CensusEasy
COUNTY

Transylvania County

North Carolina · 34,211 residents (2025 est.) · 378 sq mi
Time machine
COMPARE TO
Part of the Brevard micropolitan area
The short version

Transylvania County is a county of 33,691 people in North Carolina. The median age is 51.6, about 13 years above the US median. The foreign-born share is 4%. 75% of homes are owner-occupied. Median rent is $967 a month. Growth has run 15% since 2000, or 4,357 more people.

At a glance
Lower income
below the US median
US median: $82,259
Older
median age 51.6
US median: 38.9
More educated
40% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 92%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Section 01

Population & growth

Total population
33,691
+15%since 2000
from 29,334 in 2000
34,211 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimate)
1990 – 2025
Population density
89 / sq mi
+13%since 2009
from 79 / sq mi in 2009
US average: 281
Median age
51.6
+18%since 2000
from 43.9 in 2000
US average: 38.9
Land area
378 sq mi
Population, 1990 – 2024
25K27K30K32K35K19902000201020202024Transylvania County
202434K
1990201020202024
Age distribution, 2024
Under 54%(1,332)
US avg: 5.6%
5 to 94.5%(1,502)
US avg: 6%
10 to 144.1%(1,393)
US avg: 6.4%
15 to 195.4%(1,831)
US avg: 6.6%
20 to 245.1%(1,716)
US avg: 6.5%
25 to 349.9%(3,339)
US avg: 13.7%
35 to 4410.1%(3,395)
US avg: 13.2%
45 to 5410.8%(3,648)
US avg: 12.2%
55 to 6415.2%(5,109)
US avg: 12.7%
65 to 7416.6%(5,582)
US avg: 10.2%
75 to 8410.6%(3,579)
US avg: 5.1%
85 and over3.8%(1,265)
US avg: 1.9%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 02

Income & economy

Median household income
$66,184
−6%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $38,587 in 2000
US average: $82,259
1990 – 2024
Per capita income
$40,147
+93%since 2000
from $20,767 in 2000
US average: $44,673
Households earning $100K+
44.4%
+21.7 ptssince 2009
from 22.6% in 2009
US average: 53.3%
Poverty rate
13.2%
+3.7 ptssince 2000
from 9.5% in 2000
US average: 12.5%
Income inequality (Gini)
0.462
+3%since 2010
from 0.448 in 2010
US average: 0.476
Workforce by industry, 2024
Information13.8%
US avg: 10.8%
Wholesale trade10.8%
US avg: 6.9%
Retail trade10.5%
US avg: 9.9%
Other services8.1%
US avg: 6.7%
Public administration4.5%
US avg: 4.8%
Finance & insurance3.2%
US avg: 5.9%
Professional, scientific, technical3.1%
US avg: 5.1%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing1.6%
US avg: 1.6%
Construction1.5%
US avg: 1.2%
Arts, entertainment, food1.5%
US avg: 1.9%
Transportation & warehousing0.6%
US avg: 2.2%
Education & health services0.1%
US avg: 0.9%
Manufacturing0.1%
US avg: 0.4%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 03

Housing

Median home value
$373,600
+92%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $106,900 in 2000
US average: $376,019
1990 – 2024
Median gross rent
$967
+13%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $468 in 2000
US average: $1,442
Owner-occupied
74.7%
−4.7 ptssince 2000
from 79.4% in 2000
25.3% rent
Vacancy rate
24.3%
−2.6 ptssince 2009
from 26.9% in 2009
US average: 10.0%
Persons per household
2.23 people
−3%since 2009
from 2.31 people in 2009
US average: 2.54
Owner cost-burdened
20.7%
+0.8 ptssince 2009
from 19.9% in 2009
US average: 22.9%
Renter cost-burdened
41.4%
−4.2 ptssince 2009
from 45.6% in 2009
US average: 47.4%
Afford Score
5.6
+30%since 2009
from 4.3 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Years of local income it takes to buy a local home, on a scale of about 0 to 15. Lower is more affordable.
Gentrification Score
90
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means faster recent growth in incomes, home values, and college degrees.
Section 04

