Sanford, North Carolina demographics

Sanford, NC demographics: median age 34.7; 21.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Sanford city, North Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 3759280. The survey estimates a population of 31,478 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Sanford is 34.7 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.2 years. There are 11,359 households (±414). 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	34.7 ±1.2	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 31,478
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	8,785 ±729	27.9% ±2.3 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	7,146 ±621	22.7% ±2.0 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	10,779 ±723	34.2% ±2.3 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	4,768 ±548	15.1% ±1.7 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 31,478
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	15,714 ±518	49.9% ±1.6 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	15,764 ±507	50.1% ±1.6 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: 31,478
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	15,787 ±951	50.2% ±3.0 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	7,421 ±727	23.6% ±2.3 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	147 ±149 · low precision	0.5% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	297 ±164 · low precision	0.9% ±0.5 pp · low precision	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	8 ±16 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	3,350 ±728	10.6% ±2.3 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	4,468 ±941	14.2% ±3.0 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 31,478
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	22,019 ±737	70.0% ±2.3 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	9,459 ±733	30.0% ±2.3 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: 11,359
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	5,032 ±425	44.3% ±3.4 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	511 ±175	4.5% ±1.5 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	2,325 ±369	20.5% ±3.2 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,871 ±390	25.3% ±3.3 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	620 ±160	5.5% ±1.4 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 11,359
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	4,389 ±406	38.6% ±3.3 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	6,970 ±525	61.4% ±4.0 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 11,359
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,871 ±390	25.3% ±3.3 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,427 ±396	30.2% ±3.3 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,968 ±328	17.3% ±2.8 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,658 ±328	14.6% ±2.8 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	978 ±326	8.6% ±2.9 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	343 ±158	3.0% ±1.4 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	114 ±96 · low precision	1.0% ±0.8 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: 31,478
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	26,770 ±690	85.0% ±2.2 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	4,708 ±691	15.0% ±2.2 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 29,349
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	20,887 ±756	71.2% ±2.5 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	7,855 ±685	26.8% ±2.3 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	78 ±97 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	32 ±52 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	23 ±41 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	128 ±115 · low precision	0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	5 ±33 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±29 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	78 ±87 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	14 ±28 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	0 ±29 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	171 ±166 · low precision	0.6% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	78 ±110 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 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: 20,003
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	4,153 ±665	20.8% ±3.3 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	5,003 ±631	25.0% ±3.1 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	4,073 ±498	20.4% ±2.4 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	2,447 ±477	12.2% ±2.4 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	2,928 ±449	14.6% ±2.2 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,399 ±288	7.0% ±1.4 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: 31,254
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	26,901 ±824	86.1% ±2.6 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,256 ±690	7.2% ±2.2 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,490 ±443	4.8% ±1.4 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	470 ±248 · low precision	1.5% ±0.8 pp · low precision	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	137 ±101 · low precision	0.4% ±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

15.6% of Sanford residents (±2.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 73.5% 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	Sanford	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	15.6% ±2.1 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	73.5% ±3.6 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.3% ±1.3 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 Sanford . 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 Sanford housing and cost context or return to the city profile.