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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-CLINTON-NC · Clinton, NC 8,336 pop · income 10th pct · 20 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 Clinton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Clinton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Roxboro · lowest
39,283
Roxboro · lowest
39,283 median HH income
31.1% of the leader · rank #1
Clinton · this city
42,344
Clinton · this city
42,344 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #2
Walden · near
42,344
Walden · near
42,344 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #3
Ray City · near
42,344
Ray City · near
42,344 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #4
Hebbronville · near
42,347
Hebbronville · near
42,347 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #5
Plymouth · near
42,348
Plymouth · near
42,348 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #6
Kenilworth · highest
126,295
Kenilworth · highest
126,295 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Clinton on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 8,336.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Clinton - the verdict
Clinton ranks in the 10th percentile for household income and the 8th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
10th
percentile, household income
38th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
8th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Clinton, NC
North Carolina's Clinton is a small town, with 8,336 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Clinton households earn a median of $42,344 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 17.1%. Typical homes in Clinton are valued around $185,600, and the median resident age is 39.9 years. 22.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 46.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Clinton's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 3843.4 crimes per 100,000 residents, above the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Clinton's yearly average temperature at 61.5°F with 51.0 inches of precipitation per year and 1.8 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in North Carolina run below the national norm: the state registers 94.3 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,161 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts North Carolina's average monthly utility costs around $215 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 66.7 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Clinton'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 within-city variation to schools and households to comparison shortlist to reported crime to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to population change to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Clinton, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What can 20 Census tracts reveal inside Clinton?
PlainCities matches 20 Census tracts to this city.
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.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 9 public schools within the city match. 22.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Which cities make useful reference points for Clinton?
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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are Ogden (8,363 residents, $111,461 income); Black Mountain (8,462 residents, $70,041 income); Conover (8,491 residents, $57,375 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Newton, NJ (8,336 residents); Cushing, OK (8,336 residents); Sioux Center, IA (8,335 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Clinton?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3843.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 69% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Clinton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 76.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Drive alone
76.9%
Work from home
8.4%
Public transit
1.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 3,005 workers age 16+.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 61.5°F, with 51.0 inches of precipitation and 1.8 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for North Carolina is 66.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
66.7
Annual precipitation
51.0 in
Mean temperature
61.5°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +99 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.2% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
2020 estimate
8,367
2025 estimate
8,466
Period change
+1.2%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in Clinton?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 17.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
4.4×
Home value
$185,600
Household income
$42,344
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 17.1% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
F
City profile score · Clinton, NC
28/100
5 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.
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.
Bachelor's+ share D
22.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
17.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
566 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$42,344
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Clinton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 40/100 (D) · 22.1%
Poverty rate: 19/100 (F) · 17.1%
Violent crime: 12/100 (F) · 566 /100k
Household income: 10/100 (F) · $42,344
Where Clinton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Clinton's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Clinton highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Clinton, NC (this city): home $185,600, crime 3,843/100k
Newton, NJ : home $282,300, crime 890/100k
Cushing, OK : home $112,100, crime 2,674/100k
Sioux Center, IA : home $275,900, crime 127/100k
Kenilworth, NJ : home $521,100, crime 870/100k
Fort Stockton, TX : home $176,600, crime 413/100k
Black Mountain, NC : home $351,700, crime 1,238/100k
Dunn, NC : home $178,900, crime 6,012/100k
Roxboro, NC : home $138,700, crime 4,517/100k
Fletcher, NC : home $324,000, crime 1,411/100k
How does Clinton compare to other US cities?
Here's how Clinton stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income10% higher than other cities
Home value38% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety8% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just North Carolina and the picture shifts: Clinton ranks #149 of 195 North Carolina cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Clinton 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 Clinton near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Clinton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Clinton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#557 of 700
20th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#376 of 708
47th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#195 of 746
74th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#360 of 746
52nd 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
10th percentile nationally for median household income · 8th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Clinton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Clinton's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Clinton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$185,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 62% 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
Clinton's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,729 of 15,516
More affordable than 24% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,015 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.4×, Clinton sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,729 of 15,516 and #9,015 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
$42,344Clinton, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Clinton, 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 Clinton, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)22.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)17.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)46.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,336
Median Income
$42,344
Median Home Value
$185,600
Median Age
39.9
Poverty Rate
17.1%
Labor force participation
46.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
22.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3843.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
566.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3277.1
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
61.5°F
Annual Precipitation
51.0"
Annual Snowfall
1.8"
Schools
Total Schools
9
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Clinton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,367 residents
2021
8,306 residents
2022
8,293 residents
2023
8,298 residents
2024
8,433 residents
2025
8,466 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.9%
Carpool
11.1%
Public Transit
1.3%
Walk
1.3%
Work from Home
8.4%
Other
1.0%
Based on 3,005 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 Clinton. 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 Clinton 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 Clinton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Clinton 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, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, 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.