Dobson, North Carolina demographics

Dobson, NC demographics: median age 35.8; 24.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Dobson town, North Carolina · Incorporated town · GEOID 3717340. The survey estimates a population of 1,652 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Dobson is 35.8 years, with a 90% margin of error of 2.3 years. There are 593 households (±141). 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 35.8 ±2.3 39.1 ±0.2 38.9 ±0.1
Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,652
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
Under 18 339 ±153 20.5% ±7.4 pp 21.8% 22.0%
18–34 453 ±152 27.4% ±5.2 pp 22.9% 22.8%
35–64 553 ±147 33.5% ±12.8 pp 38.2% 38.0%
65 and older 307 ±93 18.6% ±2.3 pp 17.2% 17.2%
Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,652
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
Male 935 ±315 56.6% ±10.9 pp 48.9% 49.5%
Female 717 ±198 43.4% ±17.0 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: 1,652
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
White alone 1,070 ±308 64.8% ±5.2 pp 61.8% 61.0%
Black or African American alone 187 ±165 · low precision 11.3% ±9.5 pp · low precision 20.3% 12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision 1.1% 0.9%
Asian alone 65 ±69 · low precision 3.9% ±4.0 pp · low precision 3.3% 6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision 0.1% 0.2%
Some other race alone 94 ±94 · low precision 5.7% ±5.5 pp · low precision 5.2% 7.1%
Two or more races 236 ±160 · low precision 14.3% ±8.8 pp · low precision 8.3% 12.6%
Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,652
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino 1,295 ±355 78.4% ±30.5 pp 88.7% 80.7%
Hispanic or Latino 357 ±273 · low precision 21.6% ±15.4 pp · low precision 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: 593
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
Married-couple family 194 ±68 32.7% ±8.4 pp 47.2% 46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present 72 ±67 · low precision 12.1% ±10.9 pp · low precision 4.6% 5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present 61 ±39 · low precision 10.3% ±6.1 pp · low precision 12.5% 12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone 263 ±82 44.4% ±8.9 pp 29.4% 28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone 3 ±5 · low precision 0.5% ±0.8 pp · low precision 6.3% 7.0%
Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 593
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
Households with people under 18 194 ±87 32.7% ±12.4 pp 29.1% 29.5%
Households without people under 18 399 ±96 67.3% ±2.5 pp 70.9% 70.5%
Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 593
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
One-person nonfamily households 263 ±82 44.4% ±8.9 pp 29.4% 28.7%
Two-person households 146 ±60 24.6% ±8.3 pp 35.6% 33.8%
Three-person households 54 ±34 · low precision 9.1% ±5.3 pp · low precision 15.6% 15.3%
Four-person households 96 ±71 · low precision 16.2% ±11.4 pp · low precision 11.8% 12.6%
Five-person households 34 ±30 · low precision 5.7% ±4.9 pp · low precision 5.0% 5.9%
Six-person households 0 ±20 · low precision 0.0% ±3.3 pp · low precision 1.8% 2.2%
Seven or more people 0 ±20 · low precision 0.0% ±3.3 pp · low precision 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: 1,652
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
Native 1,466 ±396 88.7% ±34.3 pp 90.9% 85.9%
Foreign born 186 ±135 · low precision 11.3% ±7.6 pp · low precision 9.1% 14.1%
Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 1,600
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
English only 1,262 ±343 78.9% ±30.8 pp 86.5% 77.7%
Spanish 249 ±159 · low precision 15.6% ±8.9 pp · low precision 8.7% 13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.9 pp · low precision 0.4% 0.7%
German or other West Germanic 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.9 pp · low precision 0.3% 0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 5 ±16 · low precision 0.3% ±1.0 pp · low precision 0.3% 0.7%
Other Indo-European 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.9 pp · low precision 1.2% 2.0%
Korean 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.9 pp · low precision 0.2% 0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.9 pp · low precision 0.4% 1.1%
Vietnamese 63 ±68 · low precision 3.9% ±4.1 pp · low precision 0.3% 0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.9 pp · low precision 0.2% 0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island 9 ±14 · low precision 0.6% ±0.9 pp · low precision 0.9% 1.1%
Arabic 12 ±36 · low precision 0.8% ±2.2 pp · low precision 0.3% 0.5%
Other and unspecified 0 ±14 · low precision 0.0% ±0.9 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: 1,167
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
Less than high school graduate 240 ±119 20.6% ±8.7 pp 9.9% 10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency 253 ±89 21.7% ±5.3 pp 24.8% 26.0%
Some college, no degree 177 ±79 15.2% ±5.6 pp 19.6% 19.1%
Associate’s degree 214 ±91 18.3% ±6.2 pp 10.1% 8.8%
Bachelor’s degree 162 ±76 13.9% ±5.5 pp 22.2% 21.6%
Graduate or professional degree 121 ±93 · low precision 10.4% ±7.5 pp · low precision 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: 1,645
Category Count ± MOE Share ± MOE (pp) North Carolina U.S.
Same house 1,270 ±382 77.2% ±8.9 pp 87.3% 87.7%
Moved within same county 195 ±140 · low precision 11.9% ±7.8 pp · low precision 5.5% 6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state 120 ±96 · low precision 7.3% ±5.5 pp · low precision 3.6% 3.1%
Moved from a different state 57 ±67 · low precision 3.5% ±4.0 pp · low precision 3.0% 2.3%
Moved from abroad 3 ±5 · low precision 0.2% ±0.3 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

12.4% of Dobson residents (±5.0 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 83.1% 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 Dobson North Carolina U.S. Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population 12.4% ±5.0 pp 9.9% 8.4% Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households 83.1% ±7.3 pp 90.1% 91.0% Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older 5.4% ±2.5 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 Dobson . 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 Dobson housing and cost context or return to the city profile.

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