Population
4,556 residents
Census ACS 2023 - North Carolina
City profile · North Carolina · Census ACS 2023
Population, income, housing, safety, climate and schools for Ranlo - drawn straight from Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES, HUD and FEMA, refreshed on the 2024–2025 release cycle.
Ranlo - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Ranlo lands in the 57th percentile for household income and the 60th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
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.
Ranlo is a small town in North Carolina, home to 4,556 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $75,843 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.6%. Typical homes in Ranlo are valued around $184,500, and the median resident age is 35.0 years. 20.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 58.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Ranlo reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1082.1 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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 $1,686 per month statewide. 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 84.9 out of 100 (High).
Population
4,556 residents
Census ACS 2023 - North Carolina
Median Household Income
$75,843 /yr
Poverty 0.6%
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Below Average - BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
Ranlo measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
"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, Ranlo ranks #22 of 195 North Carolina cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
Each percentile compares Ranlo 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
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ranlo ranks #51 - the 88th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ranlo only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
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.
57th percentile nationally for median household income · 60th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
How Ranlo's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$184,500 Among the most affordable more affordable than 62% of 15,600 US cities
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
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
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.
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Based on 1,912 workers 16 and over.
State-average estimates for North Carolina - EIA 2023 residential energy data
Estimates reflect North Carolina state averages. Actual costs vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Cost of living is a North Carolina state average from BEA; rent and hazard risk are county-level figures from HUD and FEMA for the county Ranlo sits in
Population-matched peers from other states, closest to Ranlo's 4,556 residents (Census ACS 5-Year 2023).
Median-household-income-matched peers from other states, closest to Ranlo's $75,843 (Census ACS 5-Year 2023, table B19013).
City-level race and ethnicity, Census ACS 5-year 2023 (tables B02001, B03001), OMB Directive 15 categories.
Population + median household income, sourced from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 (population) and B19013 (median household income).
| City | Population | Median Household Income |
|---|---|---|
| Ranlo (this city) | 4,556 | $75,843 |
| Raeford | 4,545 | $43,311 |
| Holly Ridge | 4,532 | $106,230 |
| Royal Pines | 4,528 | $105,956 |
4,556 people live in Ranlo, NC according to U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.
Median annual household income in Ranlo runs $75,843, based on Census ACS 2023 data.
BEA does not publish a city-level cost-of-living figure for Ranlo; the closest available measure is the North Carolina state average, a cost of living index of 94.3 (U.S. average = 100), rated "Below Average" based on BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 data. Costs within North Carolina vary by metro area.
Ranlo has a total crime rate of 1082.1 per 100,000 residents, which is below the national average. This reflects incidents reported to the FBI UCR program, not a definitive safety score -- agency reporting is voluntary and completeness varies by jurisdiction.
A typical home in Ranlo is worth $184,500, according to Census ACS 2023 estimates.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, 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.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.
Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.