Rowan County, North Carolina Population 2024

153,649

Rowan County, North Carolina's estimated 2024 population is 153,649 with a growth rate of 1.31% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Rowan County, North Carolina is the 20th largest county in North Carolina. The 2010 population was 138,329 and has seen a growth of 11.08% since that time.

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change
Year
Population
Growth
Change
2029163,5891,9881.23%
2028161,6011,9881.25%
2027159,6131,9881.26%
2026157,6251,9881.28%
2025155,6371,9881.29%
2024153,6491,9881.31%
2023151,6611,9881.33%
2022149,6731,7361.17%
2021147,9377700.52%
2020147,1675,3493.77%
2019141,8189480.67%
2018140,8705810.41%
2017140,2898720.63%
2016139,4178970.65%
2015138,5204290.31%
2014138,0914020.29%
2013137,6891840.13%
2012137,505-314-0.23%
2011137,819-510-0.37%
2010138,32900%
1990110,60511,41911.51%
198099,1869,15110.16%
197090,0357,2188.72%
196082,8177,4079.82%
195075,4106,2048.96%
194069,20612,54122.13%
193056,66512,60328.6%
192044,0626,54117.43%
191037,5216,45520.78%
190031,0666,94328.78%
189024,1234,15820.83%
188019,9653,15518.77%
187016,8102,22115.22%
186014,5897195.18%
185013,8701,76114.54%
184012,109-8,677-41.74%
183020,786-5,223-20.08%
182026,0094,46620.73%
181021,5431,4837.39%
180020,0604,23226.74%
179015,828-147,761-90.32%
2024 Growth Rate
1.31% (1,988)
County Website
Rowan County
2020 Population
147,167
Area
512 mi²
Density
300 people/mi²
Growth Since 2020
4.4% (6,482)
Founded
1753

Population by Race

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White108,00573.44%
Black or African American23,54316.01%
Two or more races7,8725.35%
Other race5,2093.54%
Asian1,5811.08%
Native American8280.56%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander290.02%

White

Black or African American

Two or more races

Other race

Asian

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Rowan County, North Carolina Population by Race

Rowan County, North Carolina Population Pyramid 2024

Rowan County, North Carolina Median Age

40.7

Total

39.3

Male

41.9

Female

Rowan County, North Carolina Adults

There are 114,690 adults, (26,035 of whom are seniors) in Rowan County, North Carolina.

Rowan County, North Carolina Age Dependency

65.9

Age Dependency Ratio

29.4

Old Age Dependency Ratio

36.5

Child Dependency Ratio

Rowan County, North Carolina Sex Ratio

Female73,98750.31%
Male73,08049.69%

Rowan County, North Carolina Population by Age

Rowan County, North Carolina Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All56,6182.5270.729.3
Married27,4623.1185.514.5
Non Family18,7881.2161.638.4
Female7,6313.3843.556.5
Male2,7373.1861.638.4

3.07

Average Family Size

2.52

Average Household Size

70.7%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Rowan County, North Carolina Households and Families

Male

Female

Education Attained
Count
Percentage
9th to 12th Grade8,4308.29%
Associates Degree11,36811.19%
Bachelors Degree14,87714.64%
Graduate Degree6,0385.94%
High School Graduate33,70433.16%
Less Than 9th Grade4,3524.28%
Some College22,85922.49%

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Rowan County, North Carolina Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Rowan County, North Carolina Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Race
Total
High School
Bachelors
White76,46068,45217,399
Black15,24313,4532,343
Hispanic6,8274,298473
2+ Races3,2222,362432
Other Race2,7741,37450
Asian1,190996336
Native American74572655
Islander292912

The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 100%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among islander people with a rate of 41.38%.

Rowan County, North Carolina Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Name
Average
Male
Female
Bachelors Degree$58,028$70,744$51,364
Graduate Degree$68,733$84,324$62,277
High School Graduate$36,399$42,207$29,206
Less Than 9th Grade$28,735$33,249$16,932
Overall$42,045$48,307$34,745
Some College$41,407$49,848$30,298

$42,045

Average Earnings

$48,307

Average Male

$34,745

Average Female

Rowan County, North Carolina Earnings by Educational Attainment

Rowan County, North Carolina Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Rowan County, North Carolina Language

90.34% of Rowan County, North Carolina residents speak only English, while 9.66% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 7.96% of the population.

Rowan County, North Carolina Language

Rowan County, North Carolina Poverty by Race

rate

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White101,46711,56211.39%
Black21,8296,15128.18%
Hispanic14,2464,93734.66%
Multiple7,4462,32231.18%
Other5,1061,07721.09%
Asian1,57016410.45%
Native819202.44%
Islander29413.79%

16.42%

Overall Poverty Rate

15.06%

Male Poverty Rate

17.73%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Rowan County, North Carolina

The race most likely to be in poverty in Rowan County, North Carolina is Hispanic, with 34.66% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Rowan County, North Carolina is Native, with 2.44% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 4.03%. Among those working part-time, it was 21.22%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 21.83%.

Rowan County, North Carolina Poverty

rate

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade27.86%
High School15.58%
Some College10.77%
Bachelors or Greater5.18%

Rowan County, North Carolina Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed34.68%
Male Unemployed29.76%
Female Employed10.3%
Male Employed6.52%

Rowan County, North Carolina Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Rowan County, North Carolina Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Name
Median
Mean
Families$73,551$92,253
Households$59,717$78,418
Married Families$86,794$107,269
Non Families$35,034$46,886

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Rowan County, North Carolina Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

48.8%

Overall Marriage Rate

50.8%

Male Marriage Rate

46.8%

Female Marriage Rate

Rowan County, North Carolina Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Rowan County, North Carolina Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Rowan County, North Carolina Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Rowan County, North Carolina Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

9,028

Number of Veterans

8,250

Male Veterans

778

Female Veterans

War
Veterans
Vietnam3,454
First Gulf War1,966
Second Gulf War1,594
Korea458
World War II171

Rowan County, North Carolina Veterans by War

count

Age Group
Veterans
65 to 742,453
35 to 542,121
75+1,907
55 to 641,783
18 to 34764

Rowan County, North Carolina Veterans by Age

count

Name
Veterans
% of Total
White7,3508.48%
Black1,3027.23%
Hispanic2492.89%
2+ Races1553.35%
Native American10213.69%
Other Race661.99%
Asian282.29%
Islander2586.21%

Rowan County, North Carolina Veterans by Race

Rowan County, North Carolina Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

7.57%

Veteran Poverty Rate

27.93%

Veteran Disability Rate

Rowan County, North Carolina Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

60.3%

Labor Force Participation

56.5%

Employment Rate

6.3%

Unemployment Rate

Rowan County, North Carolina Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Rowan County, North Carolina Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Rowan County, North Carolina Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

66.14%

Born in Rowan County, North Carolina

94.66%

Native Born

5.34%

Foreign Born

3.83%

Non Citizen

1.51%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

94.66% of Rowan County, North Carolina residents were born in the United States, with 66.14% having been born in North Carolina. 3.83% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Rowan County, North Carolina Place of Birth

Sources