Vance County, North Carolina

Vance County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 42,954. Its is.

History
The county was formed in from parts of, , and. According to the 1955 book, Zeb's Black Baby, by Samuel Thomas Peace Sr., "The formation of Vance County was accomplished largely as a political expediency. It was in 1881 when Blacks in large numbers were voting solidly . Granville and Franklin Counties were nip and tuck, Democratic or Republican. From the standpoint, Warren County was hopelessly Republican. But by taking from Granville, Franklin and Warren, those sections that were heavily Republican and out of these sections forming the new county of Vance, the Democratic party could lose Vance to the Republicans and save Granville and Franklin for the Democrats. [U.S.] Senator [Zebulon Baird] Vance was a Democrat. He took kindly to this move and thanked the [North Carolina] Legislature for honoring him with naming the new county after him. At the same time...Vance showed his humor by always referring to Vance County as 'Zeb's Black Baby.'"  In the 1890 Census, Vance County was more than 63 percent.

was a (1862-1865, 1877-1879) and  (1879-1894). In 1881, he was arguably the state's most popular politician.

Law and government
Vance County is governed by a seven-member Board of Commissioners, who appoint a county manager. Vance County is a member of the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 699 (270 ). 657 km² (254 sq mi) of it is land and 42 km² (16 sq mi) of it (6.04%) is water.

and are partially located in Vance County.

Townships
The county is divided into eight : Dabney, Henderson, Kittrell, Middleburg, Sandy Creek,, Watkins, and Williamsboro.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 42,954 people, 16,199 households, and 11,647 families residing in the county. The was 65/km² (169/sq mi). There were 18,196 housing units at an average density of 28/km² (72/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 48.21%, 48.31% or , 0.20% , 0.39% , 0.03% , 2.03% from , and 0.84% from two or more races. 4.56% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 16,199 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.00% were living together, 20.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.06.

The county had the dubious distinction of having the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state for the year 2005 as researched by the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina. The rate was 110.4 per 1000 teens, significantly above the state average of 61.7 per 1000 teens.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,301, and the median income for a family was $36,389. Males had a median income of $28,284 versus $21,433 for females. The for the county was $15,897. About 16.30% of families and 20.50% of the population were below the, including 27.70% of those under age 18 and 19.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

 * Vance County Schools
 * Vance Charter School
 * Kerr-Vance Academy
 * Crossroads Christian Academy