Fayetteville, North Carolina Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Fayetteville, NC Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
-
B
Health Around average
-
D
Income Well below average
-
D
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | Fayetteville | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 204,018 | 10,724,323 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 1359.4 | 199.1 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.20% | 0.97% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 31.1 | 37.7 | 37.3 |
| Households | 79,788 | 4,279,225 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Fayetteville grew by 7.6% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 204,018 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Fayetteville is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 29.3% of residents. That is 7.5 points above North Carolina as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 59,852 29.3% +7.5 pts
- Millennials 29–44 45,227 22.2% +0.8 pts
- Gen X 45–60 30,940 15.2% -5.4 pts
- Boomers 61–79 25,779 12.6% -4.4 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below North Carolina, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 49.2% of the people living in Fayetteville and men 50.8%.
- Women 49.2% North Carolina 51.1%
- Men 50.8% North Carolina 48.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Fayetteville
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Fayetteville has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Fayetteville | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $58,065 | $72,438 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.56% | 5.20% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.1% | 4.6% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Fayetteville is about 20% lower than in North Carolina.
Housing
| Metric | Fayetteville | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $123,143 | $278,288 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,244 | $1,227 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 47.0% | 66.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Fayetteville is about 8.3 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,244 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Fayetteville spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 143 hours, about 5.9 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Fayetteville | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 17.1 | 21.9 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 34.3 | 43.7 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 143 | 182 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,425 | $5,645 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 16.3% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 8,878 | 8,330 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 2,681 | 1,609 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in Fayetteville is 17 minutes, shorter than the 22 minutes in North Carolina.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Fayetteville has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Fayetteville | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 23.7% | 31.1% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.36 | 2.44 | 2.53 |
Health
Fayetteville has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Fayetteville | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 75.6 | 77.1 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 15.2% | 16.8% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 20.3% | 20.7% | 19.0% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Fayetteville, North Carolina.
How many people live in Fayetteville, North Carolina?
About 204,018 people live in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 79,788 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 31.1, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 6 years.
How densely populated is Fayetteville, North Carolina?
Averaged over its land area, Fayetteville, North Carolina has 1,359 people per square mile, a density typical of urban and suburban areas. That is about 16 times the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Fayetteville, North Carolina?
The median home costs 2.1 times the median household income ($123,143 against $58,065), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $1,244 a month takes about 26% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How common is a college degree in Fayetteville, North Carolina?
23.7% of adults in Fayetteville, North Carolina hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 4), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →