Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetNC-CAROLINA-SHORES-NC · Carolina Shores, NC 4,843 pop · income 55th pct · 15 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Carolina Shores
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Carolina Shores on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ahoskie · lowest
40,762
Ahoskie · lowest
40,762 median HH income
44.6% of the leader · rank #1
Pass Christian · near
74,302
Pass Christian · near
74,302 median HH income
81.2% of the leader · rank #2
Grass Lake · near
74,306
Grass Lake · near
74,306 median HH income
81.2% of the leader · rank #3
Carolina Shor… · this city
74,310
Carolina Shor… · this city
74,310 median HH income
81.2% of the leader · rank #4
Mogadore · near
74,313
Mogadore · near
74,313 median HH income
81.2% of the leader · rank #5
Edgewater · near
74,320
Edgewater · near
74,320 median HH income
81.2% of the leader · rank #6
Seven Lakes · highest
91,495
Seven Lakes · highest
91,495 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Carolina Shores on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 4,843.
Carolina Shores ranks in the 55th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
55th
percentile, household income
61st
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Carolina Shores, NC
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 4,843 residents in Carolina Shores, a small town within North Carolina. Median household income here is $74,310 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. Typical homes in Carolina Shores are valued around $276,000, and the median resident age is 65.6 years. Educational attainment runs 27.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 34.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 108 residential building permits were authorized in Carolina Shores (Building Boom), up 66% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
Living costs in North Carolina run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, North Carolina scores 94.3 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,161 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in North Carolina run around $215, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 66.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Carolina Shores's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to within-city variation to population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Carolina Shores, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Carolina Shores?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
What can 15 Census tracts reveal inside Carolina Shores?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 15 Census tracts to this city.
Is Carolina Shores growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +982 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +21.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 108 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Carolina Shores?
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are James (4,859 residents, $63,835 income); Midway (4,826 residents, $75,208 income); Seven Lakes (4,823 residents, $91,495 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are North Alamo, TX (4,843 residents); Columbia, KY (4,842 residents); Coopersville, MI (4,841 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Carolina Shores?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$74,310
Home value
$276,000
Value / income
3.7×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 0.0% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
B-
City profile score · Carolina Shores, NC
69/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A+
0.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living B-
94.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income C-
$74,310
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C-
27.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Carolina Shores profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 100/100 (A+) · 0.0%
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Household income: 54/100 (C-) · $74,310
Bachelor's+ share: 54/100 (C-) · 27.7%
How does Carolina Shores compare to other US cities?
Where Carolina Shores sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income55% higher than other cities
Home value61% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Carolina Shores against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to North Carolina only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
North Carolina-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Carolina Shores near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Carolina Shores ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Carolina Shores only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#202 of 700
71st percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#195 of 708
72nd percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#653 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#259 of 746
65th percentile in North Carolina
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within North Carolina only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
55th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Carolina Shores's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$276,00039th percentilemore affordable than 39% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,766 of 15,516
More affordable than 37% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,759 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.7×, Carolina Shores sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,766 of 15,516 and #7,759 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$74,310Carolina Shores, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Carolina Shores, NC median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Carolina Shores, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)27.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)34.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,843
Median Income
$74,310
Median Home Value
$276,000
Median Age
65.6
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
34.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.7%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Carolina Shores's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,558 residents
2021
4,709 residents
2022
5,032 residents
2023
5,241 residents
2024
5,441 residents
2025
5,540 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
108
housing units authorized
Single-Family
108
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
22.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
65
65
0
$15.0M
2020
84
84
0
$19.9M
2021
208
208
0
$51.2M
2022
157
157
0
$36.1M
2023
212
212
0
$43.6M
2024
108
108
0
$28.4M
Permit volume increased 66% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.1%
Carpool
8.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
14.3%
Based on 1,560 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
North Carolina statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $215
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across North Carolina at $215 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are North Carolina statewide averages, not a meter reading for Carolina Shores. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
North Carolina's BEA cost-of-living index is 94.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Carolina Shores is $1,161/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to North Carolina statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 66.7 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a North Carolina statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Carolina Shores sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Carolina Shores compares to similar-size North Carolina cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.