Official Federal Data
Orange County, North Carolina
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC · Population 149,678
10 Sources
Updated September 10, 2026
$90,089 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
3.3% up from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$13.1B up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
61.8% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$90,089 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$52,900 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$136,307 up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Household (cost-of-living adjusted)
$92,304 metro RPP 97.6
Poverty Rate
12.5% down from 2019 vs 2019
Median Income Comparison
Orange County$90,089
North Carolina$72,388
National$80,734
Cost-of-living adjustment uses the BEA all-items regional price parity for Durham-Chapel Hill, NC, 97.6 against a national average of 100 (2024). BEA publishes regional price parity at state and metropolitan level only; there is no county figure, so the metro index stands in for Orange County and the adjusted median is an approximation. Per capita and mean household income above are nominal and carry no adjustment.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 18.9%
18-34 · 29.8%
35-54 · 23.6%
55-64 · 11.7%
65+ · 16.1%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
93.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
up from national +3.8 pts vs national
61.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
up from national +26.1 pts vs national
34.6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
up from national +20.5 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
149,678
Population
77,502
Labor Force
Employed
74,684
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.3% up from 2024 +0.1 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
26.8%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 26.1 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$13.1B up from 2023 +2.1% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+2.1% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+5.6% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
97.6
Cost of Living · metro · Below Avg
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Retail Trade employs 6,513 workers (18.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $40,644. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 37,818 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $13.1B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $203,037 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $26,853, a 7.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
11 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Professional, Scientific & Technical Services Cluster at 35.1% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
9,189
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
4.91x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail, Highest 10 By LQ
Private Households
4.91x 314
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
3.93x 1,810
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
2.39x 1,053
Textile Mills
2.19x 57
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
2.11x 312
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
1.97x 1,121
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
1.93x 533
Food and Beverage Retailers
1.91x 1,882
Educational Services
1.64x 1,606
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
1.51x 501
+ 1 more sub-sector at LQ ≥ 1.5, holding a further 4,964 jobs not counted in the total above. See the spider chart for the broader picture.
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.32x
Truck Transportation
146 employed
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base.
Industrial electricity in North Carolina costs 7.8¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
North Carolina has 5 rail-truck intermodal terminals, the nearest 41 miles from the county.
Land area 398 sq mi, larger than 21% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Private Households concentrates at 4.91x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 11 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 35.7% of the employment across them, the largest being resident household spending. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$459,500 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,496 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
63.8% up from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
8.8% up from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
2.7% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
5.1x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$1,417/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,507/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,711/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,117/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,527/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,230/mo, from a renter median of $49,216) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 54.4% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 30.8% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 5.1x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Rent affordability gap: None of the 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $49,216 can pay without cost burden (~$1,230/mo), and 54.4% of renter households are already cost-burdened, 30.8% severely so; workforce housing cost burden warrants attention.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
97,346 up from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
26.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
83.7%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (125,437)
down from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
61.8% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
93.4% up from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Orange County
2 institutions in Orange County reporting credentials to College Scorecard
Credentials awarded in Orange County
10,170/yr
9,997/yr
173/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
18%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 11.7% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
60.7%
Service
14.2%
Sales & Office
13.4%
Construction / Maint.
6%
Production / Transport
5.7%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 80% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 74,684 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy participation: 61.8% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
- Talent pipeline: 2 institutions in Orange County award 10,170 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 10 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Orange County shows meaningful potential for private households attraction, with a 4.91x concentration and 314 jobs in this sub-sector.
The concentrated base spans private households, sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and misc. retailers, and religious, grantmaking, civic, professional orgs, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 35.7% of the employment across them, the largest being resident household spending. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2024 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
BEA Regional Price Parity2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Orange County, North Carolina, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Orange County, North Carolina?
149,678 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Orange County, North Carolina?
$90,089 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates). Adjusted for local prices using the BEA all-items regional price parity for Durham-Chapel Hill, NC (97.6 against a national average of 100), that is $92,304 at national average prices. BEA publishes regional price parity at metro level; there is no county-level figure.
What is the unemployment rate in Orange County, North Carolina?
3.3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Orange County, North Carolina?
$13.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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