County profile

Guilford County

North Carolina · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
547,940
Median household income
$68,642
People below poverty
14.6%
Median home value
$259,900

Income

The median income of households in Guilford County, North Carolina was $68,642. An estimated 5.8% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 9.1% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 5.8
$10,000 to $14,999 4
$15,000 to $24,999 6.7
$25,000 to $34,999 7.7
$35,000 to $49,999 13
$50,000 to $74,999 16.7
$75,000 to $99,999 13
$100,000 to $149,999 16.4
$150,000 to $199,999 7.6
$200,000 or more 9.1

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 60113
Female 48352

An estimated 79% of households received earnings. An estimated 29.1% of households received Social Security and an estimated 21.5 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $24,111. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 79
Social Security 29.1
Retirement income 21.5
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 4.7
Cash public assistance income 1.8

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 14.6 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 20.4% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 11.4% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 13.2% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 14.6
Children under 18 years below poverty 20.4
People 65 years old and over below poverty 11.4
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 13.2

In 2020-2024, 15.5 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 48.3% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 34.7% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 37.6% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024, 91.6% had health insurance coverage and 8.4% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 66.6% and public coverage was 35.5%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 3.9%.


In 2020-2024, Guilford County, North Carolina had a total population of 547,940 - 287,737 (52.5%) females and 260,203 (47.5%) males. The median age was 37.5 years. An estimated 22% of the population was under 18 years, 33.1% was 19 to 44 years, 24.5% was 45 to 64 years, and 15.9 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 15536 14958
5 to 9 17984 16257
10 to 14 16817 17136
15 to 19 21401 23878
20 to 24 19345 21398
25 to 29 17373 18698
30 to 34 17317 19753
35 to 39 16454 18070
40 to 44 15837 17835
45 to 49 15240 17136
50 to 54 16973 18297
55 to 59 16342 17599
60 to 64 15707 17415
65 to 69 13189 14376
70 to 74 10274 13888
75 to 79 7234 8449
80 to 84 3674 5971
85 and over 3506 6623

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 47.6% were White; 33.8% were Black or African American; 9.3% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 5.4% were Asian; 13.7% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 8.5% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 10.1% of the people in Guilford County, North Carolina were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 46% of the people in Guilford County, North Carolina were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 219,718 households in Guilford County, North Carolina. The average household size was 2.38 people.

Married-couple households made up 42% of the households in Guilford County, North Carolina while cohabiting couple households made up 6.4% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 33.4% of all households, while 18.2% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 13.1% of households were male householders living alone, and 19.1% were female householders living alone, for a total of 32.2% of all households.

In Guilford County, North Carolina, 29.1% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 28.9% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 42
Cohabiting Couples 6.4
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
18.2
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
33.4

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 47.3% of males and 40.6% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 39.9 37.4
Now married, except separated 47.3 40.6
Separated 1.9 2.3
Widowed 3 7.8
Divorced 7.9 12

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Guilford County, North Carolina, 8,734 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 37.1% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 88.2% of the people living in Guilford County, North Carolina were U.S. natives. 53.9% of the Guilford County, North Carolina population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 11.8% of Guilford County, North Carolina residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 48.1% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 59.6 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Guilford County, North Carolina come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Guilford County, North Carolina.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 36
Asia 33.7
Europe 8.8
Africa 19.7
Northern America 1.7
Oceania 0.1

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024, 16.9 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 7.6% of people at least five years old; 6.7% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 7.6
Other Indo-European languages 3.7
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 3.2
Other languages 2.3

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 85.1 % of the people at least one year old living in Guilford County, North Carolina were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 85.1
Different house, same county 7.5
Different county, same state 4.1
Different state 2.7
Abroad 0.6

Education

In 2020-2024, 90.8 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 39% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 9.2% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Guilford County, North Carolina was 152,581 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 7,181 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 89,563. College or graduate school enrollment was 55,837.

Educational Attainment of People in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 9.2
High school diploma or equivalency 22.4
Some college, no degree 20.5
Associate's degree 8.8
Bachelor's degree 24.2
Graduate or professional degree 14.8

Disability

In Guilford County, North Carolina, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 12.3 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 4.6% of people under 18 years old, to 10.2% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 31.6% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Guilford County, North Carolina, 61 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 35.9% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 81.2% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13.7% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 4.8 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 218,876 81.2
Federal, state, or local government workers 37,043 13.7
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 12,862 4.8

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Guilford County, North Carolina worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.4
Construction 4.7
Manufacturing 13
Wholesale trade 2.7
Retail trade 11.7
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 7.1
Information 1.3
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 7
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 10.6
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 24.6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 8.6
Other Services, except public administration 5.1
Public administration 3.2

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 108,628 40.3
Service occupations 44,621 16.6
Sales and office occupations 57,917 21.5
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 17,493 6.5
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 40,798 15.1

Commuting to Work

An estimated 73.3% of Guilford County, North Carolina workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 8.4% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 22 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 73.3
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 8.4
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 1.2
Walked 1.7
Other means 1.6
Worked from home 13.9

In 2020-2024, Guilford County, North Carolina had a total of 238,032 housing units. Of these housing units, 68.6% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 28.5% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 2.9% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 68.6
Apartments in multi-unit structures 28.5
Mobile homes 2.9
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.1

12.3% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 5.9% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Guilford County, North Carolina was 5.6 rooms, and of these housing units 62.3% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Guilford County, North Carolina had 219,718 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 18,314 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 59.9% while renters occupied 40.1%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.51 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.18.

6.2% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 8.3% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 6.7% and another 22.9% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Guilford County, North Carolina:

House Heating Fuel Used in Guilford County, North Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 43
Electricity 54.5
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.9
All other fuels 1
No fuel used 0.6

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Guilford County, North Carolina was $259,900.

Of the owner-occupied households, 64.6 % had a mortgage. 35.4% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,536 and for owners without a mortgage it was $515.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Guilford County, North Carolina was $1,163. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.