Pender County, North Carolina Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Pender County, 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.
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B
Health Around average
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C
Income Below averageWealthier than 84% of counties in North Carolina
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C
Education Below averageBetter educated than 78% of counties in North Carolina
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Pender County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 65,530 | 10,724,323 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 70.1 | 199.1 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 1.93% | 0.97% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 42.8 | 37.7 | 37.3 |
| Households | 25,290 | 4,279,225 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Pender County grew by 32.3% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 65,530 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Pender County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 22.7% of residents. That is 2.2 points above North Carolina as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 12,031 18.4% -3.5 pts
- Millennials 29–44 13,496 20.6% -0.8 pts
- Gen X 45–60 14,889 22.7% +2.2 pts
- Boomers 61–79 12,420 19.0% +2.0 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 50.2% of the people living in Pender County and men 49.8%.
- Women 50.2% North Carolina 51.1%
- Men 49.8% North Carolina 48.9%
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Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Pender County
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Economy
Pender County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.
| Metric | Pender County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $80,638 | $72,438 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 7.20% | 5.20% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.7% | 4.6% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Pender County is about 11% higher than in North Carolina.
Housing
| Metric | Pender County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $211,539 | $278,288 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,106 | $1,227 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 82.7% | 66.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Pender County is about 15.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,106 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Pender County spend about 61 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 253 hours, about 10.5 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Pender County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 30.3 | 21.9 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 60.6 | 43.7 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 253 | 182 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $7,829 | $5,645 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 13.2% | 16.3% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 7,165 | 8,330 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,510 | 1,609 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
North Carolina:
Macon County (17.2 min), Watauga County (17.2 min), Dare County (17.4 min).
Slowest:
Gates County (35.9 min), Currituck County (33.9 min), Tyrrell County (33.6 min).
The average commute time in Pender County is 30 minutes, longer 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
Pender County has a education index of C, which means it is somewhat educated.
| Metric | Pender County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 26.6% | 31.1% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.54 | 2.44 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
North Carolina:
Orange County (0.5), Wake County (0.4), Durham County (0.4).
Lowest:
Hyde County (0.2), Greene County (0.2), Tyrrell County (0.2).
Health
Pender County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Pender County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 77.2 | 77.1 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 15.7% | 16.8% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 20.5% | 20.7% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
North Carolina:
Orange County (0.8), Wake County (0.8), Watauga County (0.8).
Lowest:
Robeson County (0.8), Lenoir County (0.8), Halifax County (0.8).
Pender County, NC Compared With Nearby Counties
Pender County, NC is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 65,530 residents against a local median of 152,554. Pender County, NC's commute, at 30.3 min, runs 37% above the 22.1 min typical of the counties around it. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $211,539 against a local median of $286,445, 26% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: median household income runs ahead of the neighbourhood while commute runs behind it, so Pender County, NC is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves sit within 5.0 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Pender County, NC, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Pender County, NC has the 6th lowest commute of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pender County, NC | 65,530 | $80,638 #1/6 | $211,539 #4/6 | 30.3 min #6/6 |
| New Hanover County, NC | 235,214 | $75,172 | $340,966 | 18.0 min |
| Duplin County, NC | 49,292 | $55,498 | $96,951 | 23.0 min |
| Onslow County, NC | 207,702 | $68,395 | $327,237 | 20.1 min |
| Brunswick County, NC | 152,554 | $77,075 | $286,445 | 22.1 min |
| Sampson County, NC | 59,467 | $52,596 | $187,677 | 22.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Pender County, North Carolina.
How many people live in Pender County, North Carolina?
About 65,530 people live in Pender County, North Carolina, in 25,290 households of 2.5 people on average. The median age is 42.8, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 6 years.
Is Pender County, North Carolina mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Pender County, North Carolina has 70 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is close to the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Pender County, North Carolina?
The median home costs 2.6 times the median household income ($211,539 against $80,638), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $1,106 a month takes about 16% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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