Is Locust a good place to live?
Locust is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, ranked 105th of 286 in North Carolina, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 66% of the state's. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $382K, 6.3 years of the Albemarle area’s $61K median household income. Locust’s average trip to work is 33 minutes, above both North Carolina’s towns (24 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Locust has 2 places on the National Register. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 75% of U.S. towns.
Locust has grown 108% since 2010
2,930 counted in 2010 and 4,537 in 2020; an estimated 6,120 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 34.4% since 2020, after 54.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Locust grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Locust is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Locust: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Locust, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Locust.
Locust has homes that cost more against local pay than most of North Carolina, but it has commutes longer than most of North Carolina.
0.9% of Locust is conserved land
4.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Locust City Park, at 22 acres.
| Locust | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Locust City Park | 0.4 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
For schools, Locust earns a B+
Its public schools are run by the Stanly County Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locust ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 563 | B+ |
| Carolina Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 247 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
In Locust, expect mild winters and hot summers
Locust has mild winters and warm summers. Locust’s July high is 90°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in three of Locust’s working residents commute to Charlotte
The average commute for its 2,210 working residents takes 32.7 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina. Jobs based here grew from 1,085 in 2013 to 1,839.
Most working residents leave Locust for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Locust grew to 1,839 in 2023, 754 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Charlotte (31%), Concord (10%) and Albemarle (5%).
| Locust | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 8.7% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.1% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On CDC estimates, Locust is healthier than 61% of U.S. towns
Locust beats the North Carolina average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 26% of Locust adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Locust | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 25% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Locust | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.5% | 8.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.2% | 12.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Locust
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For cost of living, Locust earns a C
At 6.3 years of the Albemarle area’s $61K median household income, the typical home (about $382K) costs more against local pay than in 88% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living.
87% of households own their home in Locust. The typical Locust home is worth about $382,000, about the same as a year ago, 15% above the North Carolina typical home.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Locust
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Locust
About 4 of every 100 Locust residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
About Locust
City in North Carolina, United States
Locust is a small rural city in Stanly and Cabarrus counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, Locust had a population of 4,537. It has seen substantial growth lately due to the urban sprawl from the Charlotte area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 719 ft
- ZIP code
- 28097
- Area code
- 704
Locust’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Locust.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locust | #105 | B− | C | — | B+ | B |
| Stanfield | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Midland | #26 | A− | C | — | B+ | A |
| Red Cross | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Stanfield has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Locust, Stanfield and Midland report no FBI crime data of their own. Red Cross isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Locust with a neighbor →
Questions about Locust
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Locust, NC a good place to live?
Locust grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #105 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Locust, NC expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.