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-GARNER-NC · Garner, NC 32,543 pop · income 59th 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 Garner
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Garner on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Goldsboro · lowest
47,005
Goldsboro · lowest
47,005 median HH income
37.5% of the leader · rank #1
South Berwick · near
77,493
South Berwick · near
77,493 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #2
Garner · this city
77,496
Garner · this city
77,496 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #3
Thorsby · near
77,500
Thorsby · near
77,500 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #4
Noatak · near
77,500
Noatak · near
77,500 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #5
Scotia · near
77,500
Scotia · near
77,500 median HH income
61.8% of the leader · rank #6
Morrisville · highest
125,404
Morrisville · highest
125,404 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 Garner 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: 32,543.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Garner - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Garner lands in the 59th percentile for household income and the 4th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
59th
percentile, household income
68th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
4th
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: Garner, NC
32,543 people live in Garner, North Carolina - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Garner brings in $77,496 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.9%. Garner's housing stock carries a median value of $320,300, and the median resident age is 37.6 years. 45.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 63.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 1,190 residential building permits were authorized in Garner (Building Boom), up 225% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Garner's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 4863.8 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 puts Garner's yearly average temperature at 58.6°F with 50.7 inches of precipitation per year.
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. 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. 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 Garner'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 population change to work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to schools and households to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Garner, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
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.
Question 1
Is Garner growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +10,071 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +32.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1,190 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Garner?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 71.2%. 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. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
How far does income reach against housing in Garner?
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 4.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Garner?
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 Cornelius (32,009 residents, $114,688 income); Goldsboro (33,448 residents, $47,005 income); New Bern (31,563 residents, $56,893 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Des Moines, WA (32,545 residents); Garfield, NJ (32,502 residents); Fallbrook, CA (32,467 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.
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.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Garner?
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 58.6°F, with 50.7 inches of precipitation. 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
50.7 in
Mean temperature
58.6°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
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 14 public schools within the city match. 45.8% 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.
Poverty estimate
2.9%
Bachelor's degree+
45.8%
Matched public schools
14
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Garner?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 4863.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 113% 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
4863.8
Violent rate
356.8
Property rate
4507.1
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
C+
City profile score · Garner, NC
60/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share A-
45.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B+
2.9%
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
$77,496
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
357 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Garner profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 45.8%
Poverty rate: 79/100 (B+) · 2.9%
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Household income: 57/100 (C) · $77,496
Violent crime: 25/100 (F) · 357 /100k
Where Garner sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Garner'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 - Garner highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Garner, NC (this city): home $320,300, crime 4,864/100k
Des Moines, WA : home $539,800, crime 3,146/100k
Garfield, NJ : home $454,300, crime 1,950/100k
Bay City, MI : home $89,900, crime 2,432/100k
Goleta, CA : home $1,002,500, crime 1,774/100k
Lathrop, CA : home $605,000, crime 1,723/100k
Cornelius, NC : home $512,400, crime 1,140/100k
Goldsboro, NC : home $173,700, crime 6,940/100k
New Bern, NC : home $211,500, crime 1,979/100k
Morrisville, NC : home $481,800, crime 2,533/100k
Matthews, NC : home $406,800, crime 2,839/100k
How does Garner compare to other US cities?
Garner measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income59% higher than other cities
Home value68% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety4% 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: Garner ranks #173 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 Garner 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 Garner near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Garner ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Garner only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#177 of 700
75th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#145 of 708
80th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#587 of 746
21st percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#105 of 746
86th 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
59th percentile nationally for median household income · 4th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Garner's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Garner'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 Garner's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$320,30032nd percentilemore affordable than 32% 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
Garner's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,068 of 15,516
More affordable than 29% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,089 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.1×, Garner sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,068 of 15,516 and #2,089 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
$77,496Garner, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Garner, 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 Garner, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)45.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
32,543
Median Income
$77,496
Median Home Value
$320,300
Median Age
37.6
Poverty Rate
2.9%
Labor force participation
63.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
45.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
4863.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
356.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
4507.1
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
58.6°F
Annual Precipitation
50.7"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
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
Garner's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
31,491 residents
2021
32,182 residents
2022
33,890 residents
2023
35,647 residents
2024
39,306 residents
2025
41,562 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
1,190
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1,190
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
36.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
366
366
0
$52.3M
2020
469
400
69
$65.1M
2021
992
704
288
$136.1M
2022
891
615
276
$118.1M
2023
1,908
1,054
854
$315.2M
2024
1,190
1,190
0
$263.0M
Permit volume increased 225% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
71.2%
Carpool
6.5%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
1.4%
Work from Home
19.6%
Other
1.2%
Based on 16,353 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 Garner. 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 Garner 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 Garner sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Garner 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.