Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ahoskie earns a D−, ranked 284th of 286 in North Carolina, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $41K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. It reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, including 46 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. It also has a long history, with 9 places on the National Register. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Ahoskie, above both the North Carolina town median (13%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Ahoskie has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them William Mitchell House and King-Casper-Ward-Bazemore House. Ahoskie's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 89% of U.S. towns.
Where Ahoskie beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Ahoskie Downtown Historic DistrictWhere Ahoskie’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Ahoskie is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 302 in 1900, 4,891 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1961 and a map from 1908 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ahoskie, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ahoskie.
Ahoskie draws workers from Greenville and beyond, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the North Carolina rate and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
At 2.4 years of the county’s $46K median household income, the typical home (about $111K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. The typical value, about $111K, is 8% below its May 2024 peak.
The typical Ahoskie home is worth about $111,000, up 3.1% in a year, 67% below the North Carolina typical home. 48% of households own their home in Ahoskie.
| Ahoskie | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $809 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Hertford County Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hertford County High, with 447 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bearfield PrimaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 543 | C− |
| Hertford County HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 447 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 10 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the North Carolina rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−.
Ahoskie’s violent crime rate is 10 per 1,000 residents. Ahoskie reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less. Ahoskie’s property crime rate is 27.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Ahoskie | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 27.3 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
3,717 jobs are based in Ahoskie, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 4 of Ahoskie’s working residents works in town. 4.3% of Ahoskie workers work from home. Since 2013, Ahoskie has lost 274 jobs, to 3,717 in 2023.
| Ahoskie | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 4.3% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 2,662 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ahoskie’s, it is less healthy than 53%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Only 4 of the 289 North Carolina towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Ahoskie. Ahoskie beats the North Carolina average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. Only 8 of the 289 North Carolina towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Ahoskie.
| Ahoskie | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 13% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 15% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 51% | 38% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Ahoskie | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.5% | 14.7% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83% | 76.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.4% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 79% of North Carolina towns; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Ahoskie is 79 of 100. Since 1984, 59 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ahoskie.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Ahoskie | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.8% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ahoskie Memorial Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ahoskie has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 30° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2 within 15 miles of the center of Ahoskie
About 6 of every 100 Ahoskie residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
5 places in Ahoskie on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Ahoskie.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Ahoskie (ah-HOSS-kee ) is a town in Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,891 at the 2020 census. Ahoskie is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. Its nickname is "The Only One" because no other town in the world is known by the same name. The etymology of the word Ahoskie, which was originally spelled "Ahotsky", was from the Wyanoke Indians, who entered the Hertford County area at the beginning of European settlement.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ahoskie grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #284 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades D for health, D− for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
11 notable people were born here, including Ella Mitchell and Amber O'Neal.
