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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-MOUNT-OLIVE-NC · Mount Olive, NC 4,204 pop · income 14th 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 Mount Olive
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Mount Olive on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Spindale · lowest
38,509
Spindale · lowest
38,509 median HH income
32.6% of the leader · rank #1
West Sunbury · near
45,865
West Sunbury · near
45,865 median HH income
38.8% of the leader · rank #2
Mount Olive · this city
45,869
Mount Olive · this city
45,869 median HH income
38.8% of the leader · rank #3
Cienega Sprin… · near
45,871
Cienega Sprin… · near
45,871 median HH income
38.8% of the leader · rank #4
Clarks Hill · near
45,875
Clarks Hill · near
45,875 median HH income
38.8% of the leader · rank #5
Dozier · near
45,882
Dozier · near
45,882 median HH income
38.9% of the leader · rank #6
Mattituck · highest
118,092
Mattituck · highest
118,092 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 Mount Olive 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: 4,204.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Mount Olive - the verdict
Mount Olive ranks in the 14th percentile for household income and the 13th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
14th
percentile, household income
16th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
13th
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: Mount Olive, NC
4,204 people live in Mount Olive, North Carolina - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Mount Olive households earn a median of $45,869 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 14.9%. Mount Olive's housing stock carries a median value of $117,200, and the median resident age is 39.2 years. About 17.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 48.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Mount Olive (No Permits), per Census BPS data. Mount Olive's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 3247.7 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).
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. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,161 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $215 across North Carolina, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 66.7 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Mount Olive'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 housing and income to work and mobility 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 Mount Olive, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
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. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Mount Olive?
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 Franklin (4,221 residents, $43,991 income); Wingate (4,169 residents, $65,208 income); Spindale (4,244 residents, $38,509 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Kelseyville, CA (4,204 residents); Le Sueur, MN (4,204 residents); Mattituck, NY (4,204 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.
Is Mount Olive growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +126 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Mount Olive?
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 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Mount Olive?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 76.7%. 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. 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.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Mount Olive?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 17.2% 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
14.9%
Bachelor's degree+
17.2%
Matched public schools
2
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Mount Olive?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3247.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 42% 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
3247.7
Violent rate
303.7
Property rate
2943.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
F
City profile score · Mount Olive, NC
32/100
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 F
304 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
17.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$45,869
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Mount Olive profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Violent crime: 33/100 (F) · 304 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 26/100 (F) · 17.2%
Poverty rate: 23/100 (F) · 14.9%
Household income: 15/100 (F) · $45,869
Where Mount Olive sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Mount Olive'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 - Mount Olive highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Mount Olive, NC (this city): home $117,200, crime 3,248/100k
Le Sueur, MN : home $216,700, crime 260/100k
Franklin, NC : home $190,600, crime 3,153/100k
Surf City, NC : home $478,600, crime 2,070/100k
Benson, NC : home $176,000, crime 3,545/100k
Southport, NC : home $394,900, crime 1,157/100k
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 Mount Olive compare to other US cities?
Where Mount Olive sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income14% higher than other cities
Home value16% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety13% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to North Carolina alone, Mount Olive ranks #121 of 195 North Carolina cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Mount Olive 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 Mount Olive near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Mount Olive ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Mount Olive only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#517 of 700
26th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#574 of 708
19th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#237 of 746
68th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#480 of 746
35th 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
14th percentile nationally for median household income · 13th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Mount Olive's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Mount Olive'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 Mount Olive's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$117,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 84% 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
Mount Olive's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,285 of 15,516
More affordable than 72% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,839 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.6×, Mount Olive sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,285 of 15,516 and #3,839 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$45,869Mount Olive, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Mount Olive, 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 Mount Olive, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)17.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)48.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,204
Median Income
$45,869
Median Home Value
$117,200
Median Age
39.2
Poverty Rate
14.9%
Labor force participation
48.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
17.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3247.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
303.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2943.9
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.
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Mount Olive's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,395 residents
2021
4,376 residents
2022
4,422 residents
2023
4,465 residents
2024
4,485 residents
2025
4,521 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.7%
Carpool
17.8%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
2.6%
Work from Home
1.8%
Other
0.8%
Based on 1,759 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 Mount Olive. 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 Mount Olive 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 Mount Olive sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Mount Olive 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.