Kinston is a medium-sized city located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 19,365 people and 12 associated neighborhoods, Kinston is the 49th largest community in North Carolina.

The citizens of Kinston are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 14.75% of adults in Kinston have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree

The per capita income in Kinston in 2018 was $27,127, which is middle income relative to North Carolina, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $108,508 for a family of four. However, Kinston contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Kinston is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Kinston home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Kinston residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Kinston include African, English, German, Irish, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Kinston is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.