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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-SHELBY-NC · Shelby, NC 21,868 pop · income 20th pct · 24 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 Shelby
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Shelby on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Boone · lowest
28,633
Boone · lowest
28,633 median HH income
22.3% of the leader · rank #1
Tell City · near
50,702
Tell City · near
50,702 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #2
Plainfield · near
50,703
Plainfield · near
50,703 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #3
Orrtanna · near
50,703
Orrtanna · near
50,703 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #4
Shelby · this city
50,705
Shelby · this city
50,705 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #5
New · near
50,707
New · near
50,707 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #6
Waxhaw · highest
128,115
Waxhaw · highest
128,115 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 Shelby 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: 21,868.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Shelby - the verdict
Shelby ranks in the 20th percentile for household income and the 11th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
20th
percentile, household income
38th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
11th
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: Shelby, NC
21,868 people live in Shelby, North Carolina - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Shelby brings in $50,705 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 15.0%. Typical homes in Shelby are valued around $185,400, and the median resident age is 41.2 years. About 26.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 53.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 278 residential building permits were authorized in Shelby (Building Boom), up 2989% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Shelby's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 3477.4 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Shelby's yearly average temperature at 59.2°F with 50.4 inches of precipitation per year and 4.0 inches of snowfall.
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts North Carolina's average monthly utility costs around $215 (state average). 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 Shelby'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 reported crime to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to schools and households to within-city variation to housing and income to population change to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Shelby, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in Shelby?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3477.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 52% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Shelby?
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 Clemmons (21,574 residents, $84,326 income); Waxhaw (21,565 residents, $128,115 income); Carrboro (21,170 residents, $85,927 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Sedalia, MO (21,869 residents); Parsippany, NJ (21,869 residents); Klamath Falls, OR (21,879 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.
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.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 59.2°F, with 50.4 inches of precipitation and 4.0 inches of annual snowfall. 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.
PlainCities matches 24 Census tracts to this city.
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.
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 Shelby?
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.
The NCES join finds 17 public schools within the city match. 26.6% 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
15.0%
Bachelor's degree+
26.6%
Matched public schools
17
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Shelby?
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 3.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 15.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.7×
Home value
$185,400
Household income
$50,705
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,370 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +6.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 278 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.
2020 estimate
21,939
2025 estimate
23,309
Period change
+6.2%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Shelby?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.3%. 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.
Drive alone
79.3%
Work from home
9.7%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 9,245 workers age 16+.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
F
City profile score · Shelby, NC
31/100
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-
26.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
15.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$50,705
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
1,044 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Shelby profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 52/100 (C-) · 26.6%
Poverty rate: 23/100 (F) · 15.0%
Household income: 21/100 (F) · $50,705
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,044 /100k
Where Shelby sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Shelby'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 - Shelby highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Shelby, NC (this city): home $185,400, crime 3,477/100k
Sedalia, MO : home $136,500, crime 3,180/100k
Klamath Falls, OR : home $257,400, crime 3,172/100k
Darien, IL : home $386,400, crime 958/100k
Lino Lakes, MN : home $385,000, crime 697/100k
Waxhaw, NC : home $506,300, crime 481/100k
Carrboro, NC : home $507,100, crime 2,110/100k
Lexington, NC : home $158,100, crime 3,458/100k
Kinston, NC : home $108,300, crime 5,923/100k
Boone, NC : home $373,600, crime 999/100k
How does Shelby compare to other US cities?
Here's how Shelby stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income20% higher than other cities
Home value38% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety11% 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: Shelby ranks #136 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 Shelby 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 Shelby near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Shelby ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Shelby only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#455 of 700
35th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#378 of 708
47th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#232 of 746
68th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#270 of 746
64th 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
20th percentile nationally for median household income · 11th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Shelby's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Shelby'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 Shelby's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$185,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 62% 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
Shelby's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,565 of 15,516
More affordable than 38% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,640 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.7×, Shelby sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,565 of 15,516 and #1,640 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
$50,705Shelby, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Shelby, 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 Shelby, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)26.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)15.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
21,868
Median Income
$50,705
Median Home Value
$185,400
Median Age
41.2
Poverty Rate
15.0%
Labor force participation
53.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3477.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1044.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2433.3
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
59.2°F
Annual Precipitation
50.4"
Annual Snowfall
4.0"
Schools
Total Schools
17
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Shelby's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
21,939 residents
2021
21,902 residents
2022
21,866 residents
2023
22,074 residents
2024
22,829 residents
2025
23,309 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
278
housing units authorized
Single-Family
180
detached homes
Multifamily
98
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
12.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
9
9
0
$1.4M
2020
27
27
0
$5.8M
2021
54
52
2
$9.4M
2022
93
89
4
$15.1M
2023
442
142
300
$64.2M
2024
278
180
98
$63.4M
Permit volume increased 2989% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.3%
Carpool
9.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.1%
Work from Home
9.7%
Based on 9,245 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 Shelby. 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 Shelby 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 Shelby sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Shelby 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.