NCACC gives Gaston County economic, demographic snapshot as commissioners begin budget planning

Denise Canada, director of research and policy for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, presented a demographic and economic briefing to the Gaston County Board of Commissioners at its Jan. 28, 2025 meeting, drawing on the NCACC County Map Book and other Census data.

The presentation covered population change, age structure, education and workforce measures, county gross domestic product and sales-tax collections and distribution. "We are your association. We work for you," Canada said at the start of the briefing, which the board and staff followed with questions about local implications for the budget process.

Canada told the board that Gaston County’s population has risen over the long term, adding roughly about 92,000 residents between 1970 and 2023, with most of that growth occurring inside municipal boundaries rather than in unincorporated areas. She said the county’s population pyramid shows a "solid base of young families" but a larger concentration in the early-50s age range and a substantial retirement-age population; the county’s median age was presented as about 45.

On education and the workforce, Canada said roughly 12% of county residents over 25 lack a high school diploma and about 29% report a high school diploma or GED as their highest attainment, leaving about 40% with a high-school-or-less education — a figure she said is useful to consider for economic development strategies. She also showed long-term unemployment trends that mirror national cycles and noted unemployment has dropped substantially since the pandemic.

Canada described structural shifts in local employment: private-sector jobs declined by roughly 6% over the period she examined while service-sector employment increased and manufacturing declined as a share of the local economy. She said about 31% of residents work inside Gaston County and a large share commute to neighboring Mecklenburg County.

On incomes and output, Canada reported Gaston County’s per-capita income has risen in inflation-adjusted terms but remains below the statewide average; the county’s five-year change in county gross domestic product was up about 9%, putting Gaston ahead of the median county growth in that period.

A substantial portion of the presentation described sales-tax volatility and distribution. Canada pointed to April 2021 as an unusually high month (31% higher than April 2020) and warned that the pattern seen during the pandemic is not typical. She explained North Carolina law requires all local sales tax to be collected by retailers and remitted to the state, which then applies statutory formulas to allocate funds back to counties. Using October 2024 collections as an example, she showed Gaston County collected about $7,240,000 in that month for sales occurring in-county and, after state distribution formulas (before municipal splits), the county received about $7,900,000 — illustrating that some counties receive more back than they collected and others receive less under the statutory distribution.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about annexations, municipal growth, and budget forecasting; Canada said forecasting sales-tax revenue is "extremely difficult" and encouraged boards to use multiple indicators when planning. She closed by offering follow-up support from the association.

The presentation provided county officials with multiple data points the board indicated they would use in the coming budget strategy sessions.