Race & ethnicity

2000
White, non-Hispanic93.1%(27,305)
Black4.2%(1,228)
Hispanic / Latino1%(298)
Asian0.4%(111)
Other0%
2024
White, non-Hispanic87.6%(29,516)
Black3.6%(1,201)
Hispanic / Latino5.2%(1,753)
Asian0.7%(229)
Other2.9%(992)
Diversity Score
28
+42%since 2009
from 20 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means a more even mix of racial and ethnic groups.
Segregation Score
26
−17%since 2020
from 31 in 2020
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means White and non-White residents are more separated across neighborhoods.
Section 04 · Origins

Detailed origins & ancestry

Hispanic origin
Mexican2.6%(868)
Honduran0.7%(223)
Cuban0.7%(222)
Puerto Rican0.4%(149)
Spaniard0.4%(136)
Colombian0.1%(37)
Guatemalan0.1%(29)
Dominican0.1%(28)
Asian origin
Chinese0.3%(91)
Filipino0.2%(59)
Asian Indian0.1%(47)
Cambodian0.1%(17)
Korean0%(9)
Ancestry
English19.1%(6,435)
Irish15.7%(5,290)
German14.3%(4,825)
American7.1%(2,400)
Scottish4.6%(1,542)
Scotch-Irish3.9%(1,307)
Italian3%(1,018)
French2.8%(935)
Polish2.2%(738)
Swedish1.5%(495)
Welsh1.3%(443)
Norwegian0.8%(281)
+ 30 more ancestry groups with data
Dutch0.7%(252)
British0.6%(215)
West Indian0.5%(157)
Danish0.4%(141)
Hungarian0.3%(112)
Swiss0.3%(112)
Austrian0.3%(105)
Greek0.3%(104)
Haitian0.3%(101)
Czech0.3%(98)
Ukrainian0.3%(92)
Russian0.2%(81)
Finnish0.2%(52)
Portuguese0.1%(48)
Latvian0.1%(36)
Lithuanian0.1%(35)
Croatian0.1%(28)
Macedonian0.1%(27)
Canadian0.1%(23)
Jamaican0.1%(20)
Arab0.1%(17)
Lebanese0%(13)
Slovak0%(10)
Iranian0%(7)
Section 05

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher
40.0%
+16.2 ptssince 2000
from 23.7% in 2000
US average: 35.6%
High school or higher
93.9%
+11.4 ptssince 2000
from 82.5% in 2000
US average: 89.6%
Graduate degree
15.5%
+6.5 ptssince 2000
from 9.0% in 2000
US average: 14.0%
Section 06

Commute & transportation

Average commute
21.9 min
+44%since 2000
from 15.2 min in 2000
US average: 26.5
Drive alone to work
73.6%
−0.4 ptssince 2009
from 73.9% in 2009
US average: 68.9%
Carpooled to work
11.0%
−5.2 ptssince 2009
from 16.2% in 2009
US average: 8.5%
Public transit
0.1%
+0.1 ptssince 2009
from 0.0% in 2009
US average: 3.2%
Worked from home
12.5%
+8.2 ptssince 2009
from 4.3% in 2009
US average: 15.0%
Walked to work
2.0%
−1.2 ptssince 2009
from 3.2% in 2009
US average: 2.4%
Biked to work
0.5%
−0.1 ptssince 2009
from 0.5% in 2009
US average: 0.4%
No vehicle available
4.6%
−1.0 ptssince 2009
from 5.6% in 2009
US average: 8.3%
Section 07

Work & employment

Unemployment rate
2.8%
−4.6 ptssince 2011
from 7.4% in 2011
US average: 5.2%
Labor force participation
49.0%
−3.6 ptssince 2011
from 52.5% in 2011
US average: 63.5%
Women 20-64 in the labor force
66.7%
−2.2 ptssince 2020
from 68.9% in 2020
US average: 74.6%
Self-employed
13.7%
−0.4 ptssince 2009
from 14.1% in 2009
US average: 13.1%
Management & professional
37.7%
+10.1 ptssince 2009
from 27.6% in 2009
US average: 42.5%
Section 08

