County profile
Wayne County, NC
United States · GDP 2024
#598 of 3,127 US counties by GDP54th-percentile growthmore diversified than 62% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$6.8B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+4.7%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
33,629
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
2,195
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$47.1k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
122,278
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.7%
Median HH income
$59.7k±$2.7k
Bachelor's degree+
21.7%±1.3%
Poverty rate
17.3%±1.4%
Business applications
1,560 · 2025
Retail establishments
441
36.4/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Southern BancShares (N.C.), Inc.Financial Services———HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Health care26%
Retail trade22%
Manufacturing19%
Food & accommodation19%
Construction7%
Other services6%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
122,278
residents · 2025 · +3.8% since 2020
Income per capita $54.0k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+754
International migration+2,966
Natural change+807
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$5.1B2019
$5.1B2020
$5.7B2021
$6.2B2022
$6.5B2023
$6.8B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$178.7k±$9.2k
Median gross rent
$965/mo±$30/mo
Vacancy rate
11.2%±1.2%
Affordability
3.8× wages
Residential permits
$156.2M
954 units · 7.8/1k pop
FEMA risk score
90.4
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.2k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Winter weather 99Hurricane 97Tornado 90
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
3782016
3742017
3842018
3942019
4062020
4572021
5462022
5972023
6322024
6542025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 98% since 20214822021
4182022
5382023
6052024
9542025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
3.9 km
I-795
Nearest freight rail
0.1 km
CSXT
Nearest port
87.9 km
MID STREAM MILE 34
Nearest commercial airport
36.0 km
KINSTON RGNL JETPORT AT STALLINGS FLD
Filing activity
SEC EDGARWage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$47.1k
avg. annual pay · +21% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Wayne?
Wayne's economy produced $6.8B in 2024, growing 4.7% year over year — about the middle of the pack among US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.