Members of the North Carolina General Assembly return to work this week with COVID-19 and the economic fallout of the pandemic at the top of the agenda. Even before this crisis hit, it was clear that how well a family might fare varies greatly throughout our state.
Last week, the N.C. Budget & Tax Center released its annual snapshots for all 100 counties, offering a comparison of key economic and social indicators.
Today’s Monday number’s column takes a closer look at those findings.
Unless noted, all numbers are based on the BTC’s County Economic Snapshots 2020.
10,630,691 – Population of North Carolina, an increase of 11% over the past decade
861, 713 – North Carolinians filing unemployment claims between March 15 and May 11 (Source: NC Division of Employment Security)
16,984 – Daily North Carolina unemployment claims filed on May 11 (Ibid)
97 – North Carolina counties with an increase in unemployment claims in March (Ibid)
28 – Number of times by which the average annual incomes of the richest 5% of North Carolinians exceed those of the poorest 20% of households
11.1 – Percentage of North Carolinians who do not have health insurance
31.9 – Percentage of NC residents considered low-income (less than $50,200 for a family of four)
53 – Percentage of NC renters, for whom rent is unaffordable – classified as those who spend more than 30% of their income on their rent
24 – Percentage of North Carolinians who spend more than half of their income on rent.
14.1 – Percentage of people living in poverty in NC
23.5 – Percentage of Black residents living in poverty in NC
10.6 – of White residents
28.5 – of Latinx residents
20 – Percentage of children in North Carolina who live in poverty (based on 2018 data, the most recent numbers available); children, women, and people of color are more likely to live in poverty than the average North Carolinian
1,109,883 – Population of Wake County, an increase of 22.4% over the past decade
8.9 – Percentage of Wake County residents who do not have health insurance
23.4 – Percentage of Wake County residents who are considered low-income
3.6 – Wake County’s unemployment rate, in percent, for March 2020 (April data will be released June 3)
267,046 – Population of Buncombe County, an increase of 11.9% over the past decade
10.2 –Percentage of Buncombe County residents who do not have health insurance.
33.7 – Percentage of Buncombe County residents who are considered low-income
3.4 – Buncombe County’s unemployment rate, in percent, for March 2020
130,529 – Population of Robeson County, a decrease of 2.9% over the past decade
15 – Percentage of Robeson County residents who do not have health insurance.
54.8 – Percentage of Robeson County residents who are considered low-income
5.8 – Robeson County’s unemployment rate, in percent, for March 2020
103,983 – Population of Halifax County, a decrease of less than 1% over the past decade
11.4 – Percentage of Halifax County residents who do not have health insurance.
52.2 – Percentage of Halifax County residents who are considered low-income
6.4 – Halifax County’s unemployment rate, in percent, for March 2020
How does your county measure up? Click here to download a PDF of your home county.
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