Gastonia, North Carolina demographics

Gastonia, NC demographics: median age 36.5; 26.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Gastonia city, North Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 3725580. The survey estimates a population of 82,884 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Gastonia is 36.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.0 years. There are 32,378 households (±588). 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 ±1.0	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 82,884
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	20,425 ±1,006	24.6% ±1.2 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	19,320 ±979	23.3% ±1.2 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	30,782 ±1,206	37.1% ±1.5 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	12,357 ±709	14.9% ±0.9 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 82,884
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	39,853 ±763	48.1% ±0.9 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	43,031 ±759	51.9% ±0.9 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: 82,884
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	44,875 ±1,377	54.1% ±1.7 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	24,593 ±1,344	29.7% ±1.6 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	386 ±331 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	1,091 ±350	1.3% ±0.4 pp	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	27 ±34 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	4,218 ±949	5.1% ±1.1 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	7,694 ±1,151	9.3% ±1.4 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 82,884
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	72,286 ±851	87.2% ±1.0 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	10,598 ±842	12.8% ±1.0 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: 32,378
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	12,256 ±533	37.9% ±1.5 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,344 ±400	7.2% ±1.2 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	5,865 ±612	18.1% ±1.9 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	9,327 ±773	28.8% ±2.3 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,586 ±430	8.0% ±1.3 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,378
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	10,625 ±582	32.8% ±1.7 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	21,753 ±759	67.2% ±2.0 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,378
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	9,327 ±773	28.8% ±2.3 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	10,085 ±742	31.1% ±2.2 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	6,462 ±716	20.0% ±2.2 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	3,795 ±540	11.7% ±1.7 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,432 ±299	4.4% ±0.9 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	647 ±184	2.0% ±0.6 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	630 ±206	1.9% ±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: 82,884
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	75,799 ±996	91.5% ±1.2 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	7,085 ±996	8.5% ±1.2 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 77,124
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	67,250 ±1,094	87.2% ±1.3 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	8,243 ±871	10.7% ±1.1 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	149 ±88 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	143 ±122 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	138 ±162 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	206 ±106 · low precision	0.3% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	123 ±86 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	160 ±125 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	166 ±199 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	44 ±84 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	242 ±198 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	104 ±77 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	156 ±108 · low precision	0.2% ±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: 55,337
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	6,235 ±684	11.3% ±1.2 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	15,966 ±1,110	28.9% ±2.0 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	12,221 ±874	22.1% ±1.5 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	6,211 ±642	11.2% ±1.1 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	9,842 ±707	17.8% ±1.3 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	4,862 ±498	8.8% ±0.9 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: 81,818
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	72,266 ±1,334	88.3% ±1.6 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	5,414 ±967	6.6% ±1.2 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,343 ±570	2.9% ±0.7 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,409 ±384	1.7% ±0.5 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	386 ±304 · low precision	0.5% ±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

12.9% of Gastonia residents (±1.5 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 89.8% 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	Gastonia	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	12.9% ±1.5 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	89.8% ±1.1 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.4% ±0.7 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 Gastonia . 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 Gastonia housing and cost context or return to the city profile.