Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kinston grades D− overall, 281st of 286 graded towns in North Carolina, mostly because of health and safety. Residents are less healthy than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its police reported 151 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 97% of U.S. towns. It also has a long history, with 25 places on the National Register. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Kinston, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Its National Register listings include CSS NEUSE (Ironclad Gunboat) and Peebles House. The median household income is $37K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line.
Where Kinston beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Peebles House| Widest gap | Kinston | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 19.3% | 8.1% |
Census counts: 455 in 1850, 19,900 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1914 on.
25 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Kinston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kinston, 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 Kinston.
Kinston draws workers from Greenville and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the North Carolina rate.
Against the 1,603 U.S. towns with household incomes like Kinston’s, it is less healthy than 80%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
33% of Kinston adults say their health is fair or poor. Among 289 North Carolina towns, just 7 have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Kinston. 36% of Kinston adults feel lonely.
| Kinston | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 19% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 24% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Kinston | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.8% | 14.7% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.1% | 76.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 19.3% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Lenoir County Public Schools. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Kinston High, with 659 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochelle MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 517 | D− |
| Kinston HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 659 | C− |
| Lenoir County Early College HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 246 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 7.8 per 1,000 residents, about twice the North Carolina rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 40 per 1,000 residents, about twice the North Carolina rate, most of it theft.
Kinston’s violent crime rate is 7.8 per 1,000 residents. Kinston reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less. Kinston’s property crime rate is 40 per 1,000 residents.
| Kinston | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.8 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 40 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
18,495 jobs are based in Kinston, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Kinston’s working residents works in town. 3.3% of workers work from home in Kinston. Since 2013, Kinston has added 3,461 jobs, to 18,495 in 2023.
| Kinston | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 35% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 3.3% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $37,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Home values rose 45% in five years, to about $145K, against 22% across North Carolina.
The typical Kinston home is worth about $145,000, up 3.7% in a year, 56% below the North Carolina typical home. The median rent in Kinston is $867 a month.
| Kinston | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 43% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $867 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
530 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 87 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 530 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kinston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.3 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Caswell Farm Game Land, at 63 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Caswell Farm Game Land | — | 63 |
| 2. Bill Fay Memorial Park | — | 48 |
| 3. Holloway Park | — | 33 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Kinston has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 33° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kinston
About 5 of every 100 Kinston residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
25 places in Kinston on the National Register of Historic Places.
39 notable people were born in Kinston.
City in North Carolina, United States
Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 19,900 as of the 2020 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of eastern North Carolina. In 2009, Kinston won the All-America City Award. This marks the second time in 21 years the city has won the title.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Kinston grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #281 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.2 years of the area's median household income ($45,143 across the Kinston, NC 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.
39 notable people were born here, including Jaime Pressly and Brandon Ingram.
