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-LAUREL-PARK-NC · Laurel Park, NC 2,391 pop · income 70th 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 Laurel Park
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Laurel Park on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Maxton · lowest
22,632
Maxton · lowest
22,632 median HH income
25.4% of the leader · rank #1
Masonville · near
89,102
Masonville · near
89,102 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #2
Laurel Park · this city
89,107
Laurel Park · this city
89,107 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
Christine · near
89,107
Christine · near
89,107 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Rancho Cordova · near
89,120
Rancho Cordova · near
89,120 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Mandeville · near
89,122
Mandeville · near
89,122 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
Shaw Heights · highest
89,125
Shaw Heights · highest
89,125 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Laurel Park on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 2,391.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Laurel Park lands in the 70th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
70th
percentile, household income
77th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Laurel Park, NC
Laurel Park is a small town in North Carolina, home to 2,391 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Laurel Park brings in $89,107 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.3%. Home values in Laurel Park run a median of $393,400, and the median resident age is 57.9 years. About 59.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 43.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts North Carolina's average monthly utility costs around $215 (state average). 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 Laurel Park'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 housing and income to population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Laurel Park, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Laurel Park?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.3%, 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. 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.
Is Laurel Park 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 +113 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.0% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Laurel Park?
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are Richlands (2,387 residents, $61,607 income); Taylorsville (2,386 residents, $48,542 income); Calabash (2,397 residents, $60,048 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Elk Point, SD (2,391 residents); Ben Bolt, TX (2,391 residents); Greensboro, AL (2,390 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Laurel Park?
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 83.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Above median income · poverty 5.3% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
B
City profile score · Laurel Park, NC
71/100
4 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+
59.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income B-
$89,107
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
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.
Poverty rate C+
5.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Laurel Park profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 92/100 (A+) · 59.8%
Household income: 68/100 (B-) · $89,107
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Poverty rate: 63/100 (C+) · 5.3%
How does Laurel Park compare to other US cities?
Laurel Park measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income70% higher than other cities
Home value77% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Laurel Park 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 Laurel Park near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Laurel Park ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Laurel Park only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#101 of 700
86th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#83 of 708
88th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#495 of 746
33rd percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#46 of 746
94th 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
70th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Laurel Park's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$393,40023rd percentilemore affordable than 23% 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
Laurel Park's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,806 of 15,516
More affordable than 24% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,067 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.4×, Laurel Park sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,806 of 15,516 and #9,067 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
$89,107Laurel Park, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Laurel Park, 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 Laurel Park, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)59.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)43.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,391
Median Income
$89,107
Median Home Value
$393,400
Median Age
57.9
Poverty Rate
5.3%
Labor force participation
43.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
59.8%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Laurel Park's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,247 residents
2021
2,256 residents
2022
2,276 residents
2023
2,298 residents
2024
2,342 residents
2025
2,360 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
83.4%
Carpool
7.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.4%
Work from Home
8.1%
Other
0.9%
Based on 898 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 Laurel Park. 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 Laurel Park 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 Laurel Park sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Laurel Park 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, 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.