Goldsboro, North Carolina
Area Profile
34,383 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Goldsboro, in Wayne County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Goldsboro in the bottom 1%.
In the public schools here, 33% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.5 students for every teacher.
124 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% 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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 5.0% — higher than in all but 25% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment fell 3.7% over the past year, to 11,356 employed residents.
Median household income of $48,540 is lower than in 80% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsWayne County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $47,512 | 5th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftWayne County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $49,850 | 7th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$2,5732024 ACS 5-Year | $48,540 | Bottom 20%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,7362024 ACS 5-Year | $30,497 | Bottom 38%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 22.9% | Bottom 18%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 19.6 min | Top 16%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 21.0% | Top 49%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.0% | 59th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 11,356 | Bottom 5%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −5.8% | Bottom 2%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −3.7% | Bottom 3%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 11,959 | 5th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 69.6% | Bottom 26%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageGoldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $50,660 | Bottom 2%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageGoldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $40,570 | Bottom 2%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.0% | 84th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | +0.1% | Bottom 41%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 5.0% | Bottom 25%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.8% | 35th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Goldsboro, NC
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 1,460 | $29,960 |
| Cashiers | 1,270 | $27,170 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 1,190 | $38,300 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | 1,110 | $22,510 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 1,000 | $33,850 |
| Registered Nurses | 950 | $82,740 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
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.
33% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 17.5 students for every full-time teacher across 24 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Creek Elementary | Wayne County Public Schools | 804 | 15.2 | 36% | 30% |
| Eastern Wayne High | Wayne County Public Schools | 781 | 19.0 | 36% | 40% |
| Wayne Preparatory Academy · charter | Wayne Preparatory | 765 | 12.8 | 24% | 42% |
| Meadow Lane Elementary | Wayne County Public Schools | 674 | 15.3 | 44% | 51% |
| Rosewood Elementary | Wayne County Public Schools | 650 | 19.1 | 39% | 42% |
| Eastern Wayne Elementary | Wayne County Public Schools | 597 | 21.3 | 22% | 28% |
| Tommy's Road Elementary | Wayne County Public Schools | 545 | 16.5 | 38% | 37% |
| North Drive Elementary | Wayne County Public Schools | 498 | 16.6 | — | — |
| Wayne School of Engineering | Wayne County Public Schools | 486 | 25.6 | 62% | 74% |
| Rosewood High | Wayne County Public Schools | 460 | 21.9 | 42% | 47% |
| Grantham Elementary | Wayne County Public Schools | 442 | 17.7 | 52% | 47% |
| Eastern Wayne Middle | Wayne County Public Schools | 427 | 19.4 | 22% | 32% |
97.4% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area is up 51% over five years, and up 0.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,886 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.94% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,244, some 28% above the $971 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,244 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $49,800 a year, about 103% of the median household income here of $48,540.
The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $971 a month.
A median home at $200,400 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,102, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
Prices here run about 10% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Goldsboro’s median household income of $48,540, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Goldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2023 | 89.9 | Top 6%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +0.8% | 15th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +51.1% | 83rd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +77.4% | 25th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year | 2.7 | Bottom 42%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 36.3% | 3rd percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±4522024 ACS 5-Year | 17,294 | 97th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $948 | Top 18%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,496 | Top 17%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,244 | Top 24%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$542024 ACS 5-Year | $971 | Top 50%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$20,4552024 ACS 5-Year | $200,400 | 53rd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1312024 ACS 5-Year | $1,886 | 53rd percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$13,5342024 ACS 5-Year | $73,102 | Bottom 42%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.94% | 48th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.7% | Bottom 42%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1142024 ACS 5-Year | 214 | 94th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.2% | 64th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.2% | 68th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3262024 ACS 5-Year | 2,149 | 98th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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 and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 34,629 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 134 units authorized in 2025, up 14% on the prior year.
Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 34,629 residents in 2024, up 0.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.
Federal tax returns show Wayne County, which contains Goldsboro, gained about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $47,512, close to the $49,850 of households that moved out.
At 3.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Johnston County, NC 738 people · 12% of arrivals
- Wake County, NC 398 people · 6.5% of arrivals
- Lenoir County, NC 293 people · 4.8% of arrivals
- Duplin County, NC 285 people · 4.7% of arrivals
- Wilson County, NC 203 people · 3.3% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Johnston County, NC 554 people · 9.4% of departures
- Lenoir County, NC 417 people · 7.1% of departures
- Wake County, NC 379 people · 6.5% of departures
- Duplin County, NC 243 people · 4.1% of departures
- Wilson County, NC 199 people · 3.4% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Wayne County, NC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
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 52.3 inches, including 2.0 inches of snow.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 52.3" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 2.0" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 35°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 91°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 6 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 37°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 42% 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.
Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, tornado, inland flooding, heat wave, lightning, ice storm, drought, earthquake, wildfire, landslide, coastal flooding, tsunami, avalanche, volcanic activity.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Goldsboro's police department reported 1,111 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 3,961.
Wayne County records 11.8 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 21.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 16.9 per 100,000 residents in Wayne County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Goldsboro’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Goldsboro (Wayne County) rather than Goldsboro itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.
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.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- 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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld at 21 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 85.7% | Bottom 33%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 21 mi | Bottom 43%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 20%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.2% | Bottom 33%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld | ISO | 21 mi | 11,498 ft |
| Raleigh-Durham Intl | RDU | 57 mi | 10,000 ft |
| Wilmington Intl | ILM | 77 mi | 8,016 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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Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.