Population
Halifax County, North Carolina is one of about 3,140 counties and county equivalents in the United States. It has 725 sq. miles in land area and a population density of 79.1 people per square mile. In 2003 the total population of Halifax County was estimated to be 56,491 while the population of the entire state of North Carolina was estimated at 8,407,248. In the period from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003 its population is estimated to have changed by -1.5% while the state changed by 4.5%. Note that official recorded population counts of the 2000 census are 57,370 and 8,049,313 for the county and state respectively. In the decade prior to the last census (1990 to 2000) Halifax County's total population changed by 3.3% while North Carolina changed 21.4%.
Demographics
On the 2000 census, 42.6% of the population reported to be White and 52.6% African-American. Other races tallied; Native American: 3.1%, Asian: 0.5%, and Hawaiian/Pacific Island origin: Z. The Hispanic population (any origin) of Halifax County is 1.0%. 2.8% of the county's population spoke a language other than English while at home and foreign-born persons represented 1.1%. Of those that were age 25 and over at the time of the census 65.4% were high school graduates and 11.1% had a college Bachelor's degree or higher. 26.2% were under 18 years old while 14.9% were of retirement age, 65 years old and over. The number of persons reporting a disability was 15,784.
Halifax County had 22,122 households in 2000 with a median household income of $26,459 as compared to the North Carolina state-wide median family income of $39,184. The average income per person was $13,810 versus North Carolina's $20,307. Poverty levels for the county and state were 23.9% and 12.3%, respectively.
Home Owners - Real Estate
In 2002 there were 25,654 housing units in Halifax County with 8.6% of them in multi-unit structures. The home ownership rate was 67.0% and the median value of an owner-occupied home was $68,300. Across the entire state of North Carolina the the median value of an owner-occupied home was $108,300. In 2002, 127 building permits were authorized for home and/or apartment construction.
Business and Jobs
Residents of the county have an average commute time to work of 24.2 minutes. As of 2001 there were 1,113 private, non-farm, payroll-generating businesses in Halifax County. The total number of private, non-farm jobs was 14,361 which changed -6.2% in the period between 2000-2001. In 1997 Halifax County retail sales were 461,971,000. The total value of manufacturing shipments was 567,720,000.