Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mount Olive earns a D, 255th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 94% of the country. The median household income is $49K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 6 places on the National Register. Mount Olive is home to University of Mount Olive. 16% of residents are under 18 in Mount Olive, below both North Carolina’s towns (22%) and U.S. towns (22%). Mount Olive has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Perry-Cherry House and Southerland-Burnette House.
Where Mount Olive beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Mount Olive’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Mount Olive is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 393 in 1890, 4,198 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1924 and 2 maps from 1977 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Olive, 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 Olive.
Mount Olive draws workers from Goldsboro and beyond and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has little public open land.
At 2 years of the Goldsboro metro’s $60K median household income, the typical home (about $122K) costs less against local pay than in 99% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. The typical value, about $122K, is 12% below its August 2022 peak.
The typical Mount Olive home is worth about $122,000, down 2% in a year, 63% below the North Carolina typical home. 57% of Mount Olive households own their home.
| Mount Olive | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $950 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Wayne County Public Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Olive MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 329 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
3,100 jobs are based in Mount Olive, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
Most working residents leave Mount Olive for work: only 14% work in town. Mount Olive’s average trip to work is 19 minutes. Jobs based in Mount Olive grew to 3,100 in 2023, 281 more than in 2013.
| Mount Olive | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
30% of adults worry about having enough food in Mount Olive. Mount Olive beats the North Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 46% of adults have high blood pressure in Mount Olive.
| Mount Olive | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 19% | 19% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Mount Olive | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7% | 7.9% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.1% | 76.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 30.9% | 13.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Mount Olive has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Mount Olive is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mount Olive's reported crime rate is above North Carolina's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 13 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Mount Olive | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 29.4 per 1,000 residents | 24 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 20 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mount Olive.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Just 6 of its 1,743 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Mount Olive itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Mount Olive | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Olive Park | — | 4 |
| 2. UMO Arboretum | 0.1 mi | 1 |
| 3. Nelson Street Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Mount Olive
About 13 of every 100 Mount Olive residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
5 places in Mount Olive on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Mount Olive.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Mount Olive is a town in Duplin and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,198. It is included in the Goldsboro metropolitan area. The town is home to the Mt. Olive Pickle Company and the University of Mount Olive.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mount Olive grades D overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #255 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades D for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2 years of the area's median household income ($59,733 across the Goldsboro, NC metro 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Greg Warren and John R. Bell, IV.
