Advance is a very small town located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 1,499 people and four associated neighborhoods, Advance is the 348th largest community in North Carolina. Advance has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Advance, where the median household income is $109,402.00.

A relatively large number of people in Advance telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 7.78% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Because of many things, Advance is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Advance a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Advance has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Advance’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

One downside of living in Advance, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 33.75 minutes every day commuting to work.

Being a small town, Advance does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

In terms of college education, Advance is substantially better educated than the typical community in the nation, which has 21.84% of the adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree: 31.79% of adults in Advance have a college degree.

The per capita income in Advance in 2022 was $33,917, which is upper middle income relative to North Carolina, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $135,668 for a family of four.

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

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