Raleigh, the state capital · Photo: Abhiram Juvvadi · CC BY-SA 4.0How North Carolina stacks up
North Carolina’s schools stretch a dollar: 43rd in spending per pupil, yet 19th on the Nation’s Report Card. Its standout town is Morrisville, #9 in the country for health. All told, North Carolina grades C+, 33rd of 51 with a score of 36.
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
30th of 51C+42/100 A bit above-average crime. 75% of residents live in bottom-quarter towns, among them Charlotte and Raleigh. The FBI’s 2025 estimate puts violent crime at 331 per 100,000 residents, the 22nd highest rate of the 50 states and D.C.
With property crime counted (property + 4 × violent), it places 19th highest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 81 North Carolina towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally. Covers 93% of residents of North Carolina’s 10,000+ towns.
The big places weigh on the total
Davidson leads its towns at #106 of 3,410 nationally, with Pinehurst and Rolesville close behind. Greensboro, Durham and Winston-Salem sit at the high-crime end of the national ranking.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| North Carolina | 5% | 75% |
Towns policed by others
Our town measure uses the crime each local police department reports to the FBI; towns without enough of the last three years are left out. In North Carolina, 93% of residents of 10,000+ towns are covered. Four towns have too few years reported, among them Apex, Thomasville and Hope Mills. Indian Trail, Sanford and Clemmons are among 14 places that report no crime of their own; county or state police patrol them, and their crimes aren’t counted by town. Among its neighbors, Tennessee counts the most (97%) and Virginia the least (55%).
Schools
34th of 51C34/100 Schools a notch below average. 32% of its 4th and 8th graders reach Proficient on the Nation’s Report Card, against 31% nationally (19th highest). Results outrun the money: 43rd in spending, 19th on the test. Few residents live in a top-quarter town; its best showing is Chapel Hill, #770 nationally.
In the class of 2023, 86.5% graduated on time, 26th highest; graduation counts as much as test results in the grade.
Spending: $13,045 per pupil, 9th lowest. Shown for context, not graded.
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 99 North Carolina towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally.
Cost of living
23rd of 51B56/100 A little cheaper than average. At $1,896, the typical property-tax bill is the 15th lowest among the states. Town by town it lands near the middle, with Lenoir its best at #129 of 5,235.
Home values run 4.0 times the median household income, 23rd highest.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 99 North Carolina towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
22nd of 51B58/100 Slightly better health than average. North Carolina ranks 22nd highest for adults in fair or poor health, at 19%. Its standout is Morrisville, #9 in the country for health.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 99 North Carolina towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally.
Housing
40th of 51C−22/100 More renters than most states. 69% of residents live in bottom-quarter towns, among them Charlotte and Raleigh. Compared with 65% nationally, 67% of homes here are owner-occupied.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 99 North Carolina towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
33rd of 51C+36/100 A bit more hazard risk than most. Only 3% of residents live in a town in the national top quarter, led by Newton. Inland flooding drives 57% of the $155 a year FEMA expects natural hazards to cost per $100,000 of buildings (18th highest). Expect inland flooding above all; it makes up 57% of FEMA’s estimate.
Federal major-disaster declarations, 2015–2025: 12, 26th fewest.
Share of expected building damage: inland flooding 57%, hurricane 32%, tornado 4%.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 99 North Carolina towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
29th of 51C+44/100 Slightly longer drives to work. The longest trips start in places like Wake Forest, in the national bottom quarter. At 25.1 minutes, the average commute is the 25th shortest among the states. Its towns mostly sit mid-table; Jacksonville ranks highest, at #122.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 99 North Carolina towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
11th of 51A−80/100 Healthy growth. At +9.5% from 2010 to 2020, growth here was the 16th fastest among the states. 59% of residents live in a top-quarter town; Rolesville ranks highest, at #29.
Building: 10.8 new homes permitted per 1,000 residents in 2025, most.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 97 North Carolina towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How North Carolina compares to its neighbors
It sits mid-pack among Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina on every subject.
| North Carolina | Virginia | Tennessee | Georgia | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | C+ 3633rd of 51 | A− 7812th of 51 | B− 5026th of 51 | C+ 3832nd of 51 | B 5822nd of 51 |
| Safety | C+ 4230th official · 5% in top towns | B 587th official · 3% in top towns | C 2847th official · 7% in top towns | B 5627th official · 9% in top towns | C+ 3838th official · 6% in top towns |
| Schools | C 3419th official · 2% in top towns | A− 8021st official · 17% in top towns | A 8615th official · 32% in top towns | C+ 3831st official · 6% in top towns | C 3032nd official · 4% in top towns |
| Cost of living | B 5615th official · 8% in top towns | C+ 4427th official · 10% in top towns | B+ 707th official · 14% in top towns | B− 5220th official · 11% in top towns | A− 846th official · 25% in top towns |
| Health | B 5830th official · 25% in top towns | B+ 7420th official · 32% in top towns | C− 1644th official · 9% in top towns | C+ 4036th official · 17% in top towns | C+ 4235th official · 19% in top towns |
| Housing | C− 2233rd official · 5% in top towns | B− 5427th official · 14% in top towns | C 3231st official · 8% in top towns | C− 1839th official · 5% in top towns | A− 849th official · 10% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | C+ 3634th official · 3% in top towns | A 908th official · 72% in top towns | B− 4622nd official · 6% in top towns | A− 7615th official · 41% in top towns | C 2646th official · 8% in top towns |
| Commute | C+ 4425th official · 23% in top towns | C− 2042nd official · 13% in top towns | B− 4632nd official · 39% in top towns | C− 2245th official · 20% in top towns | C+ 4230th official · 33% in top towns |
| Growth | A− 8016th official · 59% in top towns | B− 5419th official · 19% in top towns | A− 7818th official · 57% in top towns | B+ 7413th official · 47% in top towns | A 8611th official · 58% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work