Elizabeth City, North Carolina demographics

Elizabeth City, NC demographics: median age 36.5; 27.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Elizabeth City city, North Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 3720580. The survey estimates a population of 18,871 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Elizabeth City is 36.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 3.2 years. There are 7,576 households (±400). 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	36.5 ±3.2	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 18,871
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	3,993 ±527	21.2% ±2.8 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	5,267 ±526	27.9% ±2.8 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	6,104 ±580	32.3% ±3.1 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	3,507 ±393	18.6% ±2.1 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 18,871
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	8,138 ±326	43.1% ±1.7 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	10,733 ±326	56.9% ±1.7 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: 18,871
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	8,276 ±709	43.9% ±3.8 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	8,755 ±594	46.4% ±3.1 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	127 ±121 · low precision	0.7% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	198 ±180 · low precision	1.0% ±1.0 pp · low precision	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	12 ±18 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	734 ±371 · low precision	3.9% ±2.0 pp · low precision	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	769 ±311	4.1% ±1.6 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 18,871
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	17,539 ±416	92.9% ±2.2 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	1,332 ±416	7.1% ±2.2 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: 7,576
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	2,701 ±381	35.7% ±4.7 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	391 ±167	5.2% ±2.2 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,313 ±276	17.3% ±3.5 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,819 ±385	37.2% ±4.7 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	352 ±138	4.6% ±1.8 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 7,576
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,870 ±319	24.7% ±4.0 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	5,706 ±533	75.3% ±5.8 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 7,576
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,819 ±385	37.2% ±4.7 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	2,525 ±464	33.3% ±5.9 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,202 ±311	15.9% ±4.0 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	531 ±260	7.0% ±3.4 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	337 ±163	4.4% ±2.1 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	54 ±45 · low precision	0.7% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	108 ±110 · low precision	1.4% ±1.5 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: 18,871
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	18,236 ±276	96.6% ±1.4 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	635 ±267	3.4% ±1.4 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 17,686
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	16,615 ±501	93.9% ±2.4 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	694 ±302	3.9% ±1.7 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	2 ±4 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	28 ±31 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	27 ±44 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	22 ±31 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	14 ±24 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	112 ±160 · low precision	0.6% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	69 ±73 · low precision	0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	103 ±95 · low precision	0.6% ±0.5 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: 12,468
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,710 ±414	13.7% ±3.3 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,134 ±463	25.1% ±3.6 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,857 ±484	22.9% ±3.8 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,373 ±400	11.0% ±3.2 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	2,329 ±432	18.7% ±3.4 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,065 ±278	8.5% ±2.2 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: 18,627
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	14,493 ±719	77.8% ±3.8 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,829 ±573	9.8% ±3.1 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,485 ±435	8.0% ±2.3 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	799 ±292	4.3% ±1.6 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	21 ±39 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 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

13.0% of Elizabeth City residents (±2.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 89.5% 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	Elizabeth City	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	13.0% ±2.7 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	89.5% ±3.4 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	8.8% ±2.1 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 Elizabeth City . 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 Elizabeth City housing and cost context or return to the city profile.