Employment Indicators for Wilkes County, North Carolina (2024)

Total Employed

28,660
Civilian 16+

Private For-Profit

71.0 %
Largest Sector

Self-Employed

6.7%
Entrepreneurship

Government

14.2%
Public Sector

Wilkes County, North Carolina Workforce by Sector & Gender

Employment sector breakdown by gender in
Figure 1: Male vs Female participation in employment sectors (2024).

Wilkes County, North Carolina Employment Sector Breakdown

SectorTotal WorkersPercentage
Private For-Profit20,33671.0%
Government4,06114.2%
Self-Employed1,9316.7%
Private Non-Profit2,2127.7%

Wilkes County, North Carolina Gender Ratio Analysis by Employment Sector (2024)

SectorMale:Female Ratio
Private For-Profit1.39:1
Government0.64:1
Self-Employed2.19:1

Wilkes County, North Carolina Employment Trends (2010–2024)

Long-term employment trends in

Wilkes County, North Carolina Historical Employment Sector Trends

YearPrivateGovSelf-EmpNon-Profit
202471.0%14.2%6.7%7.7%
202370.6%13.6%7.2%8.2%
202272.2%12.8%7.2%7.2%
202171.9%12.5%8.1%7.0%
202071.9%12.9%7.4%7.4%
201972.7%13.5%7.6%5.9%
201871.4%13.6%8.2%6.5%
201770.4%15.1%7.8%6.5%
201671.7%14.9%7.6%5.7%
201573.4%13.4%7.4%5.7%
201473.7%13.0%7.4%5.7%
201373.9%13.1%7.0%5.7%
201274.4%12.7%7.7%4.9%
201173.8%12.6%8.5%4.7%
201073.3%12.8%9.0%4.7%

Employment Sector FAQs for Wilkes County, North Carolina

The largest employment sector in Wilkes County, North Carolina is Private For-Profit, which employs 71.0% of the local workforce.

There are approximately 28,660 civilian workers aged 16 and over currently employed in Wilkes County, North Carolina.

In the private for-profit sector, the male-to-female ratio is 1.39:1. This metric helps highlight gender participation across the most prominent industry classes.

Since 2010, the total number of workers in Wilkes County, North Carolina has shown a decrease, moving from 29,596 to 28,660 according to Census Bureau records.