| ZIP Codes: | 8 ZIP Codes (7 Standard, 1 PO Box, 0 Unique) [See All] |
| Area Codes: | 472 / 910 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (GMT -05:00) |
| Local Time: | 2:12:55 PM |
| Population: | 26,331 [See All] |
| FIPS: | 37017 |
| Land Area: | 697 sq mi |
| Water Area: | 9 sq mi |
| Coordinates: | 34.6090, -78.6308 |
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26,331 residents live across 8 ZIPs covering 697 sq mi, served by 8 distinct USPS-recognized cities.
Population moved from 30,837 to 26,331 from 2014 to 2024 — a -14.6% change. 2 ZIPs gained residents, 6 lost.
The county's wealthiest ZIP 28332 (Dublin, $77,250 median) and poorest ZIP 28399 (White Oak, $33,512) are 7.3 miles apart — a 2.3× income gap across local geography.
Median home values vary 1.9× across this county — from $100,800 in 28320 (Bladenboro) to $186,600 in 28337 (Elizabethtown).
Density varies 1158× across the county — from 9 people/sq mi in 28448 (Kelly) to 9,969 in 28332 (Dublin).
Educational attainment ranges from 2.7% bachelor's+ in 28448 (Kelly) to 24.8% in 28332 (Dublin) — the breadth of educational profiles across the area.
Within North Carolina, this is the #73 most populous of 100 counties and ranks #90 for median household income .
Weighted by population, the typical household earns about $45,044 across the county — reflecting what a typical resident sees, not a simple ZIP average.
18.9% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher (3,516 of 18,637 reporting).
7 Standard delivery, 1 PO Box only, 0 single-entity Unique ZIPs serve this county.
A frontier county — vast land area with only a few residents per square mile. Daily life looks very different here than in the country's denser counties.
Bladen County lost 14.6% of residents between 2014 and 2024. ZIPs that shed the largest share:
| ZIP | City | Type | Population | Median Income | Area (sq mi) | 10-yr Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28337 | Elizabethtown | Standard | 8,357 | $36,227 | 174.3 | -18.8% |
| 28320 | Bladenboro | Standard | 7,962 | $57,500 | 118.1 | -13.2% |
| 28433 | Clarkton | Standard | 4,313 | $36,944 | 122.6 | -9.7% |
| 28399 | White Oak | Standard | 1,819 | $33,512 | 78.5 | -14.3% |
| 28392 | Tar Heel | Standard | 1,758 | — | 33.8 | 29.1% |
| 28448 | Kelly | Standard | 767 | $53,378 | 89.1 | -25.2% |
| 28434 | Council | Standard | 710 | $49,643 | 80.8 | -54.5% |
| 28332 | Dublin | PO Box | 645 | $77,250 | 0.1 | 23.1% |