Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oxford earns a D−, 260th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its crime rate is higher than 96% of U.S. towns, with 78 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $43K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 11 places on the National Register. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Oxford, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 18 of North Carolina’s 451 towns score higher on history.
Where Oxford beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Granville County Courthouse
Isaiah HicksCensus counts: 669 in 1850, 8,628 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Oxford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oxford, 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 Oxford.
Oxford is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the North Carolina rate and has poverty well above the North Carolina rate.
Violent crime runs at 8.6 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−. At 66.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 84% of North Carolina’s graded towns.
The violent crime rate in Oxford is 8.6 per 1,000 residents. Oxford reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less. The property crime rate in Oxford is 31.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Oxford | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 31.6 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Oxford Preparatory, with 869 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| C. G. Credle ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 327 | D |
| Oxford PreparatoryLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 869 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Against the 3,356 U.S. towns with household incomes like Oxford’s, it is healthier than 60%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Oxford beats the North Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 47% of Oxford adults have high blood pressure.
| Oxford | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oxford | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11% | 14.7% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.1% | 76.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.2% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Oxford home is worth about $248,000, down 0.8% in a year, 25% below the North Carolina typical home. 53% of households own their home in Oxford.
| Oxford | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $995 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Oxford | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 28.1°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 85% of North Carolina places with climate records; July afternoons average 88.8°.
Oxford has mild winters and warm summers. About 2 inches of snow falls in a winter. Oxford’s January low is 28°F.
| Oxford | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 28°F | 31°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 6,791 in 2013 to 5,218.
Most working residents leave Oxford for work: only 15% work in town. Since 2013, Oxford has lost 1,573 jobs, to 5,218 in 2023. The top destinations are Durham (13%), Raleigh (12%) and Henderson (5%).
| Oxford | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $43,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 8.4% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1985, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oxford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Oxford
About 4 of every 100 Oxford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
8 places in Oxford on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Oxford.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Oxford is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 8,628 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Granville County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oxford grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #260 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades C− for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($71,111 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
18 notable people were born here, including Isaiah Hicks and Franklin Wills Hancock, Jr..
