Wayne County, North Carolina

12 cities & places have their primary county here.

Population: 117,606
Median household income: $58,082
Median home value: $162,700

Wayne County, North Carolina counts 117,606 residents. 12 cities and places have their primary county here. The median household income of $58,082 is below the North Carolina median ($69,904).

From 2019 to 2023, Wayne County's population declined 4.9% from 123,603 to 117,606, while its median household income rose 30.8% from $44,416 to $58,082.

82.0% of workers drive to work alone. 60.1% of homes are single-family detached houses.

Demographics

ACS 2019–2023

Population: 117,606
Median age: 37.4 yrs
Median household income: $58,082
Median home value: $162,700
Median gross rent: $932
Housing units: 53,134
Homeownership rate: 61.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 21.3%
Unemployment rate: 5.4%

Trends

ACS 5-year · 2019–2023

Population

123,603117,606

Median household income

$44,416$58,082

Median home value

$123,500$162,700

Median gross rent

$777$932

Year	Population	Median household income	Median home value	Median gross rent
2019	123,603	$44,416	$123,500	$777
2020	123,785	$47,221	$125,900	$784
2021	117,692	$49,488	$131,400	$823
2022	117,480	$54,323	$152,300	$899
2023	117,606	$58,082	$162,700	$932

Each year is a US Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimate ending that year.

Age distribution

Under 56.4%

5 to 1717.3%

18 to 249.6%

25 to 3413.6%

35 to 4411.6%

45 to 5411.8%

55 to 6412.9%

65 to 7410.2%

75 and over6.6%

	Count	Share
Under 5	7,523	6.4%
5 to 17	20,382	17.3%
18 to 24	11,287	9.6%
25 to 34	16,021	13.6%
35 to 44	13,639	11.6%
45 to 54	13,856	11.8%
55 to 64	15,207	12.9%
65 to 74	11,945	10.2%
75 and over	7,746	6.6%

Race & ethnicity

	Count	Share
White (non-Hispanic)	60,037	51.0%
Black or African American	35,566	30.2%
American Indian & Alaska Native	110	0.1%
Asian	1,338	1.1%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	101	0.1%
Some other race	233	0.2%
Two or more races	4,726	4.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	15,495	13.2%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

No high school diploma13.6%

High school graduate30.4%

Some college or associate's34.7%

Bachelor's degree14.7%

Graduate or professional degree6.6%

	Count	Share
No high school diploma	10,658	13.6%
High school graduate	23,844	30.4%
Some college or associate's	27,183	34.7%
Bachelor's degree	11,536	14.7%
Graduate or professional degree	5,193	6.6%

Commute to work

Mean travel time to work: 23 min

Drove alone82.0%

Carpooled12.1%

Public transit0.4%

Walked0.7%

Bicycle0.2%

Worked from home4.0%

Other means0.7%

How workers get to work

	Count	Share
Drove alone	43,007	82.0%
Carpooled	6,330	12.1%
Public transit	223	0.4%
Walked	368	0.7%
Bicycle	87	0.2%
Worked from home	2,076	4.0%
Other means	386	0.7%

Travel time

	Count	Share
Under 15 min	17,407	34.5%
15 to 29 min	19,578	38.8%
30 to 44 min	7,399	14.7%
45 to 59 min	2,532	5.0%
60+ min	3,485	6.9%

Households

Average household size: 2.44
Poverty rate: 16.9% (19,436 of 114,923)

	Count	Share
Family households	30,863	65.8%
Nonfamily households	16,025	34.2%

Housing

Median year structure built: 1983

Occupancy

	Count	Share
Occupied	46,888	88.2%
Vacant	6,246	11.8%

Tenure (of occupied units)

	Count	Share
Owner-occupied	28,846	61.5%
Renter-occupied	18,042	38.5%

1-unit, detached60.1%

1-unit, attached2.4%

2 to 4 units6.1%

5 to 19 units4.4%

20 or more units3.1%

Mobile home & other23.8%

Units in structure

	Count	Share
1-unit, detached	31,942	60.1%
1-unit, attached	1,288	2.4%
2 to 4 units	3,244	6.1%
5 to 19 units	2,344	4.4%
20 or more units	1,664	3.1%
Mobile home & other	12,652	23.8%

Geography

County GEOID: 37191
State: North Carolina
Land area: 554 sq mi
Water area: 3.8 sq mi
Center point: 35.3542, -78.0087