Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rural Hall is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 153rd of 286 graded towns in North Carolina, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 60% of the country. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $51K, and 9% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $271K, 4.1 years of the Winston metro’s $66K median household income. Rural Hall’s typical journey to work is 35 minutes, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 24 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Only 16 of North Carolina’s 451 towns score higher on hazard risk. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Rural Hall beats most towns.
2,937 counted in 2010 and 3,351 in 2020; an estimated 3,607 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 7.5% since 2020, after 14.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Rural Hall is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,336 in 1980, 3,351 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2020 and 4 maps from 1951 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rural Hall, 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 Rural Hall.
Rural Hall carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of North Carolina (mostly inland flooding), is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of North Carolina.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 98% of North Carolina towns; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
Nearly two thirds of Rural Hall’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 8%. Federal aid has come to Rural Hall households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The public schools here belong to the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools. Its one school is below. Enrollment at Rural Hall’s public school: 491 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural Hall ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 491 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
January nights average 28.5°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 81% of North Carolina places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.5°.
In Rural Hall, the midsummer high is 88°F. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Rural Hall | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 29°F | 31°F | 22°F |
| July high | 88°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Rural Hall: 56% of households live in a home they own. Zillow values the typical Rural Hall home at about $271,000, up 1.5% in a year, 18% below the North Carolina typical home. The typical rent for Rural Hall comes to $967 a month.
| Rural Hall | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $967 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 1,538 working residents takes 34.8 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
For most workers, Rural Hall is a place to come home to: only 3% work in town. The town had 2,004 jobs in 2023, down 151 from 2013. The top destinations are Winston-Salem (46%), Greensboro (7%) and Charlotte (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.
| Rural Hall | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $51,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 9.4% | 13% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 6,141 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rural Hall’s, it is healthier than 93%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
The share of adults in Rural Hall who have obesity: 40%. The town tracks North Carolina closely on all 32 CDC measures. Among adults locally, 33% sleep under 7 hours and 12% report frequent physical distress.
| Rural Hall | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 16% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Population is up 7.5% in Rural Hall since 2020, to 3,607 by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Age groups here sit within 4 points of the North Carolina average. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 27%, against 36% across North Carolina.
| Rural Hall | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 42.1 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 29% | 29% |
58% women, 42% men
About 72 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±7.8 points). Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Rural Hall | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.4% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.7% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.6% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.1% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.2% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.2% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.9% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,600, single groups can be off by several points
0.4 miles of trail wind through 1 park or preserve. Rural Hall’s trail network density is 0.1 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves locally: one, of 14 acres.
| Rural Hall | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Covington Memorial Park Iii | 0.4 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rural Hall. Close and well known come first.
32 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
7 mi Stadium & arenaAllegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium
10 mi MuseumOld Salem
13 mi MountainPilot Mountain
7 mi MuseumReynolda House Museum of American Art
12 mi State parkHanging Rock State ParkBlue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium: BobHWS, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Old Salem: David Bjorgen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pilot Mountain: Berean Hunter, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Reynolda House Museum of American Art: Zsrarticle, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hanging Rock State Park: Jacalyn Engler from Greensboro, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0
7 within 15 miles of the center of Rural Hall
About 7 of every 100 Rural Hall residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
2 places in Rural Hall on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Rural Hall is a town in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. It is a part of the Piedmont Triad. The population was 3,360 at the 2020 census. The town has one public park: Covington Memorial Park.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Rural Hall.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rural Hall | #153 | C | B | — | C+ | B |
| Winston-Salem | #243 | D | C | D | C+ | C+ |
Rural Hall reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Rural Hall with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rural Hall grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #153 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B for health and C+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
