Mount Holly, North Carolina

Area Profile

18,208 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Mount Holly, in Gaston County.

66out of 100
Area Score
Top 26% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,333rd of 4,199 cities measured54
SchoolsTop 32% of 4,162 cities measured63
GrowthTop 17% of 4,224 cities measured68
Housing affordability2,212th of 4,218 cities measured66
ClimateTop 39% of 4,225 cities measured72
Physical resilienceTop 42% of 4,226 cities measured66
AccessTop 16% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stabilityTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured66
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $79,385, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Gaston County, NC, which contains Mount Holly, rather than for Mount Holly alone.

In the public schools here, 48% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.2 students for every teacher.

2,349 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Gaston County, NC, which contains Mount Holly, rather than for Mount Holly alone.

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
18,208
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$79,385
Top 34% nationally
Density
1,616/sq mi
11.3 sq mi of land
Median age
39.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
North Carolina
Nearest major airport
CLT
8 mi · Charlotte/Douglas Intl
Median home value
$337,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Gaston County, NC, which contains Mount Holly, is 3.8%, lower than in 69% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Gaston County, NC, which contains Mount Holly, fell 1.8% over the past year, to 110,718 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 78% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsGaston County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$62,17531st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftGaston County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,63618th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,6302024 ACS 5-Year$79,385Top 34%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,2852024 ACS 5-Year$42,722Top 27%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%Top 38%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.2 minBottom 38%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year36.7%Top 22%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.7%41st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentGaston County, NC’s figureJuly 2026110,718Top 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Gaston County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−2.3%Bottom 21%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Gaston County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−1.8%Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceGaston County, NC’s figureJuly 2026115,07859th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.1%Top 35%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$68,900Top 49%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,990Bottom 40%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Gaston County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateGaston County, NC’s figureJuly 20263.8%Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.8%84th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202479k65k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $79,385 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

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Gaston County, NC, which contains this city.

48% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.2 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
47.8%
Top 35% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
55.0%
Top 23% in North Carolina
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Mountain Island Charter School · charterMountain Island Charter1,78218.857%66%
East Gaston HighGaston County Schools91718.742%50%
Mount Holly MiddleGaston County Schools57015.444%47%
Ida Rankin Elementary SchoolGaston County Schools53314.441%45%
Pinewood ElementaryGaston County Schools50815.937%45%

69.5% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 3% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 97.3, 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area is up 50% over five years, and up 1.5% 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 $2,866 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.85% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,480, some 18% above the $1,256 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,480 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $59,200 a year, about 75% of the median household income here of $79,385.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,256 a month.

A median home at $337,800 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $103,544, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
97.3

Prices here run about 3% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 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.

Rent as a share of income
32.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,480
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,256
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$337,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Mount Holly’s median household income of $79,385, 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
Cost of living indexthe Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure202397.3Top 34%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.5%30th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+49.9%78th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+124.2%91st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 29%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year68.8%35th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3572024 ACS 5-Year7,59892nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,350Top 47%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,820Top 35%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,480Top 39%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1152024 ACS 5-Year$1,256Bottom 29%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,3712024 ACS 5-Year$337,80077th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2122024 ACS 5-Year$2,86671st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,5312024 ACS 5-Year$103,544Top 25%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.85%42nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year32.1%Bottom 31%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±702024 ACS 5-Year7487th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%62nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%26th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1222024 ACS 5-Year29183rd percentileof 32,3302024 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.

Development Momentum

68/ 100
Top 17% of 4,224 published city profiles

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 5% since 2020, reaching 18,723 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 2,349 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 14% are in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Gaston County, NC, which contains Mount Holly, rather than for Mount Holly alone.

Federal tax returns show Gaston County, which contains Mount Holly, gained about 1.1% 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 $62,175, above the $56,636 of households that moved out.

At 10.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Gaston County, NC, which contains Mount Holly, rather than for Mount Holly alone.

Units permitted
2,349
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
10.0
Top 12% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
14.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202419k18k
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.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
37%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$62,175
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,636
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Mecklenburg County, NC 4,710 people · 35% of arrivals
  2. Cleveland County, NC 958 people · 7.1% of arrivals
  3. Lincoln County, NC 703 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  4. York County, SC 577 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  5. Cabarrus County, NC 319 people · 2.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Mecklenburg County, NC 2,434 people · 21% of departures
  2. Cleveland County, NC 1,447 people · 13% of departures
  3. Lincoln County, NC 1,093 people · 9.5% of departures
  4. York County, SC 669 people · 5.8% of departures
  5. Catawba County, NC 250 people · 2.2% 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 Gaston County, NC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Mount Holly, NC is not one. This is the figure for Gaston County, NC, which contains this city.

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, 6.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals3.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

66 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 61% of it. Inland flooding and strong wind are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Ice stormElevated
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneModerate
Cold waveModerate
LandslideModerate

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

Violent crime
206
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,096
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Mount Holly's police department reported 206 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,096.

Gaston County records 6.7 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 16.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 29.9 per 100,000 residents in Gaston County.

Homicide
6.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
29.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.3
per 100,000 residents

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 Mount Holly’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 Mount Holly (Gaston County) rather than Mount Holly 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

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Charlotte/Douglas Intl at 8 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year94.4%Top 28%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle8 miTop 18%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%Top 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT8 mi10,000 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO81 mi10,001 ft
Donaldson FldGYH86 mi8,000 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
66
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
CharlotteMecklenburg County903,84459Charlotte vs Mount Holly
ConcordCabarrus County108,71960Concord vs Mount Holly
GastoniaGaston County82,88458Gastonia vs Mount Holly
Rock HillYork County75,25967
HuntersvilleMecklenburg County63,96966
KannapolisCabarrus County57,89054
MooresvilleIredell County52,38165
Indian TrailUnion County42,03666
MonroeUnion County36,75961
SalisburyRowan County35,82553
CorneliusMecklenburg County32,78366
Fort MillYork County30,77581

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Mount Holly side by side with a similar place.

Mount Holly vs BelmontMount Holly vs East Providence

Moving to Mount Holly from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.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
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
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

ZIP codes in Mount Holly

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Mount Holly with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Mount Holly closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2812025,805$78,231$321,500—