Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC

Metro Area Profile

104,876 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC metropolitan area.

76out of 100
Area Score
Top 8% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 11% of 379 published metros79
GrowthTop 5% of 821 published metros81
Housing affordability563rd of 822 published metros88
ClimateTop 17% of 822 published metros75
Physical resilienceTop 33% of 822 published metros68
Access544th of 822 published metros68
Economic stabilityTop 44% of 822 published metros55
The quick read

Pinehurst-Southern Pines ranks in the top 11% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $86,080.

1,043 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 1% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 17% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 4.1 times that income.

At a glance

Population
104,876
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$86,080
Top 11% nationally
Density
150/sq mi
697.6 sq mi of land
Median age
43.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC
Nearest major airport
RDU
56 mi · Raleigh-Durham Intl
Median home value
$351,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2% is lower than 92% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 1.0% over the past year, to 44,903 employed residents.

41% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US metros.

Household income is higher than at least 89% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,381$86,080Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,596$45,505Top 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate10.1%Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute28.9 minTop 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher41.0%Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment44,903Bottom 8%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.5%Top 20%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.0%Bottom 43%June 2026
Labor force46,410Bottom 8%June 2026
Labor force participation57.2%Bottom 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$55,140Bottom 19%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$42,920Bottom 10%2025 OEWS
Metro employment42,900Bottom 9%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.3%Bottom 29%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.2%Bottom 8%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.23.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in June 2026. 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.
Largest occupations — Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses1,510$81,520
Retail Salespersons1,370$30,020
Cashiers1,090$27,710
Waiters and Waitresses1,040$34,080
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants970$37,920
Nursing Assistants950$36,930

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,254 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.1 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.1×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,254
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$351,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.08Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate76.4%Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4950,280Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$79$1,254Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,177$351,400Top 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.5%Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate12.5%Top 44%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
81/ 100
Top 5% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured 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 8% since 2020, reaching 108,417 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 4% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 9.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,043
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.9
Top 6% nationally
Year over year
+1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
4.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024108k100k
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.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 31°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.8 inches, including 1.3 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CARTHAGE WTP, 5.1 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation47.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low31°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing38°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

68 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, tornado and earthquake.

HurricaneElevated
Ice stormModerate
TornadoModerate
WildfireModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, heat wave, inland flooding, hail, winter weather, drought, strong wind, landslide.

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

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 56 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU56 mi10,000 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO60 mi10,001 ft
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT83 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
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.