Winston-Salem, North Carolina demographics

Winston-Salem, NC demographics: median age 35.9; 39.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Winston-Salem city, North Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 3775000. The survey estimates a population of 252,037 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Winston-Salem is 35.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.4 years. There are 103,058 households (±1,139). 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	35.9 ±0.4	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 252,037
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	57,894 ±1,611	23.0% ±0.6 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	64,990 ±1,612	25.8% ±0.6 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	90,465 ±2,094	35.9% ±0.8 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	38,688 ±1,349	15.4% ±0.5 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 252,037
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	117,478 ±884	46.6% ±0.4 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	134,559 ±879	53.4% ±0.3 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: 252,037
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	116,146 ±2,609	46.1% ±1.0 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	80,852 ±2,350	32.1% ±0.9 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,311 ±503	0.5% ±0.2 pp	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	5,847 ±667	2.3% ±0.3 pp	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	199 ±99	0.1% ±0.0 pp	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	21,043 ±2,291	8.3% ±0.9 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	26,639 ±2,284	10.6% ±0.9 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 252,037
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	206,248 ±1,447	81.8% ±0.6 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	45,789 ±1,443	18.2% ±0.6 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: 103,058
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	38,422 ±1,527	37.3% ±1.4 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	4,498 ±644	4.4% ±0.6 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	17,090 ±1,211	16.6% ±1.2 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	36,673 ±1,430	35.6% ±1.3 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	6,375 ±687	6.2% ±0.7 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 103,058
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	28,894 ±1,240	28.0% ±1.2 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	74,164 ±1,510	72.0% ±1.2 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 103,058
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	36,673 ±1,430	35.6% ±1.3 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	33,535 ±1,486	32.5% ±1.4 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	14,507 ±1,194	14.1% ±1.1 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	10,295 ±894	10.0% ±0.9 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	5,194 ±646	5.0% ±0.6 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	2,110 ±472	2.0% ±0.5 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	744 ±212	0.7% ±0.2 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: 252,037
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	223,781 ±1,555	88.8% ±0.6 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	28,256 ±1,561	11.2% ±0.6 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 237,094
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	190,794 ±2,421	80.5% ±1.0 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	35,720 ±1,951	15.1% ±0.8 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	1,170 ±506	0.5% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	765 ±286	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	338 ±260 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	2,339 ±552	1.0% ±0.2 pp	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	159 ±98 · low precision	0.1% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,323 ±368	0.6% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	303 ±210 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	592 ±284	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,185 ±337	0.5% ±0.1 pp	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	1,051 ±829 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	1,355 ±533	0.6% ±0.2 pp	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: 164,452
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	17,954 ±1,478	10.9% ±0.9 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	37,490 ±1,742	22.8% ±1.0 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	31,427 ±1,557	19.1% ±0.9 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	12,626 ±938	7.7% ±0.6 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	37,500 ±1,568	22.8% ±0.9 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	27,455 ±1,408	16.7% ±0.8 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: 249,249
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	212,733 ±2,356	85.3% ±0.9 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	16,424 ±1,861	6.6% ±0.7 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	9,561 ±1,332	3.8% ±0.5 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	9,351 ±1,344	3.8% ±0.5 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	1,180 ±405	0.5% ±0.2 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

11.2% of Winston-Salem residents (±0.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 88.4% 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	Winston-Salem	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	11.2% ±0.7 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.4% ±1.1 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.7% ±0.5 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 Winston-Salem . 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 Winston-Salem housing and cost context or return to the city profile.