People & community

Male
48.5%
+0.6 ptssince 2009
from 47.9% in 2009
Female
51.5%
−0.6 ptssince 2009
from 52.1% in 2009
Foreign born
4.3%
+1.5 ptssince 2009
from 2.8% in 2009
US average: 14.1%
Veterans
9.8%
−5.1 ptssince 2009
from 14.9% in 2009
US average: 6.2%
With a disability
16.1%
−2.0 ptssince 2012
from 18.1% in 2012
US average: 13.3%
Uninsured
11.3%
−6.8 ptssince 2013
from 18.1% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Broadband at home
86.9%
+12.3 ptssince 2017
from 74.6% in 2017
US average: 91.0%
Computer in household
93.5%
+3.3 ptssince 2020
from 90.2% in 2020
US average: 95.5%
Same house as last year
86.5%
+3.1 ptssince 2020
from 83.5% in 2020
US average: 87.7%
English only at home
97.1%
+1.9 ptssince 2016
from 95.2% in 2016
US average: 77.7%
Spanish at home
1.8%
−1.5 ptssince 2016
from 3.4% in 2016
US average: 13.6%
Marital status
Men 15+
Never married29.1%(4,158)
Married55.9%(7,969)
Widowed3.7%(532)
Divorced11.3%(1,607)
Women 15+
Never married19%(2,884)
Married54.6%(8,298)
Widowed14.2%(2,153)
Divorced12.3%(1,863)
SHARE WITHIN EACH SEX · POPULATION 15 AND OVER · 2024
Section 09

Health coverage

Uninsured
11.3%
−6.8 ptssince 2013
from 18.1% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Employer-based
42.2%
−1.3 ptssince 2020
from 43.5% in 2020
US average: 54.8%
Direct-purchase
25.3%
+1.8 ptssince 2020
from 23.5% in 2020
US average: 13.8%
Medicare
32.6%
+0.6 ptssince 2020
from 32.0% in 2020
US average: 18.4%
Medicaid
16.6%
+0.3 ptssince 2020
from 16.3% in 2020
US average: 20.9%
VA health care
3.6%
−0.3 ptssince 2020
from 3.9% in 2020
US average: 2.2%
Any private
65.2%
+0.5 ptssince 2020
from 64.7% in 2020
US average: 67.1%
Any public
46.1%
+0.4 ptssince 2020
from 45.7% in 2020
US average: 36.7%

Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.

Section 09 · Service history

Veterans

Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)9.5%(265)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)20.1%(559)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era51.7%(1,441)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War6.9%(193)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II3.5%(98)
US avg: 1%

Share of the 2,785 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.

BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Drill deeper

Places similar to Transylvania County

Lawrence County
Pop 33,843
Christian County
Pop 33,443
Bureau County
Pop 32,510
Jefferson County
Pop 36,147
Places similar to Transylvania County
Head to head

Compare Transylvania County to nearby counties

TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY VS
Jackson County
Income$55,815−16%
Home value$284,700−24%
Population45,039+32%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY VS
Henderson County
Income$68,187+3%
Home value$351,400−6%
Population122,375+258%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY VS
Pickens County
Income$61,064−8%
Home value$231,900−38%
Population139,198+307%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY VS
Haywood County
Income$61,912−6%
Home value$279,200−25%
Population63,369+85%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
Frequently asked

How many people live in Transylvania County, North Carolina?

Transylvania County, North Carolina has about 33,691 residents according to the 2024 American Community Survey.

What is the median household income in Transylvania County, North Carolina?

The typical household in Transylvania County, North Carolina earns about $66,184 a year. Half of households make more than that, and half make less.

Is Transylvania County, North Carolina expensive?

In Transylvania County, North Carolina, the median home is worth about $373,600, and the typical rent is about $967 a month.

How educated are people in Transylvania County, North Carolina?

About 40.0% of adults age 25 and over in Transylvania County, North Carolina hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

What is the poverty rate in Transylvania County, North Carolina?

About 13.2% of people in Transylvania County, North Carolina live below the federal poverty line.

Has Transylvania County, North Carolina grown since 1990?

Yes, Transylvania County, North Carolina has grown since 1990. The population has added about 8,171 residents, a change of about 32 percent over that period.

Keep going

Explore from here

DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR + DECENNIAL CENSUS · UPDATED 2024

How we source and harmonize this data →