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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-KANNAPOLIS-NC · Kannapolis, NC 56,470 pop · income 50th 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 Kannapolis
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Kannapolis on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Rocky Mount · lowest
52,927
Rocky Mount · lowest
52,927 median HH income
43.8% of the leader · rank #1
Seven Valleys · near
70,689
Seven Valleys · near
70,689 median HH income
58.5% of the leader · rank #2
Greenbriar · near
70,690
Greenbriar · near
70,690 median HH income
58.5% of the leader · rank #3
Kannapolis · this city
70,691
Kannapolis · this city
70,691 median HH income
58.5% of the leader · rank #4
Victor · near
70,694
Victor · near
70,694 median HH income
58.5% of the leader · rank #5
Pinesdale · near
70,694
Pinesdale · near
70,694 median HH income
58.5% of the leader · rank #6
Wake Forest · highest
120,777
Wake Forest · highest
120,777 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 Kannapolis 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: 56,470.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Kannapolis - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Kannapolis lands in the 50th percentile for household income and the 33rd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
50th
percentile, household income
55th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
33rd
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: Kannapolis, NC
56,470 people live in Kannapolis, North Carolina - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Kannapolis report a median income of $70,691 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.0%. Kannapolis's housing stock carries a median value of $245,500, and the median resident age is 37.7 years. Educational attainment runs 28.1% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 62.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 1953.1 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).
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. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in North Carolina run around $215, per EIA 2023 residential energy 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 Kannapolis'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 population change to reported crime to housing and income to work and mobility to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Kannapolis, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Kannapolis?
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are Burlington (58,599 residents, $54,941 income); Rocky Mount (54,175 residents, $52,927 income); Chapel Hill (59,889 residents, $85,825 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Fountainebleau, FL (56,453 residents); Fountain Valley, CA (56,358 residents); Bentonville, AR (56,326 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.
Is Kannapolis 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 +6,358 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +11.5% 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Kannapolis?
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 1953.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 14% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
How far does income reach against housing in Kannapolis?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.0%, 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.
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 Kannapolis?
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 77.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.1%
Work from home
12.1%
Drive alone
77.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 27,474 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Kannapolis?
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 28.1% 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.
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
11
Bachelor's degree+
28.1%
Poverty estimate
8.0%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 8.0% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
C
City profile score · Kannapolis, NC
55/100
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
28.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime C-
168 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income C-
$70,691
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate D
8.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Kannapolis profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 55/100 (C) · 28.1%
Violent crime: 54/100 (C-) · 168 /100k
Household income: 50/100 (C-) · $70,691
Poverty rate: 48/100 (D) · 8.0%
Where Kannapolis sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Kannapolis'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 - Kannapolis highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Kannapolis, NC (this city): home $245,500, crime 1,953/100k
Fountain Valley, CA : home $1,018,600, crime 1,963/100k
Bentonville, AR : home $370,700, crime 1,083/100k
Bradenton, FL : home $282,500, crime 2,315/100k
Smyrna, GA : home $409,000, crime 1,540/100k
Highland, CA : home $455,200, crime 1,858/100k
Burlington, NC : home $188,700, crime 4,037/100k
Rocky Mount, NC : home $148,300, crime 4,745/100k
Chapel Hill, NC : home $576,500, crime 2,687/100k
Mooresville, NC : home $348,500, crime 2,369/100k
Wake Forest, NC : home $435,000, crime 1,452/100k
Huntersville, NC : home $439,300, crime 1,507/100k
How does Kannapolis compare to other US cities?
Here's how Kannapolis stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income50% higher than other cities
Home value55% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety33% 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: Kannapolis ranks #72 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 Kannapolis 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 Kannapolis near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Kannapolis ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Kannapolis only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#232 of 700
67th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#227 of 708
68th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#405 of 746
45th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#253 of 746
66th 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
50th percentile nationally for median household income · 33rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Kannapolis's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Kannapolis'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 Kannapolis's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$245,50045th percentilemore affordable than 45% 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
Kannapolis's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,855 of 15,516
More affordable than 43% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#209 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 3.5×, Kannapolis sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,855 of 15,516 and #209 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
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
$70,691Kannapolis, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Kannapolis, 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 Kannapolis, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)28.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
56,470
Median Income
$70,691
Median Home Value
$245,500
Median Age
37.7
Poverty Rate
8.0%
Labor force participation
62.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
28.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1953.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
168.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1785.1
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.
Schools
Total Schools
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Kannapolis's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
55,350 residents
2021
56,364 residents
2022
57,699 residents
2023
59,565 residents
2024
60,731 residents
2025
61,708 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.6%
Carpool
9.1%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
0.2%
Work from Home
12.1%
Other
0.9%
Based on 27,474 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 Kannapolis. 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 Kannapolis 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 Kannapolis sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Kannapolis 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.