Demographic Facts You Need to Know, NC vs. US

It’s hard to understand and process new information if we don’t have sufficient context and grounding in basic facts. A lot of what we do at Carolina Demography is help people understand the demographic facts at hand. The facts of interest are often very straightforward: how many people live in NC, where they live, how quickly populations are changing, etc. We make sure that individuals, organizations, and policy makers understand these basics so they can…

Continue Reading »

Tourism impacts on Dare County

For many North Carolina residents and out of state tourists, summer vacation isn’t complete without a trip to one of North Carolina’s beaches. In 2013, there were nearly 38 million overnight person-trips in North Carolina, the sixth highest number of visits among all states; 19% of these visitors went to the beach during their trip. And although North Carolina has many beautiful beaches—from the Brunswick Islands in the South to Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach…

Continue Reading »

Wide Open Spaces

Population in North Carolina, like the nation, and countries around the world, is increasingly clustered in urban areas. Half of the state’s population resides in 13 counties—all of which are within major metropolitan areas. In contrast, just 10% of North Carolina residents live in the 42 least populated counties in the state. As population shifts toward urban areas, these counties hold a steadily declining share of North Carolina residents. In 1920, nearly one in four…

Continue Reading »

Half of North Carolinians Live in These 13 Counties

Half of the 316 million people living in the United States live in one of the nation’s 145 most populous counties based on calculations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 Population Estimates. With 3,143 counties nationwide, this means that half of the U.S. population lives in just 4.6% of all counties. In North Carolina, half of the state’s nearly 10 million residents were living in 13 counties in 2013 (13% of the state’s 100 counties).…

Continue Reading »

NC in Focus: Explore 2011-2013 ACS Data

The Census Bureau released the 2011-2013 American Community Survey (ACS) estimates today. These estimates cover detailed socioeconomic characteristics of the population and are available for all counties with populations of 20,000. This release provides data on 84 counties in North Carolina. The final 2013 ACS release—the 2009-2013 data—covering all areas, including the census tract and block group levels, is scheduled for December 4. With the release of this data set, users can compare the time…

Continue Reading »

Your support is critical to our mission of measuring, understanding, and predicting population change and its impact. Donate to Carolina Demography today.