It is home of the North Carolina Turkey Festival, which takes place in September every year. It is also a famous housing of the Lumbee tribe of Native Americans.
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,386 people, 1,323 households, and 899 families residing in the city. The population density was 902.3 people per square mile (348.6/km²). There were 1,440 housing units at an average density of 383.7/sq mi (148.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 52.75% White, 40.93% African American, 2.86% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.09% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.16% of the population.
There were 1,323 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,306, and the median income for a family was $33,772. Males had a median income of $27,060 versus $26,050 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,093. About 18.6% of families and 22.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.