Wilmington, North Carolina demographics

Wilmington, NC demographics: median age 37.1; 46.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Wilmington city, North Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 3774440. The survey estimates a population of 120,805 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Wilmington is 37.1 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.8 years. There are 56,612 households (±1,109). 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	37.1 ±0.8	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 120,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	19,843 ±1,114	16.4% ±0.9 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	37,059 ±1,616	30.7% ±1.3 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	41,873 ±1,541	34.7% ±1.3 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	22,030 ±1,102	18.2% ±0.9 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 120,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	56,316 ±874	46.6% ±0.7 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	64,489 ±874	53.4% ±0.7 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: 120,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	87,410 ±1,928	72.4% ±1.6 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	17,505 ±1,416	14.5% ±1.2 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	289 ±189 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	1,617 ±368	1.3% ±0.3 pp	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	42 ±64 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	5,458 ±1,315	4.5% ±1.1 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	8,484 ±1,044	7.0% ±0.9 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 120,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	110,193 ±1,046	91.2% ±0.9 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	10,612 ±1,044	8.8% ±0.9 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: 56,612
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	18,738 ±814	33.1% ±1.3 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,712 ±413	3.0% ±0.7 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	5,913 ±734	10.4% ±1.3 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	22,086 ±1,287	39.0% ±2.1 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	8,163 ±985	14.4% ±1.7 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 56,612
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	10,615 ±759	18.8% ±1.3 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	45,997 ±1,493	81.2% ±2.1 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 56,612
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	22,086 ±1,287	39.0% ±2.1 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	21,683 ±1,264	38.3% ±2.1 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	6,887 ±708	12.2% ±1.2 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	3,918 ±569	6.9% ±1.0 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,514 ±357	2.7% ±0.6 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	399 ±202 · low precision	0.7% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	125 ±105 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 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: 120,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	113,878 ±857	94.3% ±0.7 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	6,927 ±853	5.7% ±0.7 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 115,903
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	106,020 ±1,366	91.5% ±1.1 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	6,843 ±1,059	5.9% ±0.9 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	381 ±183	0.3% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	301 ±144	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	328 ±157	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	754 ±289	0.7% ±0.2 pp	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	388 ±342 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	128 ±100 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	56 ±56 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	49 ±67 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	246 ±157 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	171 ±157 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	238 ±149 · 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: 81,633
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	4,837 ±660	5.9% ±0.8 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	15,382 ±1,148	18.8% ±1.4 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	14,800 ±1,054	18.1% ±1.3 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	8,401 ±953	10.3% ±1.2 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	24,824 ±1,242	30.4% ±1.5 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	13,389 ±950	16.4% ±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: 119,653
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	94,655 ±2,065	79.1% ±1.7 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	8,681 ±1,038	7.3% ±0.9 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	7,363 ±1,135	6.2% ±0.9 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	8,079 ±1,656	6.8% ±1.4 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	875 ±324	0.7% ±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

10.9% of Wilmington residents (±1.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 91.3% 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	Wilmington	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	10.9% ±1.2 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	91.3% ±0.7 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.4% ±0.6 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 Wilmington . 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 Wilmington housing and cost context or return to the city profile.