Albemarle, NC

Micro Area Profile

64,651 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Albemarle, NC micropolitan area.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 24% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 18% of 835 metro and micro areas measured69
SchoolsTop 43% of 695 metro and micro areas measured56
GrowthTop 12% of 834 metro and micro areas measured74
Housing affordability526th of 835 metro and micro areas measured71
ClimateTop 15% of 835 metro and micro areas measured76
Physical resilience505th of 835 metro and micro areas measured48
AccessTop 49% of 835 metro and micro areas measured78
Economic stability570th of 835 metro and micro areas measured34
The quick read

Albemarle ranks in the top 18% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.3% and median household income of $60,704.

In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.7 students for every teacher.

322 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 9% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
64,651
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,704
Bottom 29% nationally
Density
164/sq mi
395.1 sq mi of land
Median age
40.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
North Carolina
Nearest major airport
CLT
40 mi · Charlotte/Douglas Intl
Median home value
$242,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.3%, lower than in 84% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 5.2% over the past year, to 31,238 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,8352024 ACS 5-Year$60,704Bottom 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2142024 ACS 5-Year$31,661Bottom 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.7%Bottom 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year30.5 minBottom 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.9%Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.2%57th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202631,238Bottom 43%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+5.9%Top 4%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+5.2%Top 1%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202632,32043rd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%Bottom 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%35th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 42%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.3%Top 16%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year9.8%60th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.82.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.3% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher across 22 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
23
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.7
across 22 of them
Math proficiency
43.6%
Top 38% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
45.5%
Top 41% in North Carolina
The 12 largest of 23 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
West Stanly HighStanly County Schools80018.247%62%
Gray Stone Day · charterGray Stone Day School72817.871%78%
West Stanly Middle SchoolStanly County Schools66217.443%47%
North Stanly HighStanly County Schools56815.847%42%
Locust ElementaryStanly County Schools56316.153%56%
Central ElementaryStanly County Schools52513.823%27%
Stanfield ElementaryStanly County Schools48313.847%37%
North Stanly MiddleStanly County Schools47116.833%42%
South Stanly HighStanly County Schools44216.452%37%
Albemarle HighStanly County Schools41413.827%27%
Badin ElementaryStanly County Schools41114.751%53%
South Stanly MiddleStanly County Schools40217.536%40%

99.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against North Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,385 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.57% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $925, close to the $861 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $925 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,000 a year, about 61% of the median household income here of $60,704.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $861 a month.

A median home at $242,400 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $74,355, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
29.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$925
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$861
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$242,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Albemarle’s median household income of $60,704, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.5%78th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±622024 ACS 5-Year28,63242nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$705Top 7%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,281Top 26%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$925Top 10%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$322024 ACS 5-Year$861Top 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,2052024 ACS 5-Year$242,40062nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$512024 ACS 5-Year$1,38528th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,7572024 ACS 5-Year$74,355Bottom 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.57%22nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.3%Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1792024 ACS 5-Year62138th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%54th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%69th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3692024 ACS 5-Year3,39237th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

74/ 100
Top 12% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 7% since 2020, reaching 67,326 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 67,326 residents in 2024, up 2.3% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 322 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 5.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
322
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.0
Top 25% nationally
Year over year
−9%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202467k63k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 32°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.9 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MONROE AP, 29.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

48 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 64% of it.

Ice stormElevated
HurricaneModerate
Inland floodingModerate
TornadoModerate
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, strong wind, lightning, winter weather, hail, landslide, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, coastal flooding, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Charlotte/Douglas Intl at 40 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year88.4%Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle40 miTop 49%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT40 mi10,000 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO57 mi10,001 ft
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU91 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
64
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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