Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kernersville grades C− overall, ranked 207th of 286 in North Carolina, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, it reports more crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns, including 63 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $72K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $319K for a typical one and 4.8 times the Winston metro’s $66K median household income. Its National Register listings include Korner's Folly and Kernersville Depot. Kernersville’s property crime rate is 27.6 per 1,000 residents, above both the North Carolina town median (21.8) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex, at 139 acres with 2.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Kernersville beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1756, comes before those of 96% of the North Carolina towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 585 in 1880, 26,449 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1926 and 4 maps from 1969 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Kernersville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kernersville. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Stadium & arenaAllegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
9 mi MuseumOld Salem
27 mi MountainPilot Mountain
37 mi Zoo & aquariumNorth Carolina Zoo700K visitors a year
11 mi MuseumReynolda House Museum of American Art
22 mi State parkHanging Rock State ParkAllegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium: BobHWS, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Old Salem: David Bjorgen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pilot Mountain: Berean Hunter, CC BY-SA 2.5 · North Carolina Zoo: Diane Villa, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Reynolda House Museum of American Art: Zsrarticle, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hanging Rock State Park: Jacalyn Engler from Greensboro, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kernersville, 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 Kernersville.
Kernersville draws workers from Winston-Salem and beyond, is healthier than Greensboro and its other neighbors and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of North Carolina.
18,134 jobs are based in Kernersville, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 13,186 in 2013 to 18,134.
Most working residents leave Kernersville for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Kernersville grew to 18,134 in 2023, 4,948 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Winston-Salem (25%), Greensboro (18%) and High Point (7%).
| Kernersville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Forsyth Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 772 | D |
| East Forsyth HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,647 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 1,146 to 874 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Kernersville reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 86% report less. Within North Carolina, it does better than 41% of towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
4.4 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves.
| Kernersville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 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. Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex | 2.3 mi | 139 |
| 2. Fourth of July Park | 0.9 mi | 22 |
| 3. Etta Lea & Lawrence Pope Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 87 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons average 87.9°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 80% of North Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 28.9°.
Kernersville has mild winters and warm summers. About 7 inches of snow falls in a winter. Kernersville’s January low is 29°F.
| Kernersville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 29°F | 31°F | 22°F |
| July high | 88°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Its B for health tops all 3 graded neighbors; Greensboro (B−) comes closest.
Kernersville beats the North Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 40% of adults have obesity in Kernersville.
| Kernersville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Kernersville | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.8% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kernersville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Walkertown is next at $268K.
The typical Kernersville home is worth about $319,000, up 0.8% in a year, close to the North Carolina typical home. 61% of Kernersville households own their home.
| Kernersville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,082 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the North Carolina average. Kernersville has grown 9.9% since 2020, to 29,128 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across North Carolina.
| Kernersville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.0, men 38.2.
| Kernersville | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.4% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.9% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.3% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.3% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.2% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.1% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.2% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.5% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.2% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
12 within 15 miles of the center of Kernersville
About 6 of every 100 Kernersville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
23,123 counted in 2010 and 26,449 in 2020; an estimated 29,128 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.9% since 2020, after 14.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
9 places in Kernersville on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Kernersville.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Kernersville is a town in Forsyth County, North Carolina, and the largest suburb of Winston-Salem. The population was 26,481 at the 2020 census, an increase from 23,123 in 2010. While Kernersville is in the Winston-Salem Metropolitan area, the municipal limits of the town is also located inside the overall center of the Piedmont Triad, with the very small outskirts of the town also extending inside Guilford County (Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Area), in which access to Downtown Kernersville from the east is via I-40 Exit 206 in the Guilford County municipality of Colfax.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Kernersville.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kernersville | #207 | C− | C− | D | C+ | B |
| Winston-Salem | #243 | D | C | D | C+ | C+ |
| Walkertown | #176 | C− | C+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Greensboro | #215 | D | C− | D− | B− | B− |
Walkertown reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Kernersville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Kernersville grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #207 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 41% of towns.
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−.
9 notable people were born here, including Madison Bailey and Chris Lane.
