Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Pilot Mountain’s subject grades are a B+ for schools and walkability; the weakest is a C for incomes. Only 26 of North Carolina’s 451 towns score higher on hazard risk. Pilot Mountain’s property crime rate is 24.5 per 1,000 residents, against 21.8 in North Carolina’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Pilot Mountain has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Rock House and Jessup's Mill. Pilot Mountain has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Pilot Mountain beats most towns.
Bank of Pilot Mountain, (Former)In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Pilot Mountain is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2004.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pilot Mountain, 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 Pilot Mountain.
Most working residents leave Pilot Mountain for work: only 9% work in town. At $49,000, Pilot Mountain’s median household income is below both the North Carolina town median ($69,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Since 2013, Pilot Mountain has added 182 jobs, to 1,319 in 2023.
| Pilot Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $49,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 13% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Surry County Schools. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is East Surry High, with 576 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot Mountain ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 353 | B+ |
| East Surry HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 576 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Pilot Mountain has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 28° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pilot Mountain beats the North Carolina average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of Pilot Mountain adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Pilot Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Pilot Mountain | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.1% | 13.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.8% | 10.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Pilot Mountain home is worth about $284,000, up 6.7% in a year, 14% below the North Carolina typical home. 56% of households own their home in Pilot Mountain.
| Pilot Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $969 a month | $1,085 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Pilot Mountain's reported crime rate is above North Carolina's. The violent crime rate in Pilot Mountain is 0.7 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Pilot Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Park | — | 33 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pilot Mountain. Close and well known come first.
18 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
3 mi MountainPilot Mountain
21 mi Stadium & arenaAllegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
24 mi MuseumOld Salem
12 mi State parkHanging Rock State Park
21 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of Pilot Mountain
About 8 of every 100 Pilot Mountain residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Where Pilot Mountain’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in North Carolina
Pilot Mountain is a town in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,443 at the 2020 census. It is named for the nearby landmark of Pilot Mountain, a distinctive geological formation.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.1 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 C.
