Valdese, North Carolina demographics

Valdese, NC demographics: median age 52.6; 37.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Valdese town, North Carolina · Incorporated town · GEOID 3769520. The survey estimates a population of 4,704 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Valdese is 52.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 5.5 years. There are 2,378 households (±209). 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	52.6 ±5.5	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 4,704
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	847 ±221	18.0% ±4.7 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	618 ±225	13.1% ±4.8 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	2,032 ±348	43.2% ±7.4 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	1,207 ±274	25.7% ±5.8 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 4,704
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	2,082 ±214	44.3% ±4.5 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	2,622 ±213	55.7% ±4.5 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: 4,704
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	4,138 ±240	88.0% ±5.1 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	153 ±120 · low precision	3.3% ±2.6 pp · low precision	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	2 ±3 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	144 ±130 · low precision	3.1% ±2.8 pp · low precision	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	165 ±164 · low precision	3.5% ±3.5 pp · low precision	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	102 ±63 · low precision	2.2% ±1.3 pp · low precision	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 4,704
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	4,458 ±204	94.8% ±4.3 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	246 ±202 · low precision	5.2% ±4.3 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: 2,378
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	984 ±140	41.4% ±4.6 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	18 ±24 · low precision	0.8% ±1.0 pp · low precision	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	275 ±114	11.6% ±4.7 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	1,023 ±275	43.0% ±10.9 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	78 ±49 · low precision	3.3% ±2.0 pp · low precision	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,378
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	532 ±140	22.4% ±5.5 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	1,846 ±301	77.6% ±10.7 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,378
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	1,023 ±275	43.0% ±10.9 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	745 ±193	31.3% ±7.6 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	334 ±152	14.0% ±6.3 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	209 ±86	8.8% ±3.5 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	48 ±48 · low precision	2.0% ±2.0 pp · low precision	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	19 ±30 · low precision	0.8% ±1.2 pp · low precision	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±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: 4,704
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	4,438 ±191	94.3% ±4.0 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	266 ±187 · low precision	5.7% ±4.0 pp · low precision	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 4,555
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	4,306 ±201	94.5% ±3.7 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	177 ±165 · low precision	3.9% ±3.6 pp · low precision	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	64 ±73 · low precision	1.4% ±1.6 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	8 ±24 · low precision	0.2% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	0 ±14 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 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: 3,646
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	202 ±102 · low precision	5.5% ±2.8 pp · low precision	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	1,047 ±285	28.7% ±7.6 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	625 ±179	17.1% ±4.8 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	414 ±164	11.4% ±4.4 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	834 ±217	22.9% ±5.8 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	524 ±204	14.4% ±5.5 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: 4,704
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	4,432 ±141	94.2% ±3.0 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	118 ±98 · low precision	2.5% ±2.1 pp · low precision	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	67 ±47 · low precision	1.4% ±1.0 pp · low precision	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	72 ±66 · low precision	1.5% ±1.4 pp · low precision	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	15 ±24 · low precision	0.3% ±0.5 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

3.1% of Valdese residents (±1.9 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 86.9% 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	Valdese	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	3.1% ±1.9 pp · low precision	9.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.9% ±4.6 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.9% ±3.3 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 Valdese . 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 Valdese housing and cost context or return to the city profile.