Burlington, North Carolina demographics

Burlington, NC demographics: median age 40.1; 29.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Burlington city, North Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 3709060. The survey estimates a population of 59,610 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Burlington is 40.1 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.3 years. There are 25,505 households (±720). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	40.1 ±1.3	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,610
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	14,020 ±945	23.5% ±1.6 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	12,276 ±899	20.6% ±1.5 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	22,583 ±1,260	37.9% ±2.1 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	10,731 ±834	18.0% ±1.4 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,610
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	28,325 ±786	47.5% ±1.3 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	31,285 ±792	52.5% ±1.3 pp	51.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,610
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	27,852 ±1,280	46.7% ±2.1 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	17,654 ±1,217	29.6% ±2.0 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	193 ±146 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	1,716 ±426	2.9% ±0.7 pp	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	12 ±18 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	8,493 ±1,064	14.2% ±1.8 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	3,690 ±803	6.2% ±1.3 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,610
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	47,969 ±1,118	80.5% ±1.9 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	11,641 ±1,109	19.5% ±1.9 pp	11.3%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 25,505
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	9,258 ±703	36.3% ±2.6 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,185 ±326	4.6% ±1.3 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	4,655 ±491	18.3% ±1.9 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	9,001 ±806	35.3% ±3.0 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,406 ±468	5.5% ±1.8 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 25,505
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	7,170 ±527	28.1% ±1.9 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	18,335 ±1,012	71.9% ±3.4 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 25,505
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	9,001 ±806	35.3% ±3.0 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	8,586 ±843	33.7% ±3.2 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	3,572 ±556	14.0% ±2.1 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,368 ±354	9.3% ±1.4 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,318 ±306	5.2% ±1.2 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	366 ±164	1.4% ±0.6 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	294 ±144	1.2% ±0.6 pp	0.9%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,610
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	51,461 ±910	86.3% ±1.5 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	8,149 ±905	13.7% ±1.5 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 56,231
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	44,477 ±1,223	79.1% ±2.1 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	9,866 ±1,117	17.5% ±2.0 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	80 ±119 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	136 ±100 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	74 ±74 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	602 ±330 · low precision	1.1% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	58 ±70 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	32 ±56 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	80 ±116 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	98 ±117 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	623 ±329 · low precision	1.1% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	46 ±51 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	59 ±79 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 40,894
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	5,630 ±840	13.8% ±2.0 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	10,728 ±859	26.2% ±2.0 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	8,212 ±838	20.1% ±2.0 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	4,237 ±483	10.4% ±1.2 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	8,224 ±813	20.1% ±1.9 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	3,863 ±517	9.4% ±1.2 pp	13.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 59,183
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	52,001 ±1,350	87.9% ±2.3 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,719 ±836	4.6% ±1.4 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,763 ±860	4.7% ±1.5 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,323 ±491	2.2% ±0.8 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	377 ±216 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

11.3% of Burlington residents (±1.5 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 88.9% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Burlington	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	11.3% ±1.5 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.9% ±1.7 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.3% ±1.0 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Burlington . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Burlington housing and cost context or return to the city profile.