Welcome to our blog
Keep up with our latest demographic insights
First celebrated on February 12, 1926, Black History Week was established by American historian Carter G. Woodson to celebrate the contributions to our nation made by people of African descent. For many years, this celebration occurred during the second week of February, coinciding with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, the week was expanded into Black History Month. 2.2 million The number of black or African-American North Carolina residents on July…
Within the span of two days, I received two emails asking about the most common sending states for new residents to North Carolina. The most recent inquiry wrote: “What state do most people move from when coming to NC? My guess is NY- or the North East area. Another person I know is insistent that more people move here from Florida.” In this debate, both people are right, depending on how you measure migration. Migration…
In the mid- to late-1800s, four out of every five North Carolina workers was employed in agriculture. Although agriculture and agricultural products remain vital to the state's economy, agricultural employment declined steadily through the late 20th century. At the same time, manufacturing emerged as a dominant employment sector, officially surpassing agriculture as the leading employment sector in North Carolina in 1950. Manufacturing employment in the state was at its highest between 1970 and 1980, and…
Nationally, 2 in 3 individuals 15 and older have ever been married according to the 2013 American Community Survey. In North Carolina, this proportion is slightly higher: 68.2%. The vast majority (71%) of ever married North Carolinians are still married. Another sixteen percent are divorced, four percent are currently separated, and nine percent are widowed. Examining trends by age shows similar trends in North Carolina and the nation. The share of individuals ever married stays…
May 21, 2015 update: The original post defined compliance for U.S. Congressional Districts as within +/-1%. Although the courts require adherence to equal population as much as possible, the maximum potentially accepted deviation cited elsewhere is a total spread of 1%, meaning +/- 0.5%. Following the decennial Census, political districts, such as U.S. Congressional districts and state legislative districts, are redrawn in a process called redistricting. The goal is to make each district as close…
In 1870, fewer than 3% of U.S. workers were employed in professional services, a category that includes educational, engineering, legal, and medical services (including individuals working in hospitals). Just 1.5% of North Carolina workers were employed in professional service industries in 1870. Nationally, employment in professional services represented less than 5% of all employees until 1930. After that, the share of employees in professional services grew steadily through 1960, and grew even more rapidly between…
We know that Raleigh and Charlotte are among the fastest growing urban areas in the nation, while many rural areas of the state are facing population losses and stagnation. But if we know anything about the future with certainty, it’s that the future is inherently uncertain! How likely are these patterns? A new interactive tool from the Urban Institute uses historical trends and census data to map population projections for every state and metro area…
According to the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, the 10 largest employers in the state of North Carolina are universities, hospitals, public schools, and banks. Duke University in Durham was the state’s largest employer in the 2nd Quarter of 2014, followed by Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital and Wake County Public Schools. The Triangle’s other major research institutions—UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University—were the 4th and 8th largest employers in the state, respectively. Four of the 10 largest…
“More and more, the U.S. economy is defined by its metropolitan areas,” writes Richard Florida at The Atlantic’s CityLab blog. Just over 90% of the nation’s economic activity occurs in metro regions. In North Carolina, the state’s 15 major metropolitan regions also comprised the majority of economic activity, but at a level less than the national share. In 2013, the state’s combined metro GDP was $407 billion out of a total GDP of $471 billion.…
Forty-two percent of North Carolina residents were born in another state or country. In 1950, this proportion was only 15%. The share of North Carolina residents born in state declines steadily with age until prime working-ages, and then begins rising again. Between ages 27 and 50, more than half of North Carolina residents were born in another state or country. North Carolina’s trends in the proportion of native-born residents by age look similar to those of…
Your support is critical to our mission of measuring, understanding, and predicting population change and its impact. Donate to Carolina Demography today.