Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mount Airy grades D overall, ranked 214th of 286 in North Carolina, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 88% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $40K, and 27% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 13 places on the National Register. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in Mount Airy, above both North Carolina’s towns (13%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On history, just 9 of North Carolina’s 451 towns do better. Mount Airy's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Mount Airy beats most towns.
Census counts: 519 in 1880, 10,676 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Mount Airy is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mount Airy. Close and well known come first.
10 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
14 mi MountainPilot Mountain
33 mi Stadium & arenaAllegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
36 mi MuseumOld Salem
21 mi State parkHanging Rock State Park
32 mi MuseumReynolda House Museum of American ArtBlue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Pilot Mountain: Berean Hunter, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium: BobHWS, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Old Salem: David Bjorgen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hanging Rock State Park: Jacalyn Engler from Greensboro, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Reynolda House Museum of American Art: Zsrarticle, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Airy, 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 Mount Airy.
Mount Airy draws workers from Winston-Salem and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the North Carolina rate.
9,319 jobs are based in Mount Airy, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.8 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
About one in 3 of Mount Airy’s working residents works in town. Mount Airy’s average trip to work is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Winston-Salem (10%), Dobson (5%) and Charlotte (4%).
| Mount Airy | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $40,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 5.1% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Mount Airy City Schools. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Millennium Charter Academy, with 628 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce H. Tharrington PrimaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 432 | – |
| Millennium Charter AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 628 | A− |
| Mount Airy HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 620 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Against the 2,471 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mount Airy’s, it is healthier than 54%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Mount Airy. Mount Airy beats the North Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 45% of adults have high blood pressure in Mount Airy.
| Mount Airy | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Mount Airy | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.8% | 14.7% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.5% | 76.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.6% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 340 to 240 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Mount Airy is 20.7 per 1,000 residents. Within North Carolina, it does better than 52% of towns.
| Mount Airy | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.7 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Mount Airy home is worth about $221,000, up 3.6% in a year, 33% below the North Carolina typical home. 55% of Mount Airy households own their home.
| Mount Airy | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $725 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 43 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mount Airy.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 27°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 92% of North Carolina places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.1°.
Mount Airy has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Mount Airy | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 27°F | 31°F | 22°F |
| July high | 87°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.0 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Westwood Park, at 83 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Mount Airy | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.1% | 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. Westwood Park | 1.5 mi | 83 |
| 2. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 42 |
| 3. Tharrington Park | — | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Mount Airy
About 2 of every 100 Mount Airy residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Where Mount Airy’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
13 places in Mount Airy on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Mount Airy.
City in North Carolina, United States
Mount Airy () is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. The city is located in the northwestern Piedmont Triad. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 10,676. As of 2020, the city is the most populous municipality in Surry County. Mount Airy is located adjacent to the Winston-Salem Metropolitan Area, which is located west of the core central Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Mount Airy.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Airy | #214 | D | B− | C− | B+ | D |
| Toast | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Flat Rock | — | — | A− | — | B+ | D− |
| White Plains | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Flat Rock has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Flat Rock reports no FBI crime data of its own. Toast and White Plains aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Mount Airy with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mount Airy grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #214 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades D for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 52% of towns.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($55,656 across the Mount Airy, 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 B−.
19 notable people were born here, including Andy Griffith and Donna Fargo.
