Lumberton, NC

Micro Area Profile

116,902 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Lumberton, NC micropolitan area.

37out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 2% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity832nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured9
Schools672nd of 695 metro and micro areas measured8
GrowthTop 47% of 834 metro and micro areas measured52
Housing affordabilityTop 47% of 835 metro and micro areas measured74
ClimateTop 24% of 835 metro and micro areas measured74
Physical resilience711th of 835 metro and micro areas measured26
Access650th of 835 metro and micro areas measured62
Economic stability812th of 835 metro and micro areas measured7
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 5.4% and the Opportunity signal places Lumberton in the bottom 1%.

In the public schools here, 28% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.6 students for every teacher.

386 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 6% 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
116,902
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$41,978
Bottom 2% nationally
Density
123/sq mi
947.3 sq mi of land
Median age
36.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
North Carolina
Nearest major airport
MYR
67 mi · Myrtle Beach Intl
Median home value
$94,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.4% — higher than in all but 15% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 2.9% over the past year, to 38,915 employed residents.

Median household income of $41,978 is lower than in 98% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,3232024 ACS 5-Year$41,978Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$7772024 ACS 5-Year$23,672Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year26.7%Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.2 minBottom 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year14.7%Bottom 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year85.3%97th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202638,915Top 50%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−5.2%Bottom 7%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.9%Bottom 12%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202641,14550th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year66.2%Bottom 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%48th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.8%Top 18%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.4%Bottom 15%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%7th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.14.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.4% in July 2026. It has been rising, 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.

28% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 30% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.6 students for every full-time teacher across 39 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
40
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.6
across 39 of them
Math proficiency
27.6%
Bottom 7% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
29.6%
Bottom 1% in North Carolina
The 12 largest of 40 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lumberton Senior HighPublic Schools of Robeson County1,89416.529%31%
Purnell Swett HighPublic Schools of Robeson County1,58318.429%29%
Saint Pauls HighPublic Schools of Robeson County1,14218.125%25%
Red Springs HighPublic Schools of Robeson County86718.137%42%
Fairmont HighPublic Schools of Robeson County78013.422%22%
Magnolia ElementaryPublic Schools of Robeson County77916.629%26%
Prospect ElementaryPublic Schools of Robeson County77514.927%32%
Saint Pauls ElementaryPublic Schools of Robeson County71016.918%22%
Pembroke ElementaryPublic Schools of Robeson County70316.026%26%
Saint Pauls MiddlePublic Schools of Robeson County67818.325%24%
Lumberton JuniorPublic Schools of Robeson County65517.25%18%
Pembroke MiddlePublic Schools of Robeson County64517.419%23%

98.3% 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 $820 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.87% 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, some 15% above the $805 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 88% of the median household income here of $41,978.

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 $805 a month.

A median home at $94,500 costs 1.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $52,397, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$925
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$805
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$94,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lumberton’s median household income of $41,978, 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 ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year1.8Top 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year65.8%26th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±712024 ACS 5-Year49,11159th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$748Top 16%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,187Top 11%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$925Top 10%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$222024 ACS 5-Year$805Top 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,4452024 ACS 5-Year$94,5001st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$272024 ACS 5-Year$8208th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,4592024 ACS 5-Year$52,397Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.87%56th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year29.2%Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±592024 ACS 5-Year17913th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%4th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.8%83rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3322024 ACS 5-Year5,97758th 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

52/ 100
Top 47% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, 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 2% since 2020, reaching 118,624 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 118,624 residents in 2024, up 0.8% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

At 3.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
386
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.3
Top 38% nationally
Year over year
+6%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
26.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024119k116k
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 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

6 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 35°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.6 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LUMBERTON MUNI AP, 3.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals42.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 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

26 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and tornado, with hurricane alone responsible for 31% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Strong windHigh
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeModerate
LightningModerate
Ice stormModerate
WildfireModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, winter weather, heat wave, inland flooding, hail, drought, landslide, coastal flooding, avalanche, tsunami, 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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Myrtle Beach Intl at 67 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.6%Bottom 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle67 miBottom 19%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year19.2%Bottom 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Myrtle Beach IntlMYR67 mi9,503 ft
Wilmington IntlILM73 mi8,016 ft
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU87 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
37
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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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