Cabarrus County, NC

County Profile

236,133 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Cabarrus County, NC.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

66out of 100
Area Score
Top 34% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 20% of 1,255 counties71
SchoolsTop 37% of 973 counties62
GrowthTop 44% of 1,226 counties53
Housing affordability829th of 1,255 counties86
ClimateTop 33% of 1,254 counties72
Physical resilience901st of 1,255 counties44
AccessTop 43% of 1,255 counties85
Economic stabilityTop 18% of 1,255 counties82
The quick read

Cabarrus County ranks in the top 20% of published profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $89,005.

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,558 units authorized over the past twelve months, 32% below the prior year.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, tornado and ice storm.

At a glance

Population
236,133
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$89,005
Top 10% nationally
Density
654/sq mi
361.2 sq mi of land
Median age
37.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Cabarrus County
North Carolina
Metro area
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
Nearest major airport
CLT
26 mi · Charlotte/Douglas Intl
Median home value
$354,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4% is lower than 83% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 0.6% over the past year, to 119,007 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 90% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,534$89,005Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,203$42,636Top 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.3%Bottom 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute29.6 minTop 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher37.9%Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment119,007Top 23%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.0%Bottom 33%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.6%Top 49%June 2026
Labor force123,195Top 23%June 2026
Labor force participation68.4%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.3%Bottom 27%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.4%Bottom 17%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.83.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% 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.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202489k76k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $89,005 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand40,540$38,850
Retail Salespersons35,150$33,580
Cashiers27,350$29,610
Fast Food and Counter Workers27,050$28,880
Registered Nurses27,010$90,620
Customer Service Representatives26,120$44,980

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.

45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 49% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.8 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
53
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
45.5%
Top 27% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
48.7%
Top 31% in North Carolina
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Cox Mill High SchoolCabarrus County Schools1,77221.9
A L Brown HighKannapolis City Schools1,75318.8
Hickory Ridge HighCabarrus County Schools1,67120.4
West Cabarrus HighCabarrus County Schools1,62719.1
Central Cabarrus HighCabarrus County Schools1,36915.9
Harris Road MiddleCabarrus County Schools1,36820.159%74%
Jay M Robinson HighCabarrus County Schools1,21017.8
Northwest Cabarrus HighCabarrus County Schools1,14217.0
Concord HighCabarrus County Schools1,12816.1
Harold E. Winkler MiddleCabarrus County Schools1,09417.642%43%
Cox Mill ElementaryCabarrus County Schools1,08613.984%74%
Hickory Ridge MiddleCabarrus County Schools1,05721.169%64%

55.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against North Carolina’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,414 takes 19% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.0 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
19.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,414
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$354,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.99Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate71.2%Bottom 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7493,691Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$42$1,414Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,544$354,800Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.1%Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.1%Bottom 30%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
53/ 100
Top 44% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2020 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 244,925 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

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 6.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
1,558
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.6
Top 19% nationally
Year over year
−32%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
3.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024245k227k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420253k2k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−36%).

Weather & climate

6 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 32°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.6 inches, including 3.5 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 CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AP, 25.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation43.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall3.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 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

44 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and ice storm.

Ice stormElevated
Inland floodingElevated
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, winter weather, heat wave, cold wave, hail, wildfire, drought.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Cabarrus County records 4.2 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 14.6 per 100,000 residents in Cabarrus County.

Homicide
4.2
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
14.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Cabarrus County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Cabarrus County rather than Cabarrus County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 26 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT26 mi10,000 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO60 mi10,001 ft
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU105 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
66
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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
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)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

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.