Wilkes County, North Carolina Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Wilkes 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.
-
C
Health Below average
-
D
Income Well below average
-
F
Education Well below averageLess educated than 74% of counties in North Carolina
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Wilkes County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 65,914 | 10,724,323 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 87.2 | 199.1 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.55% | 0.97% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 46.0 | 37.7 | 37.3 |
| Households | 27,078 | 4,279,225 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Wilkes County declined by 1.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 65,914 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Wilkes County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 22.0% of residents. That is 1.4 points above North Carolina as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 12,318 18.7% -3.2 pts
- Millennials 29–44 12,059 18.3% -3.1 pts
- Gen X 45–60 14,472 22.0% +1.4 pts
- Boomers 61–79 14,345 21.8% +4.8 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 50.5% of the people living in Wilkes County and men 49.5%.
- Women 50.5% North Carolina 51.1%
- Men 49.5% North Carolina 48.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Wilkes County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Wilkes County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Wilkes County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $51,695 | $72,438 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 5.08% | 5.20% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.0% | 4.6% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Wilkes County is about 29% lower than in North Carolina.
Housing
| Metric | Wilkes County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $19,444 | $278,288 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $722 | $1,227 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 73.5% | 66.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Wilkes County is about 2.2 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $722 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Wilkes County spend about 42 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 175 hours, about 7.3 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Wilkes County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 21.0 | 21.9 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 42.0 | 43.7 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 175 | 182 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,429 | $5,645 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 9.1% | 16.3% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,469 | 8,330 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 900 | 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 Wilkes County is 21 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
Wilkes County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Wilkes County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 15.1% | 31.1% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.39 | 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
Wilkes County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Wilkes County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 76.5 | 77.1 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 17.7% | 16.8% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 22.7% | 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).
Wilkes County, NC Compared With Nearby Counties
Wilkes County, NC is the 2nd largest of the 4 counties compared here, 65,914 residents against a local median of 36,412. Where Wilkes County, NC breaks from the counties next to it is median home price, sitting 93% below the local median of $269,620 at $19,444.
The counties themselves sit within $19,333 of each other on median home price, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Wilkes County, NC, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Wilkes County, NC has the 4th highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes County, NC | 65,914 | $51,695 #4/4 | $19,444 #4/4 | 21.0 min #1/4 |
| Alexander County, NC | 36,412 | $64,655 | $270,833 | 22.2 min |
| Ashe County, NC | 26,946 | $57,366 | $251,500 | 21.6 min |
| Caldwell County, NC | 80,517 | $56,350 | $269,620 | 22.0 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Wilkes County, North Carolina.
What is the population of Wilkes County, North Carolina?
About 65,914 people live in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in 27,078 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 46.0, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 9 years.
How densely populated is Wilkes County, North Carolina?
Averaged over its land area, Wilkes County, North Carolina has 87 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 Wilkes County, North Carolina?
The median home costs 0.4 times the median household income ($19,444 against $51,695), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $722 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Wilkes County, North Carolina?
15.1% of adults in Wilkes County, North Carolina hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 7), 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 →