19.2% on non-group plans, and 4.58% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Pender County, NC see 2,991 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,991 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 2739 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 612 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.8% were men and 50.2% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

2,991 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Pender County, NC

Primary care physicians in Pender County, NC see an average of 2,991 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,991 patients).

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

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 24.6% under 18 years, 15.9% between 18 and 34 years, 41.2% between 35 and 64 years, and 18.3% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.8% were men and 50.2% were women.

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

Uninsured People

8.79%

Uninsured

41.8%

Employer Coverage

13.4%

Medicaid

12.2%

Medicare

19.2%

Non-Group

4.58%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Pender County, NC declined by 9% from 9.66% to 8.79%.

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

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 61.4 in Pender County, NC.

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

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, 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 31.3% in Pender County, NC.

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