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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-DUNN-NC · Dunn, NC 8,512 pop · income 16th pct
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 Dunn
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Dunn on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Beecher · lowest
35,582
Beecher · lowest
35,582 median HH income
22.8% of the leader · rank #1
Centralia · near
47,308
Centralia · near
47,308 median HH income
30.3% of the leader · rank #2
Grayville · near
47,308
Grayville · near
47,308 median HH income
30.3% of the leader · rank #3
Mattoon · near
47,308
Mattoon · near
47,308 median HH income
30.3% of the leader · rank #4
Moorefield · near
47,308
Moorefield · near
47,308 median HH income
30.3% of the leader · rank #5
Dunn · this city
47,310
Dunn · this city
47,310 median HH income
30.3% of the leader · rank #6
Minnetrista · highest
156,346
Minnetrista · highest
156,346 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 Dunn 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: 8,512.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Dunn - the verdict
Dunn ranks in the 16th percentile for household income and the 2nd percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
16th
percentile, household income
36th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
2nd
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: Dunn, NC
Dunn is a small town in North Carolina, home to 8,512 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $47,310 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 14.9%. Dunn's housing stock carries a median value of $178,900, and the median resident age is 44.4 years. 21.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 50.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 72 residential building permits were authorized in Dunn (Building Boom), up 1700% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Dunn's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 6011.8 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 climate normals record an annual average temperature of 62.3°F with 50.1 inches of precipitation per year and 2.1 inches of snowfall.
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. 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). 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 Dunn'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to population change to housing and income to reported crime to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Dunn, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Dunn?
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 Conover (8,491 residents, $57,375 income); Black Mountain (8,462 residents, $70,041 income); Ogden (8,363 residents, $111,461 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Georgetown, SC (8,511 residents); Murillo, TX (8,511 residents); Minnetrista, MN (8,509 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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.0%. 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.
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 62.3°F, with 50.1 inches of precipitation and 2.1 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +375 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 72 housing units authorized in 2024. 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.
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 Dunn?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.8×
Home value
$178,900
Household income
$47,310
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 6011.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 164% 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.
Total reported rate
6011.8
Violent rate
903.5
Property rate
5108.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
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 7 public schools within the city match. 21.4% 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.
Poverty estimate
14.9%
Bachelor's degree+
21.4%
Matched public schools
7
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
F
City profile score · Dunn, 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 F
21.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$47,310
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
904 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Dunn profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 38/100 (F) · 21.4%
Poverty rate: 23/100 (F) · 14.9%
Household income: 17/100 (F) · $47,310
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 904 /100k
Where Dunn sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Dunn'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 - Dunn highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Dunn, NC (this city): home $178,900, crime 6,012/100k
Georgetown, SC : home $158,600, crime 4,454/100k
Minnetrista, MN : home $624,600, crime 388/100k
Hondo, TX : home $215,800, crime 1,878/100k
Black Mountain, NC : home $351,700, crime 1,238/100k
Clinton, NC : home $185,600, crime 3,843/100k
Roxboro, NC : home $138,700, crime 4,517/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Dunn compare to other US cities?
Where Dunn sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income16% higher than other cities
Home value36% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety2% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to North Carolina alone, Dunn ranks #184 of 195 North Carolina cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Dunn 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 Dunn near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Dunn ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Dunn only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#505 of 700
28th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#397 of 708
44th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#237 of 746
68th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#380 of 746
49th 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
16th percentile nationally for median household income · 2nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Dunn's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Dunn'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 Dunn's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$178,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 64% 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
Dunn's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,994 of 15,516
More affordable than 36% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,907 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.8×, Dunn sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,994 of 15,516 and #7,907 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
$47,310Dunn, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Dunn, 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 Dunn, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)21.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)50.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,512
Median Income
$47,310
Median Home Value
$178,900
Median Age
44.4
Poverty Rate
14.9%
Labor force participation
50.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
21.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
6011.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
903.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
5108.3
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
62.3°F
Annual Precipitation
50.1"
Annual Snowfall
2.1"
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Dunn's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,439 residents
2021
8,443 residents
2022
8,545 residents
2023
8,624 residents
2024
8,792 residents
2025
8,814 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
72
housing units authorized
Single-Family
72
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
8.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
4
4
0
$0.7M
2020
5
5
0
$0.9M
2021
45
45
0
$6.0M
2022
20
20
0
$3.6M
2023
29
29
0
$4.2M
2024
72
72
0
$11.9M
Permit volume increased 1700% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.0%
Carpool
15.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.4%
Work from Home
5.4%
Other
1.8%
Based on 3,454 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 Dunn. 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 Dunn 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 Dunn sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Dunn 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 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.