Population, Race and Ethnicity
Mars Hill is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, with a population of 2,746. According to the most recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, 82.20% of residents identify as white, 9.00% as Black or African American, 0.60% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.50% as Asian, 0.00% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 7.40% as Hispanic or Latino, and 0.30% as some other race or combination of races.
Nationally, some 61.1% of Americans identify as white, 12.3% as Black or African American, 0.7% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 5.4% as Asian, 0.2% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 17.8% as Hispanic or Latino, and 2.6% as some other race or combination of races.
Ancestry
Census respondents are also asked to report ancestry. Some of the most commonly reported ancestries in Mars Hill include Irish, American, English, German, and Scotch-Irish. Measured by location quotient — comparing the town share to the national share — some of the most highly concentrated ancestries in town are Austrian, Australian, and Scotch-Irish.
Native and foreign-born population
An estimated 97.00% of Mars Hill residents are native-born, meaning they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area, or abroad to a U.S. citizen. Of the 3.00% of the population that is foreign-born, 24.40% have become naturalized U.S. citizens. Nationwide, 86.5% of Americans are native-born. And of the 13.5% of Americans who are foreign-born, 48.5% have become naturalized U.S. citizens.
Age
The population of Mars Hill is younger than the United States as a whole. The median age is 24 years, 13.9 years less than the national median age of 37.9 years. An estimated 9.10% of the population is 65 years and over, compared to 15.2% of the U.S. population.
Family and household composition
Family and household composition also varies heavily across the United States. In Mars Hill, 43.50% of households are occupied by married-couple families, compared to the 48.3% national figure. Some 4.10% of households are occupied by single male householders, 11.90% by single female householders, and 40.60% by non-family occupants. Nationwide, 4.9% of households are occupied by single male householders, 12.6% by single female householders, and 34.3% by non-family occupants. An estimated 56.90% of heads of household own their homes, compared to the national homeownership rate of 63.8%.
Language spoken
English is by far the most commonly spoken language in North Carolina and across the U.S. as a whole. Similarly, in Mars Hill, 99.3% of local residents aged 5 and up speak English exclusively, or, if they are multilingual, speak English very well. For context, 95.4% of the 5 and older population across North Carolina only speaks English, or speak it very well, and 91.5% of the same age group nationwide do.
Marital status
Residents of Mars Hill are less likely than the typical American to be married. Of all local residents aged 15 and older, 27.5% are currently married, compared to 48.1% of Americans nationwide in the same age group. Across North Carolina as a whole, 48.9% of residents 15 and older are married.
Divorce is less common in Mars Hill than it is across the U.S. as a whole. According to Census estimates, 9.5% of residents 15 and older are divorced — compared to 10.8% of the U.S. population in the same age group. In North Carolina, 10.8% of the 15 and older population is divorced.
An estimated 58.5% of Mars Hill residents 15 and older have never married, compared to one-third of all Americans in the same age group.
Veterans
In Mars Hill, 4.2% of the 18 and older civilian population are veterans — compared to 7.5% of adult civilians nationwide and 8.6% of the civilian population in all of North Carolina.
Educational attainment
In Mars Hill, adults are more likely to have a high school education than the typical American adult, and are also more likely to have a four-year college education. Among Mars Hill residents 25 and older, 93.70% have a high school diploma or equivalent, and 41.30% have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 87.7% and 31.5% of adults nationwide, respectively. Across North Carolina, 87.4% of adults have graduated high school, and 30.5 have a bachelor’s degree.
Income
The typical household in Mars Hill earns $47,125 a year, about $13,200 less than the national median of $60,293 and $5,300 less than the median household income across the state of $52,413.
Poverty
Serious financial hardship is more common in Mars Hill than it is nationwide. The local poverty rate stands at 21.40%, while the national poverty rate is 14.1%. Across the state as a whole, 15.4% of the population lives below the poverty line.
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