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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-LUMBERTON-NC · Lumberton, NC 19,220 pop · income 11th pct · 35 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 Lumberton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lumberton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Boone · lowest
28,633
Boone · lowest
28,633 median HH income
18.8% of the leader · rank #1
Clare · near
43,105
Clare · near
43,105 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #2
Lumberton · this city
43,114
Lumberton · this city
43,114 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #3
Mount Ida · near
43,114
Mount Ida · near
43,114 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #4
Pine Apple · near
43,125
Pine Apple · near
43,125 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #5
Pilot Station · near
43,125
Pilot Station · near
43,125 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #6
Hermosa Beach · highest
152,019
Hermosa Beach · highest
152,019 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 Lumberton 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: 19,220.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Lumberton - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Lumberton places in the 11th percentile for household income and the 0th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
11th
percentile, household income
24th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
0th
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: Lumberton, NC
19,220 people live in Lumberton, North Carolina - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Lumberton households earn a median of $43,114 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 23.3%. Home values in Lumberton run a median of $140,100, and the median resident age is 35.6 years. About 21.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 46.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 47 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 488% from five years earlier. Lumberton's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 11620.5 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 62.5°F with 50.8 inches of precipitation per year.
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. 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). 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 Lumberton'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 within-city variation to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to reported crime to comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Lumberton, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Within-city variation
What can 35 Census tracts reveal inside Lumberton?
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 35 Census tracts to this city.
What does the journey to work look like in Lumberton?
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 81.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 62.5°F, with 50.8 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Lumberton?
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are Harrisburg (19,203 residents, $143,393 income); Knightdale (19,532 residents, $91,638 income); Boone (19,534 residents, $28,633 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Durant, OK (19,209 residents); Republic, MO (19,233 residents); Brookfield, IL (19,235 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.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Lumberton?
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 11620.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 410% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
9943.9
Violent rate
1676.5
Total reported rate
11620.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Is Lumberton growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +51 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 47 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
+0.3%
2025 estimate
18,955
2020 estimate
18,904
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the education layer cover for Lumberton?
The NCES join finds 14 public schools within the city match. 21.3% 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+
21.3%
Poverty estimate
23.3%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Lumberton?
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 23.3%, 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. 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
$43,114
Home value
$140,100
Value / income
3.2×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Low income · poverty 23.3% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
F
City profile score · Lumberton, NC
23/100
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 F
21.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$43,114
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
23.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
1,677 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Lumberton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 38/100 (F) · 21.3%
Household income: 11/100 (F) · $43,114
Poverty rate: 8/100 (F) · 23.3%
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,677 /100k
Where Lumberton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Lumberton'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 - Lumberton highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Lumberton, NC (this city): home $140,100, crime 11,621/100k
Durant, OK : home $155,800, crime 3,377/100k
Republic, MO : home $190,300, crime 1,186/100k
Brookfield, IL : home $314,000, crime 737/100k
West Chester, PA : home $481,300, crime 1,465/100k
Alton, TX : home $126,600, crime 1,924/100k
Hermosa Beach, CA : home $2,000,000+, crime 2,851/100k
Knightdale, NC : home $331,900, crime 3,118/100k
Boone, NC : home $373,600, crime 999/100k
Mebane, NC : home $295,600, crime 3,518/100k
Kinston, NC : home $108,300, crime 5,923/100k
Lexington, NC : home $158,100, crime 3,458/100k
How does Lumberton compare to other US cities?
Lumberton measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income11% higher than other cities
Home value24% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety0% 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, Lumberton ranks #195 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 Lumberton 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 Lumberton near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lumberton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lumberton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#549 of 700
22nd percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#502 of 708
29th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#118 of 746
84th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#383 of 746
49th 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
11th percentile nationally for median household income · 0th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Lumberton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Lumberton'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 Lumberton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$140,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 76% 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
Lumberton'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
#7,912 of 15,516
More affordable than 49% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,234 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.2×, Lumberton sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,912 of 15,516 and #1,234 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
$43,114Lumberton, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Lumberton, 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 Lumberton, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)21.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)23.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)46.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
19,220
Median Income
$43,114
Median Home Value
$140,100
Median Age
35.6
Poverty Rate
23.3%
Labor force participation
46.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
21.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
11620.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1676.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
9943.9
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
62.5°F
Annual Precipitation
50.8"
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
Lumberton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
18,904 residents
2021
18,860 residents
2022
18,820 residents
2023
18,979 residents
2024
18,955 residents
2025
18,955 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
47
housing units authorized
Single-Family
47
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2.4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
8
8
0
$1.8M
2020
9
9
0
$2.0M
2021
11
11
0
$2.4M
2022
12
12
0
$2.6M
2023
10
10
0
$2.2M
2024
47
47
0
$10.3M
Permit volume increased 488% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
81.7%
Carpool
11.6%
Public Transit
0.4%
Walk
0.7%
Work from Home
4.5%
Other
1.1%
Based on 6,542 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 Lumberton. 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 Lumberton 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 Lumberton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Lumberton 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.