Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Clinton earns a D−, 271st among North Carolina's 286 graded towns, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its crime rate is higher than 93% of U.S. towns, with 24 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $45K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 15 places on the National Register. 24% of residents live below the poverty line in Clinton, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Its National Register listings include Graves-Stewart House and West Main-North Chesnutt Streets Historic District. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top.
Where Clinton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Graves-Stewart House
Its founding year, 1740, comes before those of 98% of the North Carolina towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 209 in 1860, 8,383 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and a map from 1986 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Clinton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clinton, 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 Clinton.
Clinton draws workers from Fayetteville and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
8,240 jobs are based in Clinton, 2.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 4 of Clinton’s working residents works in town. Clinton’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. The top destinations are Raleigh (4%), Fayetteville (4%) and Charlotte (3%).
| Clinton | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Clinton City Schools. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Clinton High, with 828 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sampson MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 703 | B− |
| Clinton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 828 | B+ |
| Sampson Early College HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 229 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 421 to 256 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Clinton is 27.9 per 1,000 residents. Clinton reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less. Within North Carolina, it does better than 27% of towns.
| Clinton | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 27.9 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 3 years of the county’s $52K median household income, the typical home (about $156K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living.
The typical Clinton home is worth about $156,000, up 1.8% in a year, 53% below the North Carolina typical home. 49% of Clinton households own their home.
| Clinton | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $759 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 3,985 U.S. towns with household incomes like Clinton’s, it is less healthy than 53%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Clinton beats the North Carolina average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 46% of adults have high blood pressure in Clinton.
| Clinton | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 38% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 19% | 19% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Clinton | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.1% | 76.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.3% | 13.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 81% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $134 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1984, 30 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clinton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Clinton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 32° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Royal Lane Park, at 73 acres.
| Clinton | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Royal Lane Park | 0.6 mi | 73 |
| 2. Fisher Drive Park | 0.2 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Clinton
About 4 of every 100 Clinton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Where Clinton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
13 places in Clinton on the National Register of Historic Places.
23 notable people were born in Clinton.
City in North Carolina, United States
Clinton (locally KLIN-ən, KLINT-ən) is a city in and the county seat of Sampson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,383. Clinton is named for Richard Clinton, a Brigadier General of the North Carolina militia in the American Revolution.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Clinton grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #271 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades D for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 27% of towns.
That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($52,432 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
23 notable people were born here, including Willie Parker and Gabriel Holmes.
