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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-FOUR-OAKS-NC · Four Oaks, NC 2,372 pop · income 49th 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 Four Oaks
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Four Oaks on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Yanceyville · lowest
28,662
Yanceyville · lowest
28,662 median HH income
22.9% of the leader · rank #1
Atoka · near
69,959
Atoka · near
69,959 median HH income
55.9% of the leader · rank #2
Swartz · near
69,968
Swartz · near
69,968 median HH income
55.9% of the leader · rank #3
Four Oaks · this city
69,974
Four Oaks · this city
69,974 median HH income
55.9% of the leader · rank #4
Swanton · near
69,985
Swanton · near
69,985 median HH income
55.9% of the leader · rank #5
Lincoln · near
69,991
Lincoln · near
69,991 median HH income
55.9% of the leader · rank #6
Lewisville · highest
125,179
Lewisville · highest
125,179 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 Four Oaks 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: 2,372.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Four Oaks - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Four Oaks lands in the 49th percentile for household income and the 76th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
49th
percentile, household income
49th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
76th
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: Four Oaks, NC
2,372 people live in Four Oaks, North Carolina - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Four Oaks report a median income of $69,974 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 12.9%. Typical homes in Four Oaks are valued around $222,100, and the median resident age is 40.6 years. 18.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 62.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 130 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 128% from five years earlier. Four Oaks reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 724.1 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. Monthly utility costs average around $215 across North Carolina, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Commute times here average 38.8 minutes, with 79.5% driving alone and 4.1% working from home, per Census ACS commuting 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 Four Oaks'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 schools and households to comparison shortlist to reported crime to population change to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Four Oaks, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
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. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Four Oaks?
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 3 public schools within the city match. 18.8% 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 Four Oaks?
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 Yanceyville (2,376 residents, $28,662 income); Spruce Pine (2,381 residents, $47,583 income); Taylorsville (2,386 residents, $48,542 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Long Neck, DE (2,372 residents); East Ithaca, NY (2,372 residents); Blue Mound, TX (2,372 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 Four Oaks?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 724.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 68% lower 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.
Is Four Oaks growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +710 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +31.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 130 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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Four Oaks?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 38.8 minutes.
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
79.5%
Work from home
4.1%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,230 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Four Oaks?
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 3.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.2×
Home value
$222,100
Household income
$69,974
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 12.9% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
D
City profile score · Four Oaks, NC
48/100
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.
Violent crime C
152 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income D
$69,974
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
12.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Four Oaks profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Violent crime: 58/100 (C) · 152 /100k
Household income: 49/100 (D) · $69,974
Bachelor's+ share: 31/100 (F) · 18.8%
Poverty rate: 28/100 (F) · 12.9%
Where Four Oaks sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Four Oaks'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 - Four Oaks highlighted among 25 peers.Read the chart values
Four Oaks, NC (this city): home $222,100, crime 724/100k
Blue Mound, TX : home $184,100, crime 877/100k
Spruce Pine, NC : home $202,300, crime 1,599/100k
Taylorsville, NC : home $210,300, crime 1,196/100k
Richlands, NC : home $217,800, crime 1,221/100k
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 Four Oaks compare to other US cities?
Four Oaks measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income49% higher than other cities
Home value49% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety76% 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, Four Oaks ranks #14 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 Four Oaks 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 Four Oaks near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Four Oaks ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Four Oaks only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#234 of 700
67th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#270 of 708
62nd percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#296 of 746
60th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#443 of 746
40th 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
49th percentile nationally for median household income · 76th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Four Oaks's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Four Oaks'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 Four Oaks's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$222,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 51% 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
Four Oaks's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,562 of 15,516
More affordable than 51% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,257 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.2×, Four Oaks sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,562 of 15,516 and #6,257 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
$69,974Four Oaks, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Four Oaks, 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 Four Oaks, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,372
Median Income
$69,974
Median Home Value
$222,100
Median Age
40.6
Poverty Rate
12.9%
Labor force participation
62.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
724.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
152.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
571.6
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.
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Four Oaks's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,268 residents
2021
2,378 residents
2022
2,477 residents
2023
2,538 residents
2024
2,684 residents
2025
2,978 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
130
housing units authorized
Single-Family
122
detached homes
Multifamily
8
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
54.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
57
57
0
$8.2M
2020
47
47
0
$7.3M
2021
51
51
0
$10.5M
2022
24
24
0
$6.6M
2023
59
59
0
$12.1M
2024
130
122
8
$23.7M
Permit volume increased 128% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
38.8 minutes
Drive Alone
79.5%
Carpool
14.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
4.1%
Other
1.8%
Based on 1,230 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 Four Oaks. 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 Four Oaks 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 Four Oaks sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Four Oaks 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, 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.