Southern Pines, North Carolina

Area Profile

16,420 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Southern Pines, in Moore County.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 32% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 32% of 4,199 cities measured65
SchoolsTop 43% of 4,162 cities measured55
GrowthTop 17% of 4,224 cities measured69
Housing affordability2,706th of 4,218 cities measured60
Climate2,522nd of 4,225 cities measured68
Physical resilienceTop 39% of 4,226 cities measured68
Access3,856th of 4,226 cities measured66
Economic stability2,711th of 4,226 cities measured50
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.5% and median household income $88,535, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Moore County, NC, which contains Southern Pines, rather than for Southern Pines alone.

In the public schools here, 48% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 23.9 students for every teacher. Math proficiency is published for Moore County, NC, which contains Southern Pines, rather than for Southern Pines alone.

147 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% 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
16,420
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$88,535
Top 26% nationally
Density
894/sq mi
18.4 sq mi of land
Median age
38.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
North Carolina
Nearest major airport
RDU
58 mi · Raleigh-Durham Intl
Median home value
$451,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Moore County, NC, which contains Southern Pines, is 3.5%, lower than in 81% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Moore County, NC, which contains Southern Pines, fell 2.2% over the past year, to 44,037 employed residents.

53% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 90% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMoore County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$93,11377th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMoore County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$80,56666th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$12,1822024 ACS 5-Year$88,535Top 26%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,5782024 ACS 5-Year$52,904Top 15%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%Top 45%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.2 minTop 42%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year52.9%Top 10%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year73.4%37th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMoore County, NC’s figureJuly 202644,037Bottom 44%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Moore County, NC’s figureJuly 2026+0.5%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Moore County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−2.2%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMoore County, NC’s figureJuly 202645,64444th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year80.2%Top 43%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wagePinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$55,140Bottom 6%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wagePinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$42,920Bottom 4%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%81st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Moore County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMoore County, NC’s figureJuly 20263.5%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year14.4%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202489k70k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $88,535 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 — 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

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 Moore County, NC, which contains this city.

48% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Moore County, NC, which contains Southern Pines, rather than for Southern Pines alone.

There are 23.9 students for every full-time teacher across 3 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
3
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
23.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
48.1%
Top 33% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
52.4%
Top 31% in North Carolina

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Moore County, NC: too few schools in Southern Pines reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly. The schools listed below are this place’s own.

All 3 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Pinecrest HighMoore County Schools2,29027.957%59%
McDeeds Creek ElementaryMoore County Schools70718.6——
Moore Montessori Community School · charterMoore Montessori Community School25916.2——

31.6% 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 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.3, 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 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area is up 55% over five years, but down 2.2% 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 $2,799 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.62% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,358, close to the $1,354 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,358 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $54,300 a year, about 61% of the median household income here of $88,535.

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 $1,354 a month.

A median home at $451,100 costs 3.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $116,970, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
92.3

Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Pinehurst-Southern Pines, 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.

Rent as a share of income
31.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,358
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,354
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$451,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Southern Pines’s median household income of $88,535, 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 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area’s figure202392.3Top 14%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−2.2%1st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+54.9%89th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+100.9%64th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year3.9Bottom 19%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year56.6%16th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4622024 ACS 5-Year8,62093rd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,239Top 40%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,889Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,358Top 33%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1002024 ACS 5-Year$1,354Bottom 25%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$28,4892024 ACS 5-Year$451,10086th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2672024 ACS 5-Year$2,79970th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$13,3142024 ACS 5-Year$116,970Top 17%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.62%21st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%Bottom 33%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1482024 ACS 5-Year27495th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.2%75th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%67th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3642024 ACS 5-Year1,20996th 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

69/ 100
Top 17% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 16,987 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 16,987 residents in 2024, up 1.2% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 147 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Moore County, which contains Southern Pines, 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 $93,113, above the $80,566 of households that moved out.

At 9.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
147
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.0
Top 14% nationally
Year over year
−5%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202417k16k
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
57%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$93,113
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$80,566
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Cumberland County, NC 468 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  2. Harnett County, NC 391 people · 5.7% of arrivals
  3. Wake County, NC 295 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  4. Hoke County, NC 254 people · 3.7% of arrivals
  5. Lee County, NC 205 people · 3.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Wake County, NC 323 people · 5.4% of departures
  2. Cumberland County, NC 275 people · 4.6% of departures
  3. Harnett County, NC 244 people · 4.1% of departures
  4. Hoke County, NC 227 people · 3.8% of departures
  5. Lee County, NC 209 people · 3.5% 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 Moore County, NC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025173155
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−10%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 34°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.2 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LAURINBURG MAXTON AP, 27.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 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

68 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 49% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
Ice stormModerate
TornadoModerate
WildfireModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, heat wave, inland flooding, hail, winter weather, drought, strong wind, landslide, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

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
375
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,124
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.

Southern Pines's police department reported 375 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,124.

Moore County has a modeled homicide rate of about 7.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.6 per 100,000 residents in Moore County.

Homicide
7.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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 Southern Pines’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 Southern Pines (Moore County) rather than Southern Pines 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 Raleigh-Durham Intl at 58 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year92.1%Top 39%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle58 miBottom 9%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.6%Top 34%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU58 mi10,000 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO70 mi10,001 ft
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT87 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
64
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Other cities in Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PinehurstMoore County18,25663Pinehurst vs Southern Pines

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 Southern Pines side by side with a similar place.

Southern Pines vs PinehurstSouthern Pines vs Spout Springs

Moving to Southern Pines 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 Southern Pines

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Southern Pines with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2838716,059$74,830$410,80064