Durham, North Carolina demographics

Durham, NC demographics: median age 35.1; 57.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Durham city, North Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 3719000. The survey estimates a population of 291,467 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Durham is 35.1 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.2 years. There are 126,550 households (±1,055). 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	35.1 ±0.2	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 291,467
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	58,518 ±1,552	20.1% ±0.5 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	86,827 ±1,399	29.8% ±0.5 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	106,680 ±2,269	36.6% ±0.8 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	39,442 ±1,438	13.5% ±0.5 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 291,467
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	137,152 ±672	47.1% ±0.2 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	154,315 ±641	52.9% ±0.2 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: 291,467
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	122,603 ±2,115	42.1% ±0.7 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	97,688 ±2,081	33.5% ±0.7 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,882 ±722	0.6% ±0.2 pp	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	16,949 ±591	5.8% ±0.2 pp	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	147 ±142 · low precision	0.1% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	24,047 ±1,695	8.3% ±0.6 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	28,151 ±2,418	9.7% ±0.8 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 291,467
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	247,207 ±1,237	84.8% ±0.4 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	44,260 ±1,245	15.2% ±0.4 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: 126,550
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	46,882 ±1,502	37.0% ±1.1 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	5,386 ±735	4.3% ±0.6 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	15,262 ±1,119	12.1% ±0.9 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	46,251 ±1,805	36.5% ±1.4 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	12,769 ±1,087	10.1% ±0.9 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 126,550
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	31,497 ±1,266	24.9% ±1.0 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	95,053 ±1,549	75.1% ±1.1 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 126,550
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	46,251 ±1,805	36.5% ±1.4 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	43,871 ±1,757	34.7% ±1.4 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	17,098 ±1,078	13.5% ±0.8 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	11,905 ±955	9.4% ±0.8 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	4,674 ±657	3.7% ±0.5 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,732 ±411	1.4% ±0.3 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	1,019 ±277	0.8% ±0.2 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: 291,467
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	246,493 ±1,964	84.6% ±0.7 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	44,974 ±1,955	15.4% ±0.7 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 273,578
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	216,295 ±1,768	79.1% ±0.6 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	35,377 ±1,349	12.9% ±0.5 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	1,230 ±356	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	786 ±287	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	613 ±188	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	4,907 ±906	1.8% ±0.3 pp	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	485 ±176	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	3,962 ±584	1.4% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	793 ±455 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,292 ±409	0.5% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	2,741 ±594	1.0% ±0.2 pp	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	869 ±325	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	4,228 ±1,221	1.5% ±0.4 pp	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: 202,132
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	15,870 ±1,442	7.9% ±0.7 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	29,973 ±1,581	14.8% ±0.8 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	27,029 ±1,752	13.4% ±0.9 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	13,509 ±1,217	6.7% ±0.6 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	60,879 ±2,483	30.1% ±1.2 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	54,872 ±2,179	27.1% ±1.1 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: 288,339
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	237,505 ±2,883	82.4% ±1.0 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	20,181 ±2,510	7.0% ±0.9 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	13,684 ±1,616	4.7% ±0.6 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	12,881 ±1,195	4.5% ±0.4 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	4,088 ±799	1.4% ±0.3 pp	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

10.7% of Durham residents (±0.6 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 93.7% 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	Durham	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	10.7% ±0.6 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.7% ±0.6 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	4.9% ±0.4 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Lower

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 Durham . 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 Durham housing and cost context or return to the city profile.