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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-ELIZABETH-CITY-NC · Elizabeth City, NC 18,740 pop · income 21st pct · 10 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 Elizabeth City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Elizabeth City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lumberton · lowest
43,114
Lumberton · lowest
43,114 median HH income
30.1% of the leader · rank #1
Elizabeth City · this city
50,947
Elizabeth City · this city
50,947 median HH income
35.5% of the leader · rank #2
Dania Beach · near
50,948
Dania Beach · near
50,948 median HH income
35.5% of the leader · rank #3
Rembert · near
50,950
Rembert · near
50,950 median HH income
35.5% of the leader · rank #4
Detmold · near
50,951
Detmold · near
50,951 median HH income
35.5% of the leader · rank #5
South Charles… · near
50,952
South Charles… · near
50,952 median HH income
35.5% of the leader · rank #6
Harrisburg · highest
143,393
Harrisburg · highest
143,393 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 Elizabeth City 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: 18,740.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Elizabeth City - the verdict
Elizabeth City ranks in the 21st percentile for household income and the 19th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
21st
percentile, household income
43rd
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
19th
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: Elizabeth City, NC
North Carolina's Elizabeth City is a small town, with 18,740 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Elizabeth City households earn a median of $50,947 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 11.5%. Elizabeth City's housing stock carries a median value of $202,100, and the median resident age is 36.1 years. 28.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 53.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 74 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Growing), up 12% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 2727.7 crimes per 100,000 residents, near the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Elizabeth City's yearly average temperature at 62.3°F with 51.3 inches of precipitation per year and 0.2 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in North Carolina run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts North Carolina at 94.3 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,161 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts North Carolina's average monthly utility costs around $215 (state average). Commute times here average 19.6 minutes, with 73.5% driving alone and 11.3% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 Elizabeth City'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 climate and hazard context to work and mobility to population change to reported crime to housing and income to comparison shortlist to schools and households to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Elizabeth City, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Elizabeth City?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 62.3°F, with 51.3 inches of precipitation and 0.2 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.
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.
What does the journey to work look like in Elizabeth City?
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 73.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.6 minutes.
Which cities make useful reference points for Elizabeth City?
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are Mebane (18,899 residents, $84,312 income); Lenoir (18,282 residents, $48,889 income); Harrisburg (19,203 residents, $143,393 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Rutherford, NJ (18,748 residents); Wisconsin Rapids, WI (18,756 residents); Thomasville, GA (18,720 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
What can 10 Census tracts reveal inside Elizabeth 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.
PlainCities matches 10 Census tracts to this city.
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.
Population change
Is Elizabeth City 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 +867 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 74 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+4.6%
2025 estimate
19,622
2020 estimate
18,755
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Elizabeth City?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2727.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 20% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2386.7
Violent rate
341.0
Total reported rate
2727.7
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Elizabeth City?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 4.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.5%, 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
$50,947
Home value
$202,100
Value / income
4.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the education layer cover for Elizabeth City?
The NCES join finds 14 public schools within the city match. 28.0% 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.
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.
Matched public schools
14
Bachelor's degree+
28.0%
Poverty estimate
11.5%
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 · Elizabeth City, NC
39/100
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 C-
28.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
11.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
341 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$50,947
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Elizabeth City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 54/100 (C-) · 28.0%
Poverty rate: 34/100 (F) · 11.5%
Violent crime: 27/100 (F) · 341 /100k
Household income: 22/100 (F) · $50,947
Where Elizabeth City sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Elizabeth City'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 - Elizabeth City highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Elizabeth City, NC (this city): home $202,100, crime 2,728/100k
Rutherford, NJ : home $580,800, crime 861/100k
Wisconsin Rapids, WI : home $116,600, crime 2,425/100k
Thomasville, GA : home $196,500, crime 3,944/100k
Marshfield, WI : home $169,900, crime 1,328/100k
Ottawa, IL : home $144,500, crime 1,683/100k
Clive, IA : home $379,000, crime 1,375/100k
Mebane, NC : home $295,600, crime 3,518/100k
Lenoir, NC : home $165,200, crime 3,478/100k
Lumberton, NC : home $140,100, crime 11,621/100k
Pinehurst, NC : home $423,300, crime 337/100k
Knightdale, NC : home $331,900, crime 3,118/100k
How does Elizabeth City compare to other US cities?
Where Elizabeth City sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income21% higher than other cities
Home value43% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety19% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at North Carolina, Elizabeth City ranks #100 of 195 North Carolina cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Elizabeth City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Elizabeth City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#451 of 700
36th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#326 of 708
54th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#321 of 746
57th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#255 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
21st percentile nationally for median household income · 19th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Elizabeth City's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Elizabeth City'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 Elizabeth City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$202,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 57% 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
Elizabeth City's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,614 of 15,516
More affordable than 32% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,957 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.0×, Elizabeth City sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,614 of 15,516 and #1,957 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$50,947Elizabeth City, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Elizabeth City, 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 Elizabeth City, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)28.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
18,740
Median Income
$50,947
Median Home Value
$202,100
Median Age
36.1
Poverty Rate
11.5%
Labor force participation
53.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
28.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2727.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
341.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2386.7
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
51.3"
Annual Snowfall
0.2"
Schools
Total Schools
14
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Elizabeth City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
18,755 residents
2021
18,969 residents
2022
19,006 residents
2023
19,175 residents
2024
19,379 residents
2025
19,622 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Growing
Total Permits (2024)
74
housing units authorized
Single-Family
74
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
66
66
0
$9.5M
2020
77
77
0
$15.8M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
88
88
0
$20.6M
2023
64
64
0
$15.0M
2024
74
74
0
$17.3M
Permit volume increased 12% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
19.6 minutes
Drive Alone
73.5%
Carpool
9.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.5%
Work from Home
11.3%
Other
3.4%
Based on 8,113 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 Elizabeth City. 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 Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Elizabeth City 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.