Tarboro, North Carolina

Area Profile

10,770 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Tarboro, in Edgecombe County.

41out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 4% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity4,129th of 4,199 cities measured21
Schools3,935th of 4,162 cities measured13
Growth2,518th of 4,224 cities measured46
Housing affordability2,478th of 4,218 cities measured63
ClimateTop 28% of 4,225 cities measured75
Physical resilience3,038th of 4,226 cities measured35
Access3,538th of 4,226 cities measured76
Economic stability3,783rd of 4,226 cities measured31
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.5% and the Opportunity signal places Tarboro in the bottom 2%. The unemployment rate is published for Edgecombe County, NC, which contains Tarboro, rather than for Tarboro alone.

In the public schools here, 25% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.6 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 35% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.1 times what its owners earn.

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
10,770
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$49,796
Bottom 22% nationally
Density
955/sq mi
11.3 sq mi of land
Median age
51.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
North Carolina
Metro area
Nearest major airport
ISO
40 mi · Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld
Median home value
$185,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Edgecombe County, NC, which contains Tarboro, is 5.5% — higher than in all but 12% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Edgecombe County, NC, which contains Tarboro, fell 2.6% over the past year, to 18,839 employed residents.

Median household income of $49,796 is lower than in 78% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsEdgecombe County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$40,3571st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftEdgecombe County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$36,8541st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$13,7232024 ACS 5-Year$49,796Bottom 22%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,3752024 ACS 5-Year$35,098Top 46%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year18.6%Bottom 25%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.5 minTop 28%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year26.5%Top 36%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%59th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentEdgecombe County, NC’s figureJuly 202618,839Bottom 21%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Edgecombe County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−4.6%Bottom 5%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Edgecombe County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−2.6%Bottom 13%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceEdgecombe County, NC’s figureJuly 202619,93221st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year75.4%Bottom 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageRocky Mount, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$53,360Bottom 3%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageRocky Mount, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$43,960Bottom 5%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Edgecombe County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−0.7%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateEdgecombe County, NC’s figureJuly 20265.5%Bottom 12%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year10.9%64th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202450k41k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $49,796 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 — Rocky Mount, NC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Cashiers1,630$26,610
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,440$36,550
Retail Salespersons1,380$28,830
Cooks, Fast Food1,260$23,710
Stockers and Order Fillers1,250$35,050
Registered Nurses1,180$82,300

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 Edgecombe County, NC, which contains this city.

25% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 30% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.6 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
25.4%
Bottom 5% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
30.0%
Bottom 1% in North Carolina
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
North East Carolina Prep · charterNorth East Carolina Preparatory School1,10714.024%37%
Martin Millennium AcademyEdgecombe County Public Schools54813.727%27%
Tarboro HighEdgecombe County Public Schools49619.822%22%
Stocks ElementaryEdgecombe County Public Schools38916.217%12%
North Edgecombe HighEdgecombe County Public Schools35817.025%35%
W A Pattillo MiddleEdgecombe County Public Schools28914.417%20%
Princeville ElementaryEdgecombe County Public Schools20515.817%22%
Edgecombe Early College HighEdgecombe County Public Schools17124.485%75%

98.4% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 12% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.3, 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 Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area is up 44% 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 $1,617 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.87% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,143, some 36% above the $843 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,143 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,700 a year, about 92% of the median household income here of $49,796.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $843 a month.

A median home at $185,500 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $90,186, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
88.3

Prices here run about 12% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Rocky Mount, 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
35.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,143
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$843
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$185,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Tarboro’s median household income of $49,796, 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 Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area’s figure202388.3Top 3%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−2.2%1st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+44.3%55th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+90.3%47th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 35%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year57.2%16th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3482024 ACS 5-Year5,52389th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$918Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,550Top 20%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,143Top 17%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$442024 ACS 5-Year$843Top 34%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,2152024 ACS 5-Year$185,50050th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2762024 ACS 5-Year$1,61745th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,5342024 ACS 5-Year$90,186Top 36%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.17%2024 ACS 5-Year0.87%43rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year35.3%Bottom 20%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±212024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.5%73rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2272024 ACS 5-Year69392nd 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

46/ 100
Ranks 2,518 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 3 years of 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 3% since 2020, reaching 10,954 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025. Over the twelve months since, it has turned the other way — against 19 the year before.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 10,954 residents in 2024, up 0.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 25 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Edgecombe County, which contains Tarboro, gained about 1.0% 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 $40,357, above the $36,854 of households that moved out.

At 2.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
25
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.3
Bottom 47% nationally
Year over year
+32%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202411k11k
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 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
16%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$40,357
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$36,854
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Nash County, NC 1,081 people · 38% of arrivals
  2. Pitt County, NC 246 people · 8.5% of arrivals
  3. Wilson County, NC 219 people · 7.6% of arrivals
  4. Wake County, NC 217 people · 7.5% of arrivals
  5. Halifax County, NC 148 people · 5.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Nash County, NC 1,064 people · 42% of departures
  2. Pitt County, NC 230 people · 9.1% of departures
  3. Wilson County, NC 149 people · 5.9% of departures
  4. Wake County, NC 145 people · 5.7% of departures
  5. Halifax County, NC 98 people · 3.9% 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 Edgecombe County, NC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420256627
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−59%).

Weather & climate

7 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 31°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ROCKY MT WILSON AP, 19.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year532024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
53
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

35 / 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 47% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Strong windHigh
HurricaneElevated
DroughtModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, tornado, heat wave, hail, earthquake, lightning, ice storm, wildfire, landslide, coastal flooding, volcanic activity, tsunami, avalanche.

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
390
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,005
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.

Tarboro's police department reported 390 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,005.

Edgecombe County has a modeled homicide rate of about 16.1 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 30.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 32.8 per 100,000 residents in Edgecombe County.

Homicide
16.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
30.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
32.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.0
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 Tarboro’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 Tarboro (Edgecombe County) rather than Tarboro 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.

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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld at 40 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year80.2%Bottom 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle40 miBottom 19%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year16.0%Bottom 19%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings FldISO40 mi11,498 ft
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU69 mi10,000 ft
Newport News/Williamsburg IntlPHF103 mi8,003 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
41
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Other cities in Rocky Mount, NC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Rocky MountNash County54,29742Rocky Mount vs Tarboro

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 Tarboro side by side with a similar place.

Tarboro vs GoldsboroTarboro vs Cambridge

Moving to Tarboro 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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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 Tarboro

1 ZIP area

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2788618,381$52,850$133,20041