A thriving North Carolina tobacco field, 1980
Coats’s story
123 years in pictures
Census counts: 169 in 1910, 2,155 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1980 and 3 maps from 1973 on.
- 1903Coats is settled
CoatsNC
A town of 2,370, settled in 1903.
Photo: Gerry Dincher from Hope Mills, NC · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
2,370
2025 Census estimate · +10.4% since 2020
Typical home
$233K
−1.3% in a year
Household income
$37K
median
Median age
47.5
years
Jobs based here
598
A commuter town
Is Coats a good place to live?
Coats’ best subject grade is a B+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for incomes. Coats’ average trip to work is 33 minutes, above both the North Carolina town median (24 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Coats's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns. Coats has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
97% of working residents leave Coats for work
Where Coats’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
598jobs based in Coats
3%of working residents work in town
24 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Coats grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Coats is from typical.
Jobs & income598 jobs based hereDOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.2 of 20; 2.8% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →HealthBetsy Johnson Regional Hospital 10.9 miles awayCOpen →Cost of livingB+Open →SchoolsC+Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 33% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market75 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 47.5; 19% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Coats: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Coats, and how to reach them.
PowerTown of Black CreekEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterTown of Coats water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Coats’ trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn North Carolina you can register online until 25 days before Election Day, in person with same-day registration during the early voting period, or by mail (postmarked 25 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereHarnett County Board of ElectionsHarnett County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2025
ZIP code2752127521 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Coats.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
With 0.6 jobs for every working resident, most of Coats’ workers commute out
Most working residents leave Coats for work: only 3% work in town. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Coats, against 13% in North Carolina’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Coats’ median household income is $37,000.
3%work in town
| Coats | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 22% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $37,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.7% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Coats3%
Raleigh12%
Dunn6%
Fayetteville4%
Lillington4%
24 mi
median commute distance
598
jobs based in Coats
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
SchoolsC+
Public schools in Coats fall behind 64% of North Carolina districts
Its public schools are run by the Harnett County Schools. Its one school is below.
36%of NC districts it outscoresC+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coats ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 633 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
HousingCost of living grade B+
The typical home in Coats is valued at about $233K
The typical Coats home is worth about $233,000, down 1.3% in a year, 30% below the North Carolina typical home. 48% of households own their home in Coats.
$233KZillow home value
| Coats | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $909 a month | $1,085 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Coats$233K
North Carolina$332K
Market temperature
75
days on market
102.9%
sale-to-list price
−1.3%
value change, 1 year
6
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
HealthC
Health in Coats trails 69% of U.S. towns
Coats beats the North Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 27% of Coats adults have been diagnosed with depression.
31%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
| Coats | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
32 measures vs. North Carolina
0 better21 too close to call11 worse
| What stands out | Coats | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 13.9% | 10.4% |
| More smokers | 17.4% | 13.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 19.3% | 15.2% |
Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital
10.9 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
In Coats, expect mild winters and hot summers
Coats has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Coats is 91°F.
2″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter34–55°
Spring48–73°
Summer68–89°
Fall51–73°
Nov 7
typical first frost
Mar 28
typical last frost
+0.9°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B
Low risk in Coats, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities.
33risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanesTornadoes
7
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Safety
Crime reported in Coats
Coats's reported crime rate is close to North Carolina's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 5 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Coats | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 20.4 per 1,000 residents | 24 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.7 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Coats2.2
North Carolina3.8
U.S.3.6
Property crime per 1,000 residents
Coats20.4
North Carolina20.1
U.S.17.7
5
violent crimes reported in 2024
47
property crimes reported in 2024
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
OutdoorsC−
Conserved land covers 2% of Coats
2%conserved
2%
conserved · 21 of 1,034 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coats Park and Rec | — | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Coats
19pages on Coats
The big questions
SchoolsC+Behind 64% of NC districts · 1 schoolSafety2.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents (2024)HealthCBetter than NC on 0 of 32 CDC measuresCost of livingB+$233K typical home · down 1.3% in a yearWork & commuteD$37K median household income · 598 jobs hereNatural hazardsBFEMA risk higher than 33% of U.S. communities · inland flooding
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Coats
About 5 of every 100 Coats residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
About Coats
Town in North Carolina, United States
Coats is a town in Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,155 at the 2020 census. Coats is a part of the Anderson Creek Micropolitan Area, which is a part of the greater Raleigh–Durham–Cary Combined Statistical Area (CSA) as defined by the United States Census Bureau.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 308 ft
- ZIP code
- 27521
- Area code
- 910
Questions about Coats
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Coats, NC expensive?
Not for the area. That is 3.3 years of the area's median household income ($71,287 across the Anderson Creek, NC area).