Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ayden earns a D, 251st among North Carolina's 286 graded towns, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $42K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 79% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also has a long history, with 3 places on the National Register. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Ayden, against 13% in North Carolina’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Willian H. Long House and Ayden Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ayden's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 83% of U.S. towns.
Where Ayden beats most towns.
Where Ayden’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 Ayden is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 557 in 1900, 4,977 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1897.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ayden, 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 Ayden.
Ayden is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has home values climbing faster than North Carolina’s, but it has little public open land.
Against the 3,164 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ayden’s, it is healthier than 67%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
16% of Ayden adults have diabetes. Ayden beats the North Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 12% of Ayden adults binge drink.
| Ayden | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ayden | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.1% | 14.7% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.5% | 76.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.8% | 13.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Pitt County Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayden ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 656 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here fell from 1,513 in 2013 to 1,070.
Most working residents leave Ayden for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Ayden has lost 443 jobs, to 1,070 in 2023. The average trip to work in Ayden is 22 minutes.
| Ayden | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $42,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.2% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Home values rose 43% in five years, to about $224K, against 22% across North Carolina. 61.3% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.9% across North Carolina.
The typical Ayden home is worth about $224,000, up 2.1% in a year, 33% below the North Carolina typical home. Ayden’s median rent is $778 a month.
| Ayden | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $778 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within North Carolina, it does better than 60% of towns.
| Ayden | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.9 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Ayden has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 33° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 15 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ayden.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Just 10 of its 2,431 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Ayden itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ayden Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Ayden
About 3 of every 100 Ayden residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Ayden is a town in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,977 at the 2020 census. The town is a part of the Greenville Metropolitan Area of North Carolina's Inner Banks region. Ayden has a total area of 3.84 square miles, all of which is land.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Ayden.
Grifton reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Ayden with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ayden grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #251 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades C− for health, C for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 60% of towns.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($58,188 across the Greenville, NC metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including Eric Blount and Loonis McGlohon